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Impact of flue gas desulfurization gypsum and lignite humic acid application on soil organic matter and physical properties of a saline-sodic farmland soil in Eastern China

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Appropriate land management is important for improving the soil quality and productivity of the saline-sodic farmland. A recent study has revealed that flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum and lignite humic acid application enhanced the salt leaching and crop production. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of applied FGD gypsum and lignite humic acid (powder) on the soil organic matter (SOM) content and physical properties.

Materials and methods

This study was based on a field experiment of five consecutive rapeseed-maize rotations in a saline-sodic farmland soil (Aquic Halaquepts) at coastal area of North Jiangsu Province, China. The soil is sandy clay loam texture with pH of 8.43 and clay content of 185 g kg−1. Six treatments included three FGD gypsum rates (0, 1.6, and 3.2 Mg ha−1) and two lignite humic acid rates (0 and 1.5 Mg ha−1). The amendments were incorporated into 0–20 cm soil depth manually every year. Soil samples were collected from each treatment and analyzed for soil organic matter, water-stable aggregates (wet sieving method), bulk density (clod method), water retention capacity (pressure plate apparatus), total porosity (calculated from bulk density and particle density), and microporosity (calculated from water content at 0.01 MPa).

Results and discussion

After 5 years, the SOM and soil physical properties were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the application of FGD gypsum and lignite humic acid, especially at the 0–20 cm soil depth. The highest amount of SOM with best soil physical condition was observed in the field which was treated with FGD gypsum at 3.2 Mg ha−1 with lignite humic acid, and the SOM, total porosity (TP), microporosity (MP), mean weight diameter (MWD), water-stable macroaggregate (WSMA), and available water content (AWC) were increased by 22.8, 6.34, 23.2, 48.1, 55.5, and 15.8 %, respectively, while the bulk density (BD) was decreased by 5.9 % compared to no amendments applied. The generalized linear regression analysis showed that the SOM explained 42.9, 55.0, 48.5, and 54.2 % of the variability for BD, MWD, WSMA, and MP, respectively.

Conclusions

This study illustrates the benefits of applying FGD gypsum and lignite humic acid for increasing the soil organic matter content and improving the soil physical properties and suggests a great potential for ameliorating saline-sodic farmland soil (Aquic Halaquepts) by using combined amendment of FGD gypsum with lignite humic acid.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Christopher Ogden (Cornell Medical College in Qatar) for his check of English and comments on this paper. This study is supported by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (200903001), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (2015040286), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51209209), and a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Jiangkuan Nan, Xiaomin Chen, Muhammad Siddique Lashari & Jianqiang Deng

  2. College of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Can Chen

  3. Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Zhenjie Du

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  1. Jiangkuan Nan
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  2. Xiaomin Chen
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Correspondence to Xiaomin Chen.

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Responsible editor: Francisco Javier González-Vila

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Nan, J., Chen, X., Chen, C. et al. Impact of flue gas desulfurization gypsum and lignite humic acid application on soil organic matter and physical properties of a saline-sodic farmland soil in Eastern China. J Soils Sediments 16, 2175–2185 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1419-0

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