Differences in soil nitrification and denitrification capacities following reclamation years of native desert soils to irrigated croplands in Hexi Corridor Region of Northwest China北大核心CSCD

Nitrogen (N) loss in irrigated croplands from coupled nitrification and denitrification shows considerable differences due to differences in soil properties and agricultural management practices. Previous research has demonstrated that soil physicochemical properties strongly affect nitrification and denitrification capacities of cropland soils. However, existing research on soil nitrification and denitrification following the conversion of native desert soils to irrigated croplands lacks long-term tracking and monitoring capabilities. Therefore, six types of reclamation years of irrigated croplands and uncultivated sandy land in the Hexi Corridor marginal oasis in northwestern China were selected for study, and the differences in soil nitrification and denitrification rates and physicochemical properties were studied over 42 sites in the desert-oasis ecotone derived from seven reclamation sequences, including the years of 0, 15, 30, 50, 80, 100, and 150. The results showed that the nitrification and denitrification rates of soil first increased and then decreased with the increase in reclamation years. The highest soil nitrification rate and denitrification rate were observed at 80 years of cultivation (101.4 μg g-1 d-1) and 100 years of cultivation (0.93 μg g-1 d-1), respectively. In addition, the soil nitrification and denitrification rates in the natural sandy land were significantly lower than those in the cultivated croplands (P < 0.05). There were significant correlations among soil nutrients, soil moisture, and soil particle size composition between the nitrification and denitrification rates (P < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that environmental variables accounted for 69.7% and 75.7% of the variation in nitrification and denitrification rates, respectively. Among them, organic matter content, pH, soil moisture, and NH4+-N content were the key factors affecting the change in soil denitrification rate, while organic matter content, NO3--N, pH, and clay content were the key factors affecting the change in soil denitrification rate. © 2022 Science Press. All rights reserved.