Effects of amendments on carbon and nitrogen fractions in agricultural soils of Yellow River Delta

Although various measurements (including organic amendments) have been used to ameliorate saline-alkaline soils, soil organic matter (SOM) remains low in most salt-affected agriculture soils. It was hypothesized that lower SOM level was partly attributable to weaker SOM stability (thus greater desorption) in the salt-affected soils. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a 16-week incubation experiment using low- and high-salinity soils to evaluate the effects of soil ameliorants (gypsum, CaCO3, rice straw and biochar) on SOM labile fractions, i.e., water extractable organic carbon (WEOC) and nitrogen (WEON), together with microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN). Our results showed an increase in MBC and MBN under all amendments in both low- and high-salinity soils, reflecting improvements in soil properties. Gypsum amendment led to a decrease in both WEOC (by 15-21%) and WEON (by 14-31%). CaCO3 amendment only caused a decrease in WEON (by 14-27%), with a greater decrease found in the high-salinity soil. There was an increase in WEOC (by 13-66%) but a decrease in WEON (7.6-46%) under biochar and straw amendments in both low- and high-salinity soils. WEOC:SOC ratio (an indicator for SOC desorption) showed a decrease under gypsum and biochar amendments but an increase with CaCO3 and straw treatments. There was a decrease in WEON:TN ratio (an indicator for ON desorption) under all amendments, with the greatest decrease under biochar treatment. Our analyses demonstrated an enhancement in SOC or ON adsorption under all amendments, indicating that SOM stability might be enhanced in association with soil amelioration. Our study also highlights that there is strong decoupling between carbon and nitrogen cycles and further studies are needed to examine the impacts of such decoupling on SOM stability.

Automated summary

Despite various measurements to improve saline-alkaline soils, soil organic matter (SOM) remains low in most salt-affected agricultural soils. This study found that the stability of SOM in salt-affected soils was weaker, leading to greater desorption. However, treatments with different soil ameliorants increased soil microbial biomass and improved soil properties. The results also indicated that there was a decoupling between carbon and nitrogen cycles, which might have implications for SOM stability.