Abstract:
Objective The aims were to explore the effects of drying-wetting alternations on the physical properties of texture-reconstructed soils and to provide technical support for reclamation in Mu Us Sandy Land.
Method The red loess, Pisha sandstone and sandy loess in the northwest of Mu Us Sandy Land were selected. Four indoor soil columns with the specific bulk density and mixing ratio: Pisha sandstone, red loess, Pisha-sand reconstructed soil and red-sand reconstructed soil were used as the research objects. The changes of soil bulk density, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and aggregate stability were measured at the 0th, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 12th and 15th dry-wet alternations, and the responses of physical properties for the texture reconstructed soils to dry-wet alternation times were analyzed.
Result After the first dry-wet alternation, the bulk density of the four soils decreased significantly (P < 0.05), while the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity increased significantly (P < 0.05). After that, with the increase of the number of wet-dry cycles, the soil bulk density increased slightly and gradually stabilized, while the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity gradually decreased and stabilized. In addition, the number of dry-wet alternations were positively correlated with the breakage rate of soil aggregates, which indicated that dry-wet alternation was beneficial to the formation of four soil macroaggregates, and the increase rate of mechanically stable macroaggregates was significantly higher than that of water-stable macroaggregates.
Conclusion Compared with the natural soil, the reconstructed soil can significantly reduce the effect of drying-wetting alternations on soil physical properties, so as to maintain the stability of soil physical properties. Among the two reconstructed soils, the effect of Pishasand reconstructed soil is better than that of red-sand reconstructed soil, indicating that this type of reconstruction can be used as the optimal scheme for reclamation of soil in Mu Us Sandy Land.