Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2024, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (1): 78-86.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2022.1036

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Effect of Long-term Alfalfa Cultivation on Soil Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Nutrient Transformation in Reclaimed Lands

MING Yu-fei1, ZHU Tao-chuan1, ZHANG Jin-hao1, LI Chuan-fu1, GAO Shu1, XU Jia-lin2, LI Yong-qiang1, JIAO Shu-ying1   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University/National Engineering Research Center for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer, Tai'an 271018, China;
    2. Dezhou Landscaping Service Center, Dezhou 253000, China
  • Received:2022-10-04 Online:2024-01-25 Published:2024-01-23

Abstract: In order to study the effect of long-term planting of alfalfa on soil quality improvement three land uses were selected including the alfalfa land planted for 15 years adjacent to crop land and abandoned land, to determine the contents of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) and their fraction contents, and analyzed the stoichiometric characteristics. The results show that long-term planting of alfalfa can significantly reduce the soil electrical conductivity (EC), and increase the content of soil available nutrients (P<0.05). Compared with crop land and abandoned land, planting alfalfa significantly increased the contents of soil SOC and TN (P<0.05), but the content of soil TP in 0-20 cm was significantly lower than that in crop land. The stoichiometric difference was significant in 0-20 cm soil of the three land uses. The C/N in alfalfa land was significantly lower than that in crop land and abandoned land (P<0.05), while it was the opposite for C/P and N/P. Planting alfalfa is helpful to improve the content of active fractions of SOC and nitrogen. The contents of particulate organic carbon (POC), readily oxidizable organic carbon (ROC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in 0-20 cm soil layer were significantly higher than those in crop land by 88.38%, 17.24% and 39.16%, respectively (P<0.05). The contents of particulate organic nitrogen (PON), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and acid hydrolyzed organic nitrogen in alfalfa land were the highest. Compared with crop land and abandoned land, the contents of PON and MBN in alfalfa land were significantly higher by 135.29%, 17.39% and 207.69%, 28.41%, respectively. Therefore, the long-term planting of alfalfa can actively improve and enhance soil quality and the active fractions of organic carbon and nitrogen. The research results could provide reference for the remediation of degraded land and the improment of soil quality for reclaimed land.

Key words: purple alfalfa, land use type, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry, organic fractions of soil carbon and nitrogen, soil improvement

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