Research on the effect of straw mulching on the soil moisture by field experiment in the piedmont plain of the Taihang Mountains

To reveal the influencing effect of the long-term straw mulching on the soil moisture, this paper employed the field experiment data in 2010 of a typical area of Taihang Mountains plain, observed the soil moisture dynamic regularities under different mulching patterns by virtue of depressimeter and neutron probe, analyzed the characteristics of soil water content and storage in different depths and seasons under the long-term straw mulching. The results showed that the long-term straw mulching can keep the soil moisture conservation of the deep, while decreased the shallow. (1) The long-term straw mulching can changed the type of soil water movement. If no straw mulching, the type is mainly evaporation-infiltration. And with straw mantle the type would change into infiltration. The number of zero flux plane would be reduced or absent. (2) The long-term straw mulching can increase the soil water reserves of the whole soil profile with the depth between 0 cm and 220 cm. But the soil water content of the layer from 30 cm to 80 cm decreased and the soil water content of the layer from 80 cm to 220 cm increased instead., The effect of soil moisture conservation on winter wheat is not obvious; (3) With no straw mulching, the depth of infiltration recharge by rainfall or irrigation is shallower than 80 cm. In a straw mulching, the influence depth is can extend to 120 cm; (4) With no straw mulching , there is a deep layer on the depth of 220 cm between March and June, while this layer will disappear with a long-term straw mulching.