Evaluation of soil physical obstacles on cropland in Shaanxi Province
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DOI:10.7606/j.issn.1000-7601.2016.03.07
Key Words: crop land soil  physical obstacles  tillage layer  plow pan  compaction  Shaanxi Province
Author NameAffiliation
SHI Lei Soil and Fertilizer Workstation, Department of Agriculture of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710000, China 
XU Ming-xiang Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 
DONG Li-ru Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 
SHI Chen-di Shaanxi Land Engineering Construction Group, Institute of Land Engineering Technology in Shaanxi Province Co., Ltd., Key Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, Ministry of Land and Resources, PRC, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710075, China 
QIU Yu-jie Shaanxi Land Engineering Construction Group, Institute of Land Engineering Technology in Shaanxi Province Co., Ltd., Key Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, Ministry of Land and Resources, PRC, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710075, China 
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Abstract:
      In order to understand the situation of soil physical obstacles on farmland in Shaanxi Province, a comprehensive investigation of soil layer thickness, soil bulk density and compaction was conducted in 1100 plots from 228 sites over the whole province in 2013. Soil physical obstacles were evaluated based on the indicators mentioned above. The results showed that the average thickness of top soil was 17.3 cm in the whole province, and a thinner value of 14.4 cm was found in northern Shaanxi. The average thickness of plow pan was around 20 cm, and 14.5 cm, 18.1 cm and 20.1 cm were present in northern Shaanxi, Guanzhong and southern Shaanxi, respectively. In addition, the bulk density of topsoil averaged at 1.25 g·cm-3 in the whole province. However, bulk density in northern Shaanxi Province was 1.35 g·cm-3 in average. The average bulk density of plow pan was 1.49 g·cm-3 in the province, which was higher than the threshold value of 1.45 g·cm-3 and could be an obstacle for crop root growth. Moreover, the average compaction of tillage layer and plow pan in the province was 781 kPa and 2901 kPa, respectively. The compaction of tillage layer was suitable for crop growth; however, the compaction of plow pan was too tight for crops to growth normally.