Soil Slope Exposure Affects Physico-Chemical and Microbiological Properties in Soil Aggregate Size Fractions

Bardelli, Tommaso; Pathan, Shamina Imran; Arfaioli, Paola; Vignozzi, Nadia; Pellegrini, S.; Fornasier, Flavio; Egli, Markus; Gómez-Brandòn, María; Insam, Heribert; Pietramellara, Giacomo; Ascher‐Jenull, Judith

doi:10.3390/land11050750

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Wei's results show that the increase of soil aggregates during vegetation restoration in karst areas is significantly correlated with the increase of nutrient content [19]. In the arid northwest region, the soil organic matter content is relatively low, and there is a lack of cemented substances such as clay particles [20][21][22][23]. Attapulgite soil is directly added to silty soil; because of its significant gelling characteristics, the dispersed particles can be heavy into larger particle aggregates, the average particle size of soil aggregates is increased, and the water holding performance is improved, which should have a good effect on the development of sandy soil structure, the improvement of water holding and fertilizer retention performance and the reduction of fertilizer nutrient leaching loss [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Attapulgite Application on Aggregate Formation and Carbon and Nitrogen Content in Sandy Soil

Niu,

Su,

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Clay minerals are the main cementing substances for sandy soils to form aggregates. The clay mineral attapulgite clay is abundant in Northwest China, and its special colloidal properties and crystal structure make it excellent in improving soil physicochemical properties. Using attapulgite as soil conditioner, the effects of different application rates of attapulgite on the formation and stability of sandy soil aggregates were studied through field experiments for two consecutive years. The results showed that the application of 6000 kg·hm−2 attapulgite soil in sandy soil farmland for two consecutive years reduced the soil bulk density by 0–20 cm, from 1.55 g·cm−3 to 1.47 g·cm−3, a decrease of 3.6%; the soil pH was increased by 3.7% from 8.59 to 8.84. The soil organic carbon, inorganic carbon and total nitrogen in the whole soil increased by 4.52%, 5.23% and 6.22%, respectively. The mass fraction of macro-aggregates of 2–0.25 mm and micro-aggregates of 0.25–0.053 mm as well as the contents of organic carbon, inorganic carbon and total nitrogen increased by 3.5%, 5.2%, 8.7%, 5.6% and 6.7%, respectively, thus improving the stability of aggregates. However, low application rates (1500 kg·hm−2 and 3000 kg·hm−2) of attapulgite had no significant effect on soil physical and chemical properties. Attapulgite, as a kind of highly adsorptive clay mineral, can be directly applied to sandy soil to increase soil cementitious substances, promote the formation of soil aggregates and increase the carbon and nitrogen fixation capacity of sandy soil. The improvement effect on the formation and stability of aggregates will gradually accumulate with the years of application. Therefore, in the future, the effects of adding attapulgite on the growth of various crops under various types of soil and climatic conditions should be carried out to obtain more systematic conclusions.

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