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Agronomy
Special Issues
Efficient Utilization of Soil and Water Resources in Agroforestry Systems
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Efficient Utilization of Soil and Water Resources in Agroforestry Systems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Agroecology Innovation: Achieving System Resilience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2023) | Viewed by 4468

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ruoshui Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: water and fertilizer regulation in compound agroforestry system; water and salt regulation in saline-alkali land drip irrigation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yuguo Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: crop and water; nitrogen and phosphorus migration; non-point source pollution control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tibin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center for Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; soil salinity management; soil-crop interaction; amelioration of low-quality crop lands
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agroforestry is a traditional and widely used method of land management in which perennial woody plants are purposefully planted on the same land as agricultural crops or grass to achieve a variety of ecological and economic benefits. Efficient utilization of soil and water resources is the key factor for the sustainable development of the agroforestry system. The allocation of soil nutrients and water in agroforestry systems is the result of dynamic interactions between the plant roots and canopies, and between the intercropping plants and the environment, which is far more complex than in monoculture systems. Understanding soil nutrient and water acquisition strategies and mechanisms of competition and complementarity between trees and crops is essential for optimizing water and fertilizer management in agroforestry systems. However, due to the multidimensional complexity, there are still some gaps in the understanding of the efficient utilization of water and fertilizer in agroforestry systems.

We welcome any studies that meet the aims and scope of efficient utilization of soil and water resources in agroforestry systems. The themes can include, but are not limited to:

  • Explore the competition and complementary mechanism of soil nutrients and water in the agroforestry system;
  • Optimize irrigation and fertilization strategies for the agroforestry system.

