Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (3): 392-402.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.03.06

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of the salinity of irrigation water on soil respiration rate in cotton field

LI Yanqiang1,2,3(),WANG Zhenhua1,2,3,YE Hanchun1,2,3(),SONG Libing1,2,3,LIU Jian1,2,3,WEN Yue1,2,3,WU Xiaodi1,2,3   

  1. 1. College of Water Conservancy & Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation of Xinjiang Production & Construction Group, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Northwest Oasis Water-Saving Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-05-16 Revised:2022-08-17 Online:2023-03-15 Published:2023-03-31

Abstract:

Four irrigation water salinity levels, namely, 0.85 g·L-1 (CK, local irrigation water salinity), 3 g·L-1 (S1), 5g·L-1 (S2), and 8 g·L-1 (S3), were examined to explore the effects of different salinity levels on soil respiration rate in cotton fields. A cotton field experiment with drip irrigation under film was carried out in Xinjiang. During the growth period of cotton, soil respiration rate (Rs) was recorded twice a month, along with soil temperature (ST), water content, electrical conductivity (EC), nitrate nitrogen content ($\mathrm{NO}_{3}^{-}-\mathrm{N}$) and ammonium nitrogen content ($\mathrm{NH}_{4}^{+}-\mathrm{N}$). The influence of soil parameters on soil respiration rate under different salinities of irrigation water was studied by path analysis. Results showed that brackish water irrigation (S1 and S2) increased soil moisture content, EC and ammonium nitrogen content to a certain extent. Salt water irrigation (S3) significantly increased soil moisture and salinity, and decreased soil nitrate nitrogen content. The increase in the salinity of irrigation water decreased the soil respiration rate. The correlation between soil moisture and temperature and respiration rate decreased with the increase in the salinity of irrigation water. The quadratic function was used to represent the response of ST in 0-10 cm soil layer to soil respiration rate (R2=0.669, P<0.001). The optimal ST for soil respiration rate was 26.9 ℃. Under saline irrigation, the stepped-regression equation containing ST, conductivity, and nitrate nitrogen content could explain 85% of the variation of soil respiration rate. In conclusion, the use of 3 g·L-1 irrigation water for drip irrigation under film can reduce soil respiration rate and farmland carbon emissions without significantly increasing soil salt content. This work provides theoretical support for the development and utilization of brackish water resources in Xinjiang.

Key words: soil parameters, soil respiration, salinity of irrigation water, stepwise regression, path analysis