Soil aggregation and water holding capacity of soil amended with agro-industrial byproducts and poultry litter
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SOILS, SEC 5 • SOIL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY • RESEARCH ARTICLE
Soil aggregation and water holding capacity of soil amended with agro-industrial byproducts and poultry litter Yuanyuan Li 1 & Gary Feng 2 & Haile Tewolde 2 & Fengbao Zhang 1,3 & Chuang Yan 3 & Mingyi Yang 1,3 Received: 22 September 2020 / Accepted: 9 November 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Research question Soil organic matter (SOM) addition has been shown to be effective for improving physicochemical and hydrological properties, but its effectiveness may be improved if amended with certain agro-industrial byproducts with cations and high carbon. Purpose This study was conducted to determine the quantitative effect of poultry litter (PL) amended with inorganic agroindustrial byproducts on aggregate and hydrological properties of a sandy loam soil. Materials and methods Poultry litter (PL) unamended or amended with quicklime (CaO), flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG), Al2 (SO4)3·18H2O (alum), cement kiln dust (CKD), crushed ag lime (CaCO3), or biochar was applied to a sandy loam soil and incubated at room temperature for 30 days. Aggregate stability and water retention of the mixture were measured after the incubation. Results Amending PL with all byproducts, relative to the unamended PL, increased the stability of 0.25–2 mm aggregates and mean weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates. But only Ca-rich byproducts increased macro-aggregates (> 2.0 mm) stability by as much as 21.7%. The C-rich biochar reduced macro-aggregate (> 2.0 mm) stability by 18% compared to the PL alone. All byproducts increased soil field capacity (FC) and plant available water (PAW), and Ca-rich byproducts decreased water content at permanent wilting point (PWP), while biochar greatly increased water content at PWP. All Ca-rich byproducts increased PAW by an average of 49% over no Ca byproducts. Conclusion Our results overall showed that Ca-rich inorganic byproducts, some of which are commonly applied to agricultural soils, are effective PL amendments for improving soil aggregation and water holding properties. Keywords Agro-industrial byproducts . Water retention . Aggregate stability . Total carbon . Calcium
1 Introduction Soil water holding capacity is an important soil attribute for optimal crop production in both rainfed and irrigated Responsible editor: Lu Zhang * Gary Feng [email protected] * Mingyi Yang [email protected] 1
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China
2
USDA-ARS, Genetics and Sustainable Agricultural Research Unit, 150 Twelve Lane, Starkville, Mississippi State 39762, USA
3
Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, CAS and MWR, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China
agriculture (Rockström et al. 2010) where water shortage often happens and is often the main limiting factor. The capacity of a soil to hold or retain water is a function of the soil’s textural composition
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