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Agronomy
Volume 15
Issue 5
10.3390/agronomy15051089
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Effect of Film-Mulching on Soil Evaporation and Plant Transpiration in a Soybean Field in Arid Northwest China

by
Danni Yang
1,2,3,
Chunyu Wang
4,
Zhenyu Guo
5,
Sien Li
6,7,*,
Yingying Sun
1,2,3,
Xiandong Hou
1,2,3 and
Zhenhua Wang
8
1
Institute of Land Engineering and Technology, Shaanxi Provincial Land Engineering Construction Group Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710021, China
2
Shaanxi Agricultural Development Group Co., Ltd., Xianyang 712199, China
3
Key Laboratory of Cultivated Land Quality Monitoring and Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xi’an 710021, China
4
College of Resources and Environment, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
5
Power China Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited, Xi’an 710065, China
6
Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
7
National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station on Efficient Water Use of Oasis Agriculture in Wuwei of Gansu Province, Wuwei 733009, China
8
College of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi City 832003, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2025, 15(5), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051089
Submission received: 19 February 2025 / Revised: 13 March 2025 / Accepted: 23 April 2025 / Published: 29 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Water Use and Irrigation)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Drip irrigation technology, known for its advantages in high water use efficiency and yield increase, has been a focal point of research regarding its combined effects with the plastic film-mulching technique on field water consumption and crop growth. To accurately quantify the water-saving effect of plastic film-mulching techniques and investigate the mechanisms of mulching on evaporation (E) and transpiration (T), this study was conducted on soybean using the Bowen ratio–energy balance system and micro-lysimeters as the observation means and the MSW model as the data partitioning tool, during 2019–2021 in arid northwest China. We compared evapotranspiration (ET) under the film-mulched drip irrigation (FM) and non-mulched drip irrigation (NM) treatments. The results show that ET, E, and T under FM were reduced by 32.6 mm, 76.1 mm, and −43.5 mm, respectively. Moreover, mulching increased the leaf area index (LAI) by 20.7%, soybean yield from 2727.0 kg ha−1 to 3250.5 kg ha−1, and WUE from 0.64 kg m−3 to 0.83 kg m−3 on average, which means mulching reduced water consumption in the field by decreasing soil evaporation and improved water use efficiency by promoting crop growth. Further analysis indicated that mulching has strengthened the connection between soil temperature and humidity and weakened the effect of soil temperature on soybean leaf growth. Soil water content (SWC) and LAI had a direct negative effect on E, with LAI causing a stronger effect on E under the FM treatment. Mulching has weakened the direct effect of SWC on T, so that only LAI and soil temperature had a significant direct positive effect on T. Following the rapid growth of soybean LAI, the isolating effect of the mulch was gradually replaced by the dense leaf canopy. The results provide a reference for further exploring the water-saving and yield-increasing benefits of plastic film-mulching techniques, and to facilitate wider promotion of the plastic film-mulching techniques and the water–fertilizer integration technology in arid regions.
Keywords: film-mulched drip irrigation; field evapotranspiration; Bowen ratio–energy balance system; leaf area index film-mulched drip irrigation; field evapotranspiration; Bowen ratio–energy balance system; leaf area index

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MDPI and ACS Style

Yang, D.; Wang, C.; Guo, Z.; Li, S.; Sun, Y.; Hou, X.; Wang, Z. Effect of Film-Mulching on Soil Evaporation and Plant Transpiration in a Soybean Field in Arid Northwest China. Agronomy 2025, 15, 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051089

AMA Style

Yang D, Wang C, Guo Z, Li S, Sun Y, Hou X, Wang Z. Effect of Film-Mulching on Soil Evaporation and Plant Transpiration in a Soybean Field in Arid Northwest China. Agronomy. 2025; 15(5):1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051089

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yang, Danni, Chunyu Wang, Zhenyu Guo, Sien Li, Yingying Sun, Xiandong Hou, and Zhenhua Wang. 2025. "Effect of Film-Mulching on Soil Evaporation and Plant Transpiration in a Soybean Field in Arid Northwest China" Agronomy 15, no. 5: 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051089

APA Style

Yang, D., Wang, C., Guo, Z., Li, S., Sun, Y., Hou, X., & Wang, Z. (2025). Effect of Film-Mulching on Soil Evaporation and Plant Transpiration in a Soybean Field in Arid Northwest China. Agronomy, 15(5), 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051089

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