Soil Amendment Combining Bentonite and Maize Straw Improves Soil Quality Cropped to Oat in a Semi-Arid Region

Soil amendments have been proposed as an effective way to enhance soil carbon stocks on degraded soils, particularly in dryland farming areas. Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in improving soil quality, and soil aggregates are known to be crucial in sequestering and protecting SOC. However, how aggregation and protection of SOC by aggregates respond to a single application of bentonite combined with maize straw remains unknown, especially in the sandy soil of a semi-arid region. A three-year field experiment with four treatments [no amendment (CK), maize straw amendment addition only (T1, 6 Mg ha(-1)), bentonite amendment addition only (T2, 18 Mg ha(-1)), and maize straw combined with bentonite amendment (T3, 6 Mg ha(-1) maize straw plus 18 Mg ha(-1) bentonite)] was conducted in the Loess Plateau of China to assess the effects of bentonite and maize straw on aggregation and SOC. The results indicated that soil bulk density decreased by 2.72-5.42%, and soil porosity increased by 3.38-8.77% with three years of T3 application, especially in the 20-40 cm layer, compared with CK. T3 increased the amount of C input, SOC stock, and SOC stock sequestration rate by 1.04 Mg ha(-1) y(-1), 0.84-1.08 Mg ha(-1), and 0.49 Mg ha(-1) y(-1), respectively, and it increased the mass proportions and aggregate-associated C stock of >0.25 mm aggregates by 1.15-2.51- and 1.59-2.96-fold compared with CK. Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation of total SOC stock with the C concentration of >2 mm, 0.25-2 mm, and 0.053-0.25 mm aggregates. Aggregates of various sizes in sandy soils have the potential for greater SOC stock. Our findings suggest that the application of maize straw (6 Mg ha(-1)) combined with bentonite (18 Mg ha(-1)) would be an effective management strategy to enhance the bulk soil C pools by improving the soil structure and thereby improving soil fertility.