Assessment of Reclamation Treatments of Abandoned Farmland in an Arid Region of China

Haichang Yang, Fenghua Zhang, Yun Chen, Tingbao Xu, Zhibo Cheng and Jing Liang
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Haichang Yang: Agricultural College, Shihezi University, Shihezi City 832003, China
Fenghua Zhang: Agricultural College, Shihezi University, Shihezi City 832003, China
Yun Chen: CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Tingbao Xu: Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Zhibo Cheng: Agricultural College, Shihezi University, Shihezi City 832003, China
Jing Liang: Agricultural College, Shihezi University, Shihezi City 832003, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Reclamation of abandoned farmland is crucial to a sustainable agriculture in arid regions. This study aims to evaluate the impact of different reclamation treatments on abandoned salinized farmland. We investigated four artificial reclamation treatments, continuous cotton (CC), continuous alfalfa (CA), tree-wheat intercropping (TW) and trees (TS), which were conducted in 2011–2012 in the Manasi River Basin of Xinjiang Province, China. Soil nutrient, microorganism and enzyme activity were examined in comparison with natural succession (CK) in an integrated analysis on soil fertility improvement and soil salinization control with these reclamations. Results indicate that the four artificial reclamation treatments are more effective approaches than natural restoration to reclaim abandoned farmland. TW and CA significantly increased soil nutrient content compared to CK. CC reduced soil salinity to the lowest level among all treatments. TW significantly enhanced soil enzyme activity. All four artificial reclamations increased soil microbial populations and soil microbial biomass carbon. TW and CA had the greatest overall optimal effects among the four treatments in terms of the ecological outcomes. If both economic benefits and ecological effects are considered, TW would be the best reclamation mode. The findings from this study will assist in selecting a feasible method for reclamation of abandoned farmland for sustainable agriculture in arid regions.

Keywords: abandoned farmland; reclamation treatment; salinity; arid zone; sustainable agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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