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Arid Land Geography ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5): 763-772.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2022.389

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of bentonite on physical and chemical properties of aeolian sandy soil and growth of Sorghum sudanense

Madinai ABULIMITI1,2(),ZHANG Yongjuan3,WANG Li4,ZHAO Li5,LI Congjuan1,2()   

  1. 1. National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Urumqi City Landscaping Engineering Quality Supervision Station, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang, China
    4. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Grassland Station, Urumqi 830049, Xinjiang, China
    5. Key Laboratory of Ecological Hydrology & Disaster Prevention in Arid Area, Northwest Institute of Investigation, Planning & Design of the State Forestry & Grassland Administration, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2022-08-07 Revised:2022-08-25 Online:2023-05-25 Published:2023-06-05

Abstract:

Drought and desertification have become a worldwide resource and environmental problem, causing the reduction in eolian sandy soil capability to hold water and fertilizer, lowering the soil quality, resulting in the scarcity of vegetation, and seriously limiting the agricultural and forestry production and crop growth in desertification areas. Therefore, for the healthy growth of soil desertification zones, it is crucial to develop a type of material that can not only preserve water but also improve the physical and chemical properties of soil in this area. Bentonite, a naturally occurring mineral, has excellent water absorption, water storage, and adsorption capabilities due to its distinctive crystal structure. This study selected the sand soil obtained from the Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang of China as the research object and examined the effects of bentonite addition with different mass fractions and combinations (combined bentonite with organic fertilizer, humic acid) on water retention capacity, soil physical, and chemical properties (pH, conductivity, water retention, bulk density, permeability coefficient, and field capacity) improvement and plant growth of eolian sandy soil. Moreover, this study analyzed the effect and mechanism of bentonite on eolian sand soil improvement based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation of eolian sand structure. The result showed the following: (1) The water content of aeolian sandy soil was significantly increased by 19.4%-21.9% (P<0.05) by the addition of 0.5% bentonite (B1), by the addition of 2.0% bentonite (B4) and by the combination of 2.0% bentonite and 1.0% organic fertilizer (BF4) (P<0.05). (2) Bentonite combinations of all treatments significantly improved the physical properties of aeolian sandy soil, and the addition of bentonite (B>0.5%) significantly decreased bulk density by 9.9%-11.1% (P<0.05), increased the total porosity by 11.7%-13.1% (P<0.05), decreased the osmotic coefficient by 56.7%-73.3% (P<0.05), and increased the field water capacity by 15.4%-16.1% (P<0.05). (3) In addition, the addition of bentonite (B>0.5%) significantly increased the pH of aeolian sandy soil (P<0.05), while the other treatments had no significant effect on pH (P>0.05). The combination of bentonite and humic acid (BA) and the combination of bentonite, humic acid, and organic fertilizer (BFA) significantly increased the conductivity of aeolian sandy soil (P<0.05). (4) The study on plant growth found that adding B and BF improved the germination rate and biomass of Sorghum sudanense. (5) The results of correlation analysis and redundancy analysis showed that bentonite and organic fertilizer played a significant role in biological growth by improving soil physical and chemical properties. (6) Moreover, the results of the SEM showed that bentonite played a role in water absorption expansion and bonding and binds sand grains together. In conclusion, adding bentonite and organic fertilizer to eolian sandy soil can improve the physical properties and improve the soil’s water retention capacity, which is conducive to the improvement of eolian sandy soil and plant recovery in desertification areas.

Key words: bentonite, soil amelioration, physical and chemical properties, growth state