Effects of Halogeton arachnoideus on saline soil improvement

Abstract:The effect of Halogeton arachnoideus on improving saline soil was studied with two treatments (T1, naturally grown H. arachnoideus and T2, planted H. arachnoideus) and bare land as CK. The results indicated that the salt content of saline soil (soluble salt content was 0.49%) was significantly reduced by H. arachnoideus. The salt contents of T1 and T2 were reduced by 28.57% and 32.65 % after one year in the soil layer from 0 to 20 cm, respectively, but showed less change in the soil layer from 20 to 40 cm. After one growing season, the total soil salt content was reduced from11.172 t/ha to 8.738 t/ha. Accordingly, the soil pH value in the soil layer from 0 to 20 cm was reduced by 0.13 to 0.14 units. These results suggested that planting H. arachnoideus could be an effective method to improve saline soil.