Application of Organic Wastes to Primary Saline-alkali Soil in Northeast China: Effects on Soil Available Nutrients and Salt Ions

Soil available nutrients and soil salt ions are considered to play a significant role in soil fertility. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different agricultural organic wastes on soil available nutrients and soil ions in a primary saline soil, located in the west of Jilin Province, China. The treatments were granular corn straw (GS), coarse corn straw (CS), sheep manure (SM), fodder grass (FG), and control (CK). The results showed that agricultural organic wastes effectively decreased soil pH by 1.28%-3.83%. The application of agricultural organic wastes also improved soil available nutrients, of which the available nitrogen (AN) increased by 23.64%-32.54%, the available phosphorus (AP) increased by 16% −19.93%, and the available potassium (AK) increased by 2.78% – 8.42%. In contrast, the content of soil salt ions decreased significantly with the exception of potassium ions. Linear dependence suggests that, with the decrease of soil pH, the soil available nutrient content was higher. From the correlation analysis, the relationship between other salt ions and soil available nutrients showed an extremely significant negative correlation with the exception of potassium (K+). The redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that calcium (Ca²⁺) and potassium (K⁺) are the main factor affecting soil available nutrient content in 2a (about 12 months after organic wastes were applied) and 3a (about 24 months after organic wastes were applied), respectively. In conclusion, treatment GS is recommended for improving soil available nutrients and decreasing the pH and content of soil salt ions in primary saline-alkali soils. CK: control without orgaanic material; GS: granular corn straw; CS: coarse corn straw; SM: sheep manure; FG: fodder grass; AN: available nitrogen; AP: available phosphorus; AK: available potassium; RDA: redundancy analysis; 1a: before the application of organic wastes; 2a: about 12 months after organic wastes were applied (first year); 3a: about 24 months after organic wastes were applied (second year).