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Soil Na+ concentration controls salt-affected soil organic matter components in Hetao region China

Journal of Soils and Sediments volume 19, pages 1120–1129 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

There is little knowledge on the organic matter fractions of salt-affected soil aggregates. This study aimed at investigating characteristics of salt-affected soil organic carbon components and the relationships between soil salt concentration and soil organic carbon component content.

Materials and methods

Five typical salt-affected soils in Hetao region China were collected and analyzed for light (LF) and heavy fraction (HF) in different water-stable aggregates. And the soil organic carbon components were measured by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (Py–GC/MS).

Results and discussion

The results showed that the salt-affected soils were dominant in 53–10-μm water-stable aggregates, 61–80% in the bulk soil, and very low in > 250-μm macro-aggregates, less than 7.06% in the bulk soil. The proportions of > 250-μm macro-aggregates and the mean weight diameter (MWD) were negatively correlated to Na+ concentration (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the macro-aggregates were generally higher in total organic carbon (TOC) and accordingly higher C/N ratio than those in micro-aggregates. Heavy fractions (HF) from both > 53 μm and < 53-μm soil aggregates accounted for 99.30–99.83% of the bulk soil and contained 89.6–98.5% lower TOC and accordingly 49.2–84.8% lower C/N ratio than those in light fractions (LF). The LFs were high in lignin (7.27–34.02% in total pyrolysis products, 19.89% on average) and alkane/alkene-derived compounds (9.51–37.21%, 23.18% on average), but low in N-containing compounds (0–3.64%, 1.71% on average), while HFs were high in both alkane/alkene (4.38–27.46%, 15.06% on average) and N-containing compounds (7.45–26.45%, 13.98% on average), but low in lignin-derived compounds (1.13–8.75%, 3.86% on average).

Conclusions

The tested salt-affected soils were predominant in 53–10-μm micro-aggregates, which was caused by the Na+ dispersion effect on soil aggregates. Most SOM was stored in HF that contained high N-containing compounds and low C/N ratios. Our results suggested that the components of SOM were mainly controlled by the soil Na+ concentration.

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Acknowledgements

We also thank Prof. Phil Brookes from Rothamsted Research, UK, for the great help in English writing during his visit to China Agricultural University.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.41371243) and the National Key Technology R&D Program (No. 2015BAD05B03), and implemented at Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (North China), Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, China Agricultural University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, The Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang, 050021, Hebei, China

    Xinliang Dong

  2. Department of Soil and Water Science, College of Resources and Environment, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Xinliang Dong, Mozhi Li, Qimei Lin, Guitong Li & Xiaorong Zhao

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  1. Xinliang Dong
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  2. Mozhi Li
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Correspondence to Qimei Lin.

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Responsible editor: Weixin Ding

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Dong, X., Li, M., Lin, Q. et al. Soil Na+ concentration controls salt-affected soil organic matter components in Hetao region China. J Soils Sediments 19, 1120–1129 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-2127-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-2127-8

Keywords

  • Heavy fraction
  • Light fraction
  • Salt-affected soil
  • Soil organic matter component
  • Water-stable aggregates