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Effects of poplar agroforestry systems on soil nutrient and enzyme activity in the coastal region of eastern China

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

To understand the effects of poplar–intercropping systems on soil nutrients and soil enzyme activities, and further analyzed the relationship between soil enzyme activities and soil nutrients.

Methods

Three different planting systems were chosen: a monoculture wheat (Triticum aestivum) system (W), a narrowly spaced poplar (Populus deltoides)–wheat intercropping system (PWN), and a widely spaced poplar–wheat intercropping system (PWW). The chemical properties (soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK)) and four enzymatic activities (urease, catalase, sucrase and alkaline phosphatase) in four soil layers (0–20, 20–40, 40–60 and 60–100 cm) of two sampling sites (1.5 and 3.5 m from tree row) in the three planting systems were investigated.

Results

The SOM, TN, TP, TK, AP, AK concentrations and four soil enzyme activities were higher in the intercropping systems than in the monoculture wheat system, especially the PWN system. In the vertical direction, the soil nutrient concentrations and soil enzyme activities decreased with soil depth (P < 0.001), except AK and catalase. In the horizontal direction, the SOM, TN, TP, TK concentrations and four soil enzyme activities decreased with greater of distance from the poplar row, but the distribution trend was the opposite for AN, AP and AK. The correlation analysis revealed that the soil enzyme activities were significantly correlated with the SOM, TN, TP, AN and AP concentrations in the three planting systems (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

In conclusion, agroforestry systems can significantly increase soil nutrient status and soil enzyme activities and can be an efficient method for improving soil health conditions. Additionally, compared with the wide poplar spacing in the intercropping system, the reasonably dense planting of intercropped poplar had more obvious effects on improving soil enzyme activities and soil nutrients.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

References

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Funding

This work was funded by The National Key Research and Development Program of China [grant number 2021YFD2201202].

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Cheng Xu: Methodology, Investigation and Writing-original draft. Bo Wang, Tao Yang, Zeyang Lin and Di Tian: Investigation and Visualization. Zhuangzhuang Qian and Changjun Ding: Data curation and Reviewing. Luozhong Tang: Methodology, Reviewing and Editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luozhong Tang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Jianming Xue

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Xu, C., Qian, Z., Wang, B. et al. Effects of poplar agroforestry systems on soil nutrient and enzyme activity in the coastal region of eastern China. J Soils Sediments 23, 3108–3123 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03553-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03553-4

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