Study on the Use of Soda Saline-Alkali Soil As Rice Seedling Raising Soil after Short-Term Improvement

In western Jilin Province, China, the presence of soda saline-alkali soil poses a significant threat to the rice seedlings raising due to its harsh soil properties. The scarcity of suitable seedling-raising soil resources has become increasingly pronounced. A short-term soil improvement experiment was conducted using the original saline-alkali soil sourced from the rice-growing region of Jilin Province, followed by the rice seedlings raising test in the improved soil to identify an effective soil improvement strategy. Four distinct treatments were established: no amendment (JCK), gypsum and straw (JCW), gypsum, straw, and sulfuric acid (JCWH), and gypsum, straw, and chemical fertilizer (JCWF). The effects of these amendment treatments on soil physicochemical properties (pH, EC, exchangeable sodium, total alkalinity) ，as well as soil organic carbon and its components (SOC, HAC, and FAC)were evaluated. The results indicated that, compared to the control, all amendment treatments effectively reduced the average soil pH by 0.53 to 0.79 units and decreased exchangeable sodium by 56.7% to 74.8%. Furthermore, the average soil SOC, HAC, and FAC increased by 48.3%, 89.4%, and 56.0%, respectively. Among the treatments, JCWH proved to be the most effective. After two years of improvement, the rice seedlings in the JCWH treatment soil exhibited the highest dry weight and plant height, surpassing those grown in the farmer's seedling-raising soil.