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Effect of the fodder species canola (Brassica napus L.) and daylily (Hemerocallis fulva L.) on soil physical properties and soil water content in a rainfed orchard on the semiarid Loess Plateau, China

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Abstract

Background and aims

Understanding the variability in water availability in agroforestry systems in rain-fed orchards is vital for optimizing orchard management in semiarid areas. However, few studies have examined the soil capacity of water stock and supply in these systems over multiple years. We aim at (i) characterizing several soil physical properties related to water availability and inter-annual dynamics of soil water content and (ii) exploring their response to meteorological conditions and root distribution.

Methods

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) intercropped with the fodder species canola (Brassica napus L.) (JFCS), jujube intercropped with daylily (Hemerocallis fulva L.) (JDLS), and a jujube orchard with clean tillage (JCS) were established on the Loess Plateau, China. Soil physical properties (including soil bulk density, soil hydraulic conductivity, soil field capacity, and soil porosity), soil water content and fine root data were collected over the period 2014–2017.

Results

Compared to JCS-Tree, the field capacity was significantly increased both in the JFCS-Tree and JDLS-Tree treatments, while soil capillary porosity increased significantly only in the JFCS-Tree. Compared to JCS-Inter-row, the JFCS-Inter-row and JDLS-Inter-row exhibited significantly decreased soil bulk density, and increased field capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and improved soil porosity, but the non-capillary porosity in the JDLS-Inter-row treatment were not significantly modified. Compare to JCS-Tree treatment, the soil water at 0–60 cm significantly increased under JFCS-Tree and JDLS-Tree in four years. However, due to the deeper fine root distribution for both tree and crop under JDLS-Inter-row, the soil water content at 60–180 cm in JDLS-Inter-row significantly decreased more than JFCS-Inter-row and JCS-Inter-row.

Conclusions

The introduced crop modified the soil physical properties and soil water content, indirectly under trees and directly between inter-rows through the role of fine roots, thereby changing the orchard environment in semiarid areas. Agroforests can generally improve water condition at shallow soil layers compared to monocultural plantations, although such an effect may be accompanied with lower water stock at deeper soil layers in inter-rows, depending on crop species chosen.

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Acknowledgements

This work was jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2016YFC0400204), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571506, 41771316, 51579212), the Integrative Science-Technology Innovation Engineering Project of Shaanxi (No. 2016KTZDNY-01-03), the Shaanxi Innovative Research Team for Key Science and Technology (No. 2017KCT-15), the‘111’Project (No. B12007), and CAS “Youth Scholar of West China” Program (XAB2018A04). The authors would also like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions, which substantially improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A & F University, No. 26, Xinong Road, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi Province, China

    Qiang Ling, Xining Zhao, Pute Wu, Xiaodong Gao & Wenhao Sun

  2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Xining Zhao, Pute Wu & Xiaodong Gao

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  1. Qiang Ling
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Correspondence to Xining Zhao or Pute Wu.

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Ling, Q., Zhao, X., Wu, P. et al. Effect of the fodder species canola (Brassica napus L.) and daylily (Hemerocallis fulva L.) on soil physical properties and soil water content in a rainfed orchard on the semiarid Loess Plateau, China. Plant Soil 453, 209–228 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04318-0

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