Intercropping of <i>Echinochloa frumentacea</i> with Leguminous Forages Improves Hay Yields, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Diversity, and Soil Enzyme Activities in Saline–Alkali Soil
2023
Yunlong Cheng | Xing Xu | Yang Zhang | Xudong Gu | Haojie Nie | Lin Zhu
Soil salinization is detrimental to crop growth, agricultural yields, and environmental protection. <i>Echinochloa frumentacea</i> (Roxb.) Link is a pioneer species for the alteration of saline–alkali lands. In this paper, we examined the effects of intercropping between <i>E. frumentacea</i> and leguminous forages on saline land improvement in the saline–alkali soil of the Hetao-Ningxia Plain, China. We found that intercropping increased the diversity and richness of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community in the rhizosphere soil of <i>E. frumentacea</i>. Glomus was the dominant genus in the saline–alkali soil of the Hetao-Ningxia Plain, where Glomeraceae, VTX00067, VTX000193, and VTX000165 were the dominant species. Intercropping improved the activities of soil urease, sucrase, alkaline phosphatase, and catalase. The hay yields of <i>E. frumentacea</i> were correlated positively with soil enzyme activities, Chao1 index, and ACE index, and negatively with total water-soluble salt content. Together, intercropping between <i>E. frumentacea</i> and leguminous forages enhances AMF diversity and soil enzyme activities, which provides an agricultural practice for improving sustainability of the agro-ecosystem in saline–alkali areas.
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]