Guan'gai paishui xuebao (Mar 2022)

The Efficacy of Amending Soil with Straw to Reduce Nitrogen Loss from Watersheds under Different Rainfalls in Huaihe River Basin

  • YANG Haiyang,
  • YUAN Yuan,
  • WANG Jiangyan,
  • SHENG Chong,
  • YANG Guoxin,
  • WU Mingzuo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.13522/j.cnki.ggps.2021070
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 41, no. 3
pp. 75 – 82

Abstract

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【Objective】 Nitrogen loss from terrestrial ecosystems is an environmental concern in many countries. It is affected by a multitude of biotic and abiotic factors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of soil amendment with straw in ameliorating nitrogen loss from watersheds in the Huaihe River basin. 【Method】 The experiment was conducted indoors using drab soil taken from the field. Artificial rainfall at intensity of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mm/min were applied over the surface of soil amended with crop straw. Water and sediment runoffs from the soil surface, as well as nitrogen loss from both surface and subsurface runoff in each treatment were measured. 【Result】 Accumulative sediment runoff and nitrogen loss from the soil both increased with the rainfall intensity. The nitrogen concentration in the runoff changed more erratically in the first 20 minutes after the commencement of the rainfall, characterized by a rapid increase followed by a long tailing in all treatments. The average nitrogen concentration in the runoff measured from soil without straw amendment peaked when the rainfall intensity was 2.0 mm/min followed by 3.0 mm/min, while amending the soil with straw reduced this to 1.5 mm/min. The amount of nitrogen loss via sediment runoff accounted for 92.8% of the total loss from soil without straw amendment, and this reduced to 59.7% for soil amended by the straw. Soil amendment reduced surface runoff and sediment loss only when the rainfall intensity was low; when the rainfall intensity exceeded a threshold, soil amendment enhanced rather than reduced sediment runoff. Nitrogen concentration in the runoff was higher in soil without amendment than with amendment. 【Conclusion】 Amending soil with straw impacted surface runoff and loss of both sediment and nitrogen, but the effect varied with rainfall intensity. For soil without amendment, the nitrogen concentration in the runoff peaked when the rainfall intensity was 1.0 mm/min, and amending the soil with straw increased this to 1.5 mm/min.

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