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Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (9): 71-78.doi: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2022-0301

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Soil Quality Evaluation of Oasis Cotton Fields in Shaya County of Xinjiang

WU Chupeng1,2(), SHENG Jiandong1,2, HU Yutong1,2(), CHENG Zhihui1, YANG Pengfei1   

  1. 1 College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052
    2 Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Soil and Plant Ecological Processes, Urumqi 830052
  • Received:2022-04-12 Revised:2022-06-12 Online:2023-03-25 Published:2023-03-23

Abstract:

By evaluating the soil quality of cotton fields in Shaya County and exploring the relationship between soil salinization and soil quality, the study aims to promote sustainable production in cotton fields. We took the main cotton planting areas of 4 townships in Shaya County as the research objects, and measured six physical and chemical indexes, including soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available potassium, available phosphorus, total salt and bulk density. Then, we calculated the soil integrated fertility index (IFI) and used the M-SQR evaluation method to determine the soil quality rating of cotton fields. The results showed that the nutrient contents of cotton fields were moderate and the soil bulk density was relatively large in Shaya County; up to 30% of the sample sites had different degrees of soil salinization. The soil salinity was negatively correlated with most soil nutrient indicators. According to the scoring results, the soil integrated fertility index of cotton fields could be divided into five levels. Compared with the IFI rating, the number of samples above grade III decreased by 31.37% in the SQR rating, while the number of low-grade soil quality sampling points increased by 16. The soil quality of saline-alkali patch, sand patch and reed patch were grade Ⅴ in this research, and the soil quality of the central cotton area was better than that of the southern and northern cotton areas. In conclusion, the M-SQR evaluation model has certain reliability, and soil salinization could inhibit the accumulation of soil nutrients and is a limiting factor of soil quality. The evaluation results of each sampling point have regional differences in spatial distribution. This study could provide a good way for the improvement of soil salinization and serve the management of soil quality in cotton fields in the region.

Key words: cotton field, soil quality, physical and chemical indexes, principal component analysis, M-SQR