In order to explore the mechanism of mineral biochar in improving desertification soil in Gobi solar greenhouse,different levels of mineral biochar(0,375,750,1500 and 3000 kg·hm-2)were set up for experimental treatment on the basis of conventional fertilization to study their effections on tomato rhizosphere microorganisms,soil nutrients,and tomato growth and yield.The results showed that the application of mineral biochar could slightly reduce the pH of yellow sandy soil,and when the application amount of mineral biochar reached 3000 kg·hm-2,the soil pH was significantly lower than the control group without mineral biochar.When the application amount of mineral biochar reached 750 kg·hm-2,the content of available potassium in soil increased significantly by 71.45%.When the application amount of mineral biochar reached 1500 kg·hm-2,the content of organic matter in soil increased significantly by 18.54%.When the application amount of min-eral biochar reached 3000 kg·hm-2,the content of available phosphorus in soil increased significantly by 26.07%.When the application amount of mineral biochar reached 750 kg·hm-2,the number of bacteria,actinomycetes and fungi in tomato rhi-zosphere increased significantly by 82.51%,63.75%and 363.30%,respectively.The leaf area,plant width,root-shoot ratio and fruit soluble solids content increased with the increase of biochar application,while the yield index first increased and then decreased.When the application amount of mineral biochar reached 1500 kg·hm-2,the tomato yield per plant reached the maximum of 8.06 kg.To sum up,the treatment with mineral biochar at the dosage of 1500 kg·hm-2 has the best compre-hensive effect on improving desertification soil and increasing tomato yield in Gobi solar greenhouse.
Mineral biocharGobi desert sunlight greenhouseSand-cultivated tomatoRhizosphere microenvironmentGrowthYield