Abstract
Soil fertility has an important impact on orchard yield and quality, and sandy soil limits the economic yield of orchards due to its low water and fertilizer retention capacity. Although biochar and alfalfa planting have been widely utilized separately in soil improvement, few studies have examined the effects of combined alfalfa planting and biochar application on jujube orchard soils. This study investigates the effects of alfalfa planting alone and alfalfa planting combined with different levels of biocarbon addition on soil properties. A field experiment was conducted in a jujube orchard in Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Province, with four treatments: clear tillage control (CK), alfalfa planting only (B1), alfalfa planting + 1.5 kg·m−2 biocarbon (B2), and alfalfa planting + 3 kg·m−2 biocarbon (B3). The results show that planting alfalfa significantly increased soil moisture content (SMC) and soil organic matter (SOM) content by 27.79% and 17.65%, respectively, and biochar addition significantly increased soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content by 8.11–37.7%, enhanced the soil moisture content (SMC) by 98.13–100.22%, promoted the growth of alfalfa, and increased vegetation cover (p < 0.05). The combination of biochar and alfalfa improves soil fertility more effectively than alfalfa alone. It can increase the soil N and P nutrient contents, improve soil available nutrients, promote alfalfa growth in a short period, and provide a feasible solution for soil improvement in the future.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Planting alfalfa significantly increased soil moisture content by 27.79% relative to clear tillage control.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.
Medicago sativat0 - Treatment
- planting alfalfae1
- Outcome
- soil moisture content (SMC)e1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 27.79%e1
- Comparator
- clear tillage controle2
- Setting
- Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Provincee3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e1“planting alfalfa significantly increased soil moisture content (SMC) and soil organic matter (SOM) content by 27.79% and 17.65%, respectively”
e2“clear tillage control (CK)”
e3“A field experiment was conducted in a jujube orchard in Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Province”
Claim · model-written summary
Planting alfalfa significantly increased soil organic matter content by 17.65% relative to clear tillage control.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- planting alfalfae1
- Outcome
- soil organic matter (SOM) contente1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 17.65%e1
- Comparator
- clear tillage controle2
- Setting
- Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Provincee3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e1“planting alfalfa significantly increased soil moisture content (SMC) and soil organic matter (SOM) content by 27.79% and 17.65%, respectively”
e2“clear tillage control (CK)”
e3“A field experiment was conducted in a jujube orchard in Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Province”
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar addition significantly increased soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content by 8.11-37.7%.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- biochar additione4
- Outcome
- soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contente4
- Direction
- increasede4
- Value
- 8.11–37.7%e4
- Setting
- Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Provincee3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e4“biochar addition significantly increased soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content by 8.11–37.7%”
e3“A field experiment was conducted in a jujube orchard in Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Province”
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar addition enhanced soil moisture content by 98.13-100.22%.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- biochar additione4
- Outcome
- soil moisture content (SMC)e5
- Direction
- enhancede5
- Value
- 98.13–100.22%e5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e4“biochar addition significantly increased soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content by 8.11–37.7%”
e5“enhanced the soil moisture content (SMC) by 98.13–100.22%”
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar addition promoted the growth of alfalfa.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- biochar additione4
- Outcome
- growth of alfalfae6
- Direction
- promotede6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e4“biochar addition significantly increased soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content by 8.11–37.7%”
e6“promoted the growth of alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar addition increased vegetation cover (p < 0.05).
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- biochar additione4
- Outcome
- vegetation covere7
- Direction
- increasede7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e4“biochar addition significantly increased soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content by 8.11–37.7%”
e7“increased vegetation cover (p < 0.05)”
Claim · model-written summary
The combination of biochar and alfalfa improves soil fertility more effectively than alfalfa alone.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- combination of biochar and alfalfae0
- Outcome
- soil fertilitye0
- Direction
- improvese0
- Comparator
- alfalfa alonee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e0“The combination of biochar and alfalfa improves soil fertility more effectively than alfalfa alone”
Claim · model-written summary
The biochar and alfalfa combination is stated to improve soil available nutrients.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa L.Medicago sativat0
- Treatment
- combination of biochar and alfalfae0
- Outcome
- soil available nutrientse1
- Direction
- improvee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Planting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)”
e0“The combination of biochar and alfalfa improves soil fertility more effectively than alfalfa alone”
e1“improve soil available nutrients”
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