Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields

Rice cultivation is generally accepted as one of the most effective biological strategies for reclaiming saline–sodic soils and ensuring food security; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Soil macropores play a critical role in complex physical coupling processes such as ion absorptio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wei Peng, Xiangming Zhu, Wenjuan Zheng, Qingyang Xie, Mingming Wang, Enhua Ran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Agricultural Water Management
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001878
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850192771168600064
author Wei Peng
Xiangming Zhu
Wenjuan Zheng
Qingyang Xie
Mingming Wang
Enhua Ran
author_facet Wei Peng
Xiangming Zhu
Wenjuan Zheng
Qingyang Xie
Mingming Wang
Enhua Ran
author_sort Wei Peng
collection DOAJ
description Rice cultivation is generally accepted as one of the most effective biological strategies for reclaiming saline–sodic soils and ensuring food security; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Soil macropores play a critical role in complex physical coupling processes such as ion absorption and water/salt migration, which are closely associated with soil salinization and alkalization. This study sought to investigate the impact of rice cultivation duration on soil macropores, salinization, and alkalization. Intact soil columns (0–20 cm) sampled from saline–sodic paddy fields with different cultivation durations (1, 5, and 12 years) were scanned using industrial X-ray computed tomography (XCT). Soil pH, soil salt content (SSC), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) were measured. Compared with 1 year of cultivation, longer rice cultivation significantly increased macroporosity by 46.25 %–123.34 %, larger macropores (> 200 μm) by 76.58 %–215.20 %, and maximum diameter pores by 30.43 %–65.22 % (P < 0.05). Moreover, macropore morphology and network parameters significantly improved with increasing cultivation duration, while soil pH, SSC, and SAR showed significant decreasing trends. Among them, SSC decreased from 5.64 g kg−1 (1 year of cultivation) to 3.03 g kg−1 (12 years of cultivation) [P < 0.05]. Furthermore, the structural equation model (SEM) indicated that rice cultivation years indirectly affected saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) by directly affecting soil macropore parameters, which ultimately affected SAR. In addition to Ks, specific surface area (SA) and fractal dimension (FD) were key factors affecting SSC. This study provides new insight into the underlying mechanisms of salinization and alkalization in rice cultivation from a macropore-scale perspective.
format Article
id doaj-art-7fce803353a4453e947aac9289a3ffc7
institution OA Journals
issn 1873-2283
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Agricultural Water Management
spelling doaj-art-7fce803353a4453e947aac9289a3ffc72025-08-20T02:14:26ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-05-0131310947310.1016/j.agwat.2025.109473Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fieldsWei Peng0Xiangming Zhu1Wenjuan Zheng2Qingyang Xie3Mingming Wang4Enhua Ran5State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, PR China; Corresponding author.College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, PR ChinaRice cultivation is generally accepted as one of the most effective biological strategies for reclaiming saline–sodic soils and ensuring food security; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Soil macropores play a critical role in complex physical coupling processes such as ion absorption and water/salt migration, which are closely associated with soil salinization and alkalization. This study sought to investigate the impact of rice cultivation duration on soil macropores, salinization, and alkalization. Intact soil columns (0–20 cm) sampled from saline–sodic paddy fields with different cultivation durations (1, 5, and 12 years) were scanned using industrial X-ray computed tomography (XCT). Soil pH, soil salt content (SSC), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) were measured. Compared with 1 year of cultivation, longer rice cultivation significantly increased macroporosity by 46.25 %–123.34 %, larger macropores (> 200 μm) by 76.58 %–215.20 %, and maximum diameter pores by 30.43 %–65.22 % (P < 0.05). Moreover, macropore morphology and network parameters significantly improved with increasing cultivation duration, while soil pH, SSC, and SAR showed significant decreasing trends. Among them, SSC decreased from 5.64 g kg−1 (1 year of cultivation) to 3.03 g kg−1 (12 years of cultivation) [P < 0.05]. Furthermore, the structural equation model (SEM) indicated that rice cultivation years indirectly affected saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) by directly affecting soil macropore parameters, which ultimately affected SAR. In addition to Ks, specific surface area (SA) and fractal dimension (FD) were key factors affecting SSC. This study provides new insight into the underlying mechanisms of salinization and alkalization in rice cultivation from a macropore-scale perspective.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001878Saline–sodic soilIrrigated riceX-ray computed tomography (XCT)Pore size distributionSaturated hydraulic conductivity
spellingShingle Wei Peng
Xiangming Zhu
Wenjuan Zheng
Qingyang Xie
Mingming Wang
Enhua Ran
Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields
Agricultural Water Management
Saline–sodic soil
Irrigated rice
X-ray computed tomography (XCT)
Pore size distribution
Saturated hydraulic conductivity
title Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields
title_full Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields
title_fullStr Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields
title_full_unstemmed Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields
title_short Rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline–sodic paddy fields
title_sort rice cultivation can mitigate soil salinization and alkalization by modifying the macropore structure in saline sodic paddy fields
topic Saline–sodic soil
Irrigated rice
X-ray computed tomography (XCT)
Pore size distribution
Saturated hydraulic conductivity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001878
work_keys_str_mv AT weipeng ricecultivationcanmitigatesoilsalinizationandalkalizationbymodifyingthemacroporestructureinsalinesodicpaddyfields
AT xiangmingzhu ricecultivationcanmitigatesoilsalinizationandalkalizationbymodifyingthemacroporestructureinsalinesodicpaddyfields
AT wenjuanzheng ricecultivationcanmitigatesoilsalinizationandalkalizationbymodifyingthemacroporestructureinsalinesodicpaddyfields
AT qingyangxie ricecultivationcanmitigatesoilsalinizationandalkalizationbymodifyingthemacroporestructureinsalinesodicpaddyfields
AT mingmingwang ricecultivationcanmitigatesoilsalinizationandalkalizationbymodifyingthemacroporestructureinsalinesodicpaddyfields
AT enhuaran ricecultivationcanmitigatesoilsalinizationandalkalizationbymodifyingthemacroporestructureinsalinesodicpaddyfields