Effect of straw interlayers on salt leaching in saline-alkali soils under saline water drip irrigation
YIN Fang
DONG Xingzhi
ZHANG Wenbo
ZHAO Song
TANG Guangmu
XU Wanli
FENG Di
Abstract：[Objective]Using saline water as a supplementary irrigation resource is a mitigation strategy to safeguard agricultural production and vegetation restoration in regions facing soil salinization and freshwater scarcity.However,how to safely use saline water remains a major challenge.We investigated the efficacy of straw layering(straw return stratification)on salt leaching in saline-alkali soil under drip irrigation.[Method]The experiment was conducted using soil columns and consisted of three straw treatments:no stratification,a single stratification with a straw layer 5 cm thickness buried at the depth of 20 cm,and double stratification with straw layers of 2.5 cm thickness buried at depths of 20 cm and 40 cm;each straw treatment had two irrigation treatments:freshwater irrigation(0.3 g/L,500 mm;FF)and alternating saline-freshwater irrigation(254 mm saline water+246 mm freshwater;SF).During the experiment,we measured soil water and salt distribution immediately after the irrigation and one year after the irrigation.[Result]All treatments resulted in a significant desalination in the 0-40 cm soil layer.Soil desalination rate after leaching(SDRL)in the FF treatment was 90.9%,78.6%and 76.1%for no stratification,single stratification and double stratification,respectively;their associated salt return rate(SRR)after one year was 432.9%,47.9%and 14.5%,and final soil desalination rate(SDRF)was 42.0%,68.2%,and 71.7%,respectively.The SDRL in SF was 77.7%,89.0%and 78.8%for no stratification,single stratification and double stratification,and their associated SRR values were 185.4%,162.7%,and 76.3%,and SDRF be 35.1%,68.9%,and 62.1%,respectively.[Conclusion]The combination of single straw stratification and alternating saline-freshwater irrigation was most effective for salt leaching and salt return suppression.The combination of double straw stratification and alternating saline-freshwater irrigation showed superior performance in water retention and long-term soil desalination,effectively reducing salt accumulation while maintaining soil structure stability.These results provide valuable insights for saline-alkali soil improvement and efficient utilization of water resources.
Keywords：straw interlayeralternating saline-freshwater irrigationwater-salt movementdesalination efficiencysaline-alkali soil improvement
Publication Date：2026-06-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 130-138 )