Effects of Conservation Tillage on Soil Physicochemical Properties and Crop Yield in an Arid Loess Plateau, China.

Conservation tillage can improve soil physical structure and water storage, protect moisture, and increase crop yield. However, the long-term adoption of a single tillage method may have some adverse effects on soil and ecological environment, although crop yields have increased. Through informed allocation of soil tillage techniques, the combination and configuration of soil tillage measures, such as rotary tillage, subsoiling, and no tillage may reduce the shortcomings of traditional long-term farming. To explore the long-term production mode suitable for production of maize in the loess dryland area, a long-term experiment was conducted in Fuping County, Shaanxi Province, from 2013 to 2018. Six farming modes were used in the experiment: no tillage/subsoiling (N ↔ S), subsoiling/rotary tillage (S ↔ R), rotary tillage/no tillage (R ↔ N), continuous no tillage (N ↔ N), continuous subsoiling (S ↔ S), and continuous rotary tillage (R ↔ R). The changes in soil physical and chemical properties, soil water use patterns, soil water storage, conservation effects during the fallow and growth period, and the effects on farmland yield increase were analyzed. The results showed that rotary tillage can effectively improved soil structure and reduced soil bulk density, where N ↔ S treatment soil bulk density is low and in 0-60 cm soil layer averaged 1.31 g/cm3. Different tillage treatments could be used during the fallow period to store additional soil moisture: the N ↔ S treatment showed good water storage effect. Compared to traditional tillage, different tillage methods provided better soil moisture conditions for crops during the growth period, where N ↔ S treatment showed good soil moisture status during the growth period of spring maize. Among all the treatments, N ↔ S treatment effectively increased the organic carbon storage in the 0-60 cm soil layer, which was 54.3 t/hm2. Compared with traditional tillage, different tillage treatments effectively increased plant height and dry matter accumulation of spring maize, where N ↔ S treatment was found to be the best. Compared with the traditional rotary tillage model, the N ↔ S treatment significantly increased crop yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in continuous cropping fields of corn, the average yield of spring corn was 9340.2 kg/hm2, and the average WUE was 22.9 kg/(hm2·mm). In summary, for long-term sustainable development, the N ↔ S model is the best rotational tillage mode for continuous maize cropping in loess soil.

[Responses of plant functional traits to micro-topographical changes in hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau, China].

Plant functional traits are closely tied to the performance of plants in specific microenvironments, and reflect their ability to adapt to those microenvironments. In areas with complex topography, analyzing the responses of plant functional traits to microtopographical changes is crucial to understanding the adaptive strategies of plants in diverse environments. This paper analyzed fluctuations in soil nutrients as well as correlations between plant functional traits and changes in topography at the family and community levels in selected natural vegetation communities in the foreststeppe zone of the loess hilly and gully region in Loess Plateau of China. Significant differences in plant functional traits were primarily driven by the phylogenetic background or species composition of the community. Slope aspect exerted less impact while slope positions had no significant effect on plant traits at the community level. No significant changes in plant functional traits were observed with changes in topography at the community level. However, leaf nitrogen and root nitrogen contents of Leguminous and Compositae species differed significantly With slope positions. The root tissue density of Graminaceous species differed significantly with slope positions. Root density exhibited significant positive correlations with soil nutrient and carbon contents at the community level. Both leaf nitrogen and root nitrogen contents of Leguminous species were positively correlated with soil phosphorus content, while leaf nitrogen and root nitrogen contents of both Graminaceous and Compositae species were significantly positively related to soil nitrogen content. The results demonstrate the different responses of species of different families to changes in micro-topography and their distinctive adaptive strategies to the environment.