Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Enzyme Activities and Their Dominant Drivers in Salinized Wheat Fields of the Yellow River Delta

Minghui Li, Sijia Guo, Jikun Xu, Sai Guan, Deyong Zhao, Yuxia Wang, Xianrui Song, Jian Li (), Jianlin Wang and Shuaipeng Zhao ()
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Minghui Li: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China
Sijia Guo: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China
Jikun Xu: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China
Sai Guan: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China
Deyong Zhao: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China
Yuxia Wang: The Yellow River Delta Sustainable Development Institute of Shandong Province, Dongying 257100, China
Xianrui Song: The Yellow River Delta Sustainable Development Institute of Shandong Province, Dongying 257100, China
Jian Li: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China
Jianlin Wang: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Shuaipeng Zhao: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256603, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: Soil salinization is one of the most important factors limiting the sustainable development of global agriculture. As the core driving force of the soil carbon cycle, soil-carbon-metabolism-related enzyme activity is very important for soil ecological balance and fertility enhancement. To explore the spatial and temporal variation characteristics and coupling mechanisms of soil water, salt, nutrients and enzyme activities in different salinized wheat fields in the Yellow River Delta, field experiments were conducted in Dongying City, Shandong Province. The results showed that the soil moisture content of the low-salt wheat field was higher and that the salt content of three wheat fields was concentrated in the 0–20 cm and 80–100 cm soil layers. Here, soil nutrients and enzyme activities are concentrated in the 0–20 cm topsoil, with significant differences in different degrees among salinized wheat fields at the different growth stages of wheat. Overall, invertase activity (S-SC) and amylase activity (S-AL) presented a trend of low salt > high salt > medium salt, while cellulase activity (S-CL) presented a trend of medium salt > low salt > high salt. Redundancy analysis showed that available potassium (AK) (67.6%) and electric conductivity (EC) (21.2%) in the low-salinity wheat field, total nitrogen (TN) (48.6%) and AK (28.8%) in the medium-salinity wheat field, and EC (67%) and soil organic matter (SOM) (19%) in the high-salinity wheat field contributed the most to soil enzyme activity. This study provides a theoretical basis for the management and sustainable development of different salinized wheat fields in the Yellow River Delta.

Keywords: salinity gradient; soil carbon-cycle enzymes; coastal solonchaks; enzyme-nutrient coupling; sustainable wheat farming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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