Search

Soil water content (SWC) is an important but highly variable element of hydrological cycle. Understanding SWC spatial variability at the crop row-scale is critical for improving management of water, soils, and crops. This study investigated the SWC spatial variability at the row scale in corn (Zea mays L.) after the fields were treated with straw mulch (FPM) or without straw mulch (FP) in 2013 and 2014. The spatial variability in SWC was assessed from five horizontal measurement points (MPs), at 10-, 30-, 50-, and 70-cm depths using time domain reflectometry. The spatial variability in SWC among the five MPs was statistically significant for 19–75% of sampling dates and was most often different between the two treatments at 10- and 30-cm depths. Straw mulch most strongly affected the spatial variability of SWC at a 10-cm depth, but this effect differed between the two years. With respect to SWC, the FP treatment exhibited a higher range and lower maximum standard deviation and coefficient of variation compared to those of the FPM treatment. In the majority of sampling dates (more than 60%), the most representative SWC estimates were obtained at MPs positioned at one-quarter into the inter-row gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desertification seriously threatens sustainable economic and social development. Soft rock has been used as a soil amendment for sandy soil in Mu Us Sandy Land. In this study, the effects of soft rock amendment treatments were examined in the cultivation of corn (Zea mays L.), with a focus on soil properties and economic benefits in a field site with sandy soil in 2012–2014, in Mu Us Sandy Land, China. Four crushed soft rock amendment treatments (four ratios of soft rock to sand, 0:1, 1:5, 1:2 and 1:1 by volume) were applied in 2012. The results showed sandy soil properties were well improved by adding soft rock. All soft rock treatments significantly (p < 0.05) increased grain yield and net revenue in all three years. Grain yield increases ranged from 67.8% to 160.1%, and 3-year net revenue increases ranged from 450% to 559%. The treatment with ratios of soft rock to sand of 1:2 showed the strongest effect among all treatments for soil aggregation and corn production averaged over three years. The 1:2 soft rock to sandy soil treatment (by volume) respectively produced 3,257, 633 and 382 USD ha−1 higher net revenues than did the ratios of soft rock to sand of 0:1, 1:5, and 1:1 treatments over the three years. In general, the 1:2 soft rock to sandy soil treatment had a satisfactory effect on improving soil properties and enhancing economic benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]