Dr. Ruoshui Wang
Dr. Yuguo Han
Dr. Tibin Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • agroforestry system
  • soil nutrient and water
  • interspecific competition and complementarity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3246 KiB  
Article
Effects of Different Green Manure Crops on Soil Water, Nitrogen, and Yield: Preliminary Results in an Apple Orchard on the Loess Plateau, China
by Qing Liang, Tibin Zhang, Zhenyuan Liu, Weiqiang Gao, Yu Cheng and Hao Feng
Agronomy 2023, 13(8), 2009; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13082009 - 28 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 980
Abstract
Green manure crops intercropping is an effective agricultural practice to alleviate water and nutrient deficit by improving soil properties in the Loess Plateau of China. However, green manure crops intercropping could cause water and nutrient competition, but the effects of different green manure [...] Read more.
Green manure crops intercropping is an effective agricultural practice to alleviate water and nutrient deficit by improving soil properties in the Loess Plateau of China. However, green manure crops intercropping could cause water and nutrient competition, but the effects of different green manure crops intercropping on soil water and nutrient status are rarely evaluated. Thus, we conducted a field experiment to investigate the responses of soil moisture, nitrogen, and yield to green manure crops intercropping. Three intercropping patterns, apple–ryegrass (AR), apple–spring rape (AS), and apple–alfalfa (AA), were set up with a blank control (CK), which employed clean tillage in the inter-row and row. All treatments had no significant difference on evapotranspiration. At maturity, AR, AS, and AA treatments reduced soil organic matter content by 4.2%, 6.5%, and 18.8%, and total nitrogen content by 0.01%, 1.3%, and 20.3%, relative to CK, respectively. The water competition degree in AR, AS, and AA were 38.4%, 48.8%, and 64.6%, respectively. Ryegrass, spring rape, and alfalfa’s nitrogen use efficiency were 19.71%, 29.24%, and 39.42%, respectively. AR and AS treatments increased the apple yield by 11.7% and 5.7%, and water-use efficiency (WUE) by 14.4% and 7.5%, relative to CK, respectively. AA treatment reduced the apple yield by 6.9% and WUE by 6.8%, relative to CK. All treatments had no significant difference on apple quality. Therefore, in normal water years, we suggest adapting the ryegrass–apple tree intercropping pattern for apple production on the Plateau Loess, China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Efficient Utilization of Soil and Water Resources in Agroforestry Systems)
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16 pages, 30281 KiB  
Article
Effects of Different Micro-Irrigation Methods on Water Use and the Economic Benefits of an Apple–Soybean Intercropping System
by Houshuai Dai, Ruoshui Wang, Li Chen, Lisha Wang, Chang Xiong, Xin Wang and Meng Zhang
Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 1143; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041143 - 17 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1361
Abstract
Intercropping systems reduce ineffective evaporation between trees but also intensify interspecific competition and reduce productivity. To improve the water-use efficiency and the economic benefits of an intercropping system on the Loess Plateau, China, where rainfall is limited and evaporation intense, an apple–soybean intercropping [...] Read more.
Intercropping systems reduce ineffective evaporation between trees but also intensify interspecific competition and reduce productivity. To improve the water-use efficiency and the economic benefits of an intercropping system on the Loess Plateau, China, where rainfall is limited and evaporation intense, an apple–soybean intercropping system with micro-irrigation water control was adopted to analyze the soil water, root density, water-use efficiency, yield, and economic benefits of intercropping under different micro-irrigation methods. Subsurface seepage irrigation, bubbler irrigation, and drip irrigation under mulching were used with irrigation upper limit levels of three maximum irrigation levels [60% (W1), 75% (W2), and 90% (W3) of field capacity (FC)]. Rainwater harvesting from ridges and furrows (GL) without irrigation was the control. Bubbler irrigation increased the soil water content, optimized the vertical soil water distribution, and promoted root growth. Except for the control treatment (GL), the other micro-irrigation treatments increased with the irrigation amount, but the water-use efficiency decreased. Drip irrigation under mulch combined with W2 (75% Fc) irrigation could obtain the maximum intercropping yield, which was increased by 71.1% compared with the GL treatment. Drip irrigation under a mulch combined with W2 produced the maximum intercropping yield; the economic benefits were higher under drip irrigation with mulching combined with W1; and all three micro-irrigation methods combined with W2 improved the economic benefits by 52.1–115.5% compared to GL. Drip irrigation under mulching or bubbler irrigation combined with W2 should be used when there are sufficient water resources, but drip irrigation under a mulch combined with W1 when there is a water shortage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Efficient Utilization of Soil and Water Resources in Agroforestry Systems)
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17 pages, 3027 KiB  
Article
Effects of Different Soil Water and Heat Regulation Patterns on the Physiological Growth and Water Use in an Apple–Soybean Intercropping System
by Lisha Wang, Ruoshui Wang, Chengwei Luo, Houshuai Dai, Chang Xiong, Xin Wang, Meng Zhang and Wan Xiao
Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 511; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020511 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1415
Abstract
In this study, a typical apple–soybean intercropping system was used to analyze the effects of different soil water and heat regulation modes on the spatial distribution of the soil water content (SWC), photosynthetic physiological characteristics, and growth. Three maximum irrigation levels [50% (W1), [...] Read more.
In this study, a typical apple–soybean intercropping system was used to analyze the effects of different soil water and heat regulation modes on the spatial distribution of the soil water content (SWC), photosynthetic physiological characteristics, and growth. Three maximum irrigation levels [50% (W1), 65% (W2), and 80% (W3) of field capacity (FC)] and two mulching intervals [from seedling to podding stage (M1) and during the full stage (M2) of soybeans] were tested. The results showed that the SWC of W3M2 was the highest, while the W2M1 and W1M2 treatments used more deep soil water. Irrigation increased the chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis, and transpiration rate of leaves in the agroforestry system. In addition, the net photosynthetic rate of leaves under the W2 irrigation level increased after mulch removal in the later growth stage. At W1 and W2 irrigation levels, the soybean yield of half-stage mulching was 0.85–15.49% higher than that of full-stage mulching. Multiple regression analysis showed that grain yield under the W3M2 treatment reached the maximum value of the fitting equation. The photosynthetic rate, water use efficiency, and grain yield under W2M1 reached 71–86% of the maximum value of the fitting equation, with the largest soil plant analysis development value. To effectively alleviate water competition in the apple–soybean intercropping system, our results suggest adoption of the 80% FC upper irrigation limit (W3) combined with soybean M2 treatment in young apple trees–soybean intercropping system during water abundant years. In addition, adoption of the 65% FC upper irrigation limit (W2) combined with the soybean M1 treatment in water deficit years could effectively improve soil water, heat environment, and promote growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Efficient Utilization of Soil and Water Resources in Agroforestry Systems)
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