Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil
Soil aggregates are the material basis of soil structure and important carriers of nutrients. Long-term application of organic and inorganic fertilizers can affect the composition of soil aggregates to varying degrees, which in turn affects the distribution and storage of soil nutrients. We report t...
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/7/909 |
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| author | Ziru Niu Fangjiao An Yongzhong Su Tingna Liu Rong Yang Zeyu Du Shiyang Chen |
| author_facet | Ziru Niu Fangjiao An Yongzhong Su Tingna Liu Rong Yang Zeyu Du Shiyang Chen |
| author_sort | Ziru Niu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil aggregates are the material basis of soil structure and important carriers of nutrients. Long-term application of organic and inorganic fertilizers can affect the composition of soil aggregates to varying degrees, which in turn affects the distribution and storage of soil nutrients. We report the results of a 15-year long-term field-based test of aeolian sandy soil and used the wet sieve method to analyze the stability of water-stable aggregates, as well as the distribution characteristics of nutrients in different particle size aggregates. Our results show that long-term application of organic fertilizer (M3) and combined organic–inorganic treatments (NPK1-M1, NPK1-M2, and NPK1-M3) help to increase the amount of organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and cation exchange in the macro-aggregates, and the improvement rates are 92–103%, 8–28%, and 74–85%, respectively. The organic content of the fertilizers also promotes the formation of macro-aggregates, and the stability of aggregates increase from 0.24 to 0.45. In contrast, the application of inorganic fertilizers (NPK1, NPK2, and NPK3) has no marked effect on the formation and stability of macro-aggregates; the application of inorganic fertilizers can merely maintain the organic carbon content of the soil. Correlation analysis shows that the application of organic fertilizers and chemical (inorganic) fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium can markedly increase the content and reserves of available phosphorus and potassium across all aggregate sizes, and there is a significant positive correlation between these parameters and the amount of applied fertilizer (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Aggregates of various sizes in aeolian sandy soils in arid areas have the potential for greater nutrient storage. Therefore, organic fertilizers can be used in the agricultural production process to improve soil structure and fertility. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:31:08Z |
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| language | English |
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| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-028b13a9f602417699a686410e7ec6b22023-11-30T23:50:43ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-03-0111790910.3390/plants11070909Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy SoilZiru Niu0Fangjiao An1Yongzhong Su2Tingna Liu3Rong Yang4Zeyu Du5Shiyang Chen6Linze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaLinze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaLinze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaLinze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaLinze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaLinze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaLinze Inlan River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaSoil aggregates are the material basis of soil structure and important carriers of nutrients. Long-term application of organic and inorganic fertilizers can affect the composition of soil aggregates to varying degrees, which in turn affects the distribution and storage of soil nutrients. We report the results of a 15-year long-term field-based test of aeolian sandy soil and used the wet sieve method to analyze the stability of water-stable aggregates, as well as the distribution characteristics of nutrients in different particle size aggregates. Our results show that long-term application of organic fertilizer (M3) and combined organic–inorganic treatments (NPK1-M1, NPK1-M2, and NPK1-M3) help to increase the amount of organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and cation exchange in the macro-aggregates, and the improvement rates are 92–103%, 8–28%, and 74–85%, respectively. The organic content of the fertilizers also promotes the formation of macro-aggregates, and the stability of aggregates increase from 0.24 to 0.45. In contrast, the application of inorganic fertilizers (NPK1, NPK2, and NPK3) has no marked effect on the formation and stability of macro-aggregates; the application of inorganic fertilizers can merely maintain the organic carbon content of the soil. Correlation analysis shows that the application of organic fertilizers and chemical (inorganic) fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium can markedly increase the content and reserves of available phosphorus and potassium across all aggregate sizes, and there is a significant positive correlation between these parameters and the amount of applied fertilizer (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Aggregates of various sizes in aeolian sandy soils in arid areas have the potential for greater nutrient storage. Therefore, organic fertilizers can be used in the agricultural production process to improve soil structure and fertility.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/7/909long-term fertilizationaggregate size distributionnutrient accumulationaeolian sandy soilwater-stable aggregatesorganic carbon |
| spellingShingle | Ziru Niu Fangjiao An Yongzhong Su Tingna Liu Rong Yang Zeyu Du Shiyang Chen Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil Plants long-term fertilization aggregate size distribution nutrient accumulation aeolian sandy soil water-stable aggregates organic carbon |
| title | Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil |
| title_full | Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil |
| title_short | Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Aggregate Size Distribution and Nutrient Accumulation in Aeolian Sandy Soil |
| title_sort | effect of long term fertilization on aggregate size distribution and nutrient accumulation in aeolian sandy soil |
| topic | long-term fertilization aggregate size distribution nutrient accumulation aeolian sandy soil water-stable aggregates organic carbon |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/7/909 |
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