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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2017, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (5): 1611-1618.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.201705.022

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Effects of fertilizing regime and planting age on soil calcium decline in Luochuan apple orchards

LI Peng1,2, LI Chun-yue3, WANG Yi-quan1*, JIAO Cai-qiang1   

  1. 1College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;
    2Gui-dance Center for the Development of ‘One Village One Brand’ Campaign of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an 710003, China;
    3College of Tourism and Environment Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
  • Received:2016-11-21 Revised:2017-02-17 Published:2017-05-18
  • Contact: *E-mail: soilphysics@163.com
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501255), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (GK201603073), the Apple Orchard Biogas Fertilizer Application Technology Research and Demonstration Project of the Ministry of Agriculture (K312021012), and the Agricultural Special Fund Project of Shaanxi Pro-vince in 2013 (K332021312)

Abstract: This study was conducted to assess the effects of fertilizing regime and orchard planting age on soil calcium contents and stocks in the apple orchards on the Loess Plateau. The apple orchards in Luochuan County, one of the best regions for apple plantation in the world, were selec-ted in this study. The contents of calcium carbonate,water-soluble calcium and exchangeable cal-cium at 0-100 cm soil layer under different fertilizing regimes and various planting ages were mea-sured, their stocks were calculated and their variation features were analyzed. The results showed that soil in the apple orchards in the study region was characterized by the decline in calcium contents. The decline was more serious in apple orchards with long-term application of chemical fertili-zer than in those with combined application of chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure. The average contents of calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium at 0-100 cm soil layer in apple orchards with long-term application of chemical fertilizer decreased by 38.8%, 25.4% and 5.6% respectively than those in the apple orchards with long-term application of both chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure. The stocks of calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium decreased by 36.4%, 26.0% and 4.3%, respectively. The decline of soil cal-cium was aggravated with the increase of orchard planting age. The contents of calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium at 0-100 cm soil layer in orchards of more than 25 years of planting age decreased by 48.8%, 69.4% and 39.5% respectively, compared with orchards of less than 10 years of planting age, and the stocks decreased by 40.8%, 64.1% and 33.0%, respectively. These results indicated that either long-term application of chemical fertilizer or long-term plantation of apple trees obviously depleted soil calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium. Therefore, it was recommended that application of chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure should be combined to mitigate soil calcium decline, and calcium management should be strengthened in apple orchards of more than 25 years of planting age. The fertilizing regime was a driving factor of soil calcium decline which had a significant temporal (orchard planting age) and spatial (soil depth) effect.