The control of Soil drought and the Use Limit of Soil Water Resources by red plum apricot.
As the air temperature increase in the spring, red plum apricot tree planted in the spring begins to bloom on the last teen-day of March and the first teen-day of April. Because of low temperature and frost, all flowers of red plum apricot tree freeze to death on the morning of April 7. Red plum apricot tree germinates on April 30, and then spread and growth. Because some water irrigation and the precipitation in 2018 is 536.2, is 120.6 mm higher than the average of 415.6 mm, see fig.1. and the volumetric water content in the 0 to 290cm soil profile is more than the wilting point, see fig.5 and soil water resources in in the MID is more than the soil water resources use limit by plant, the red plum apricot tree grow well. Up to June 16, new vimen grow up to 45 cm. By the end of the growing season on the October, the width of 1-year-old tree crown reached up to the range from 100 to 120 with an average 110 cm in width, and the longth of 1-year-old tree crown reached up to the range from 120cm to 140 cm with average 130 cm, 1-years-old red plum apricot tree grow well, which lay the foundation for the next years blooming and fruiting.
(Fig.5 Here)
The 23-years-old red plum apricot tree start to bloom in the end of March and the flowers are in full bloom in the first ten-day period of April. The fruit is in the expansion period from the second ten-day period of May to the second ten-day period of June and mature in the in the first ten-day period of July. Unfortunately, all of flowers wilt and die because of serious cool temperature and frost on the April 7, 2018. The 23-years-old red plum apricot tree begins to spreading leaf on April 30, and true leaf develop up to June 16, and grow well, leaf drop in the end of September because some water irrigation and the precipitation is high, the volumetric water content in the 0 to 290cm soil profile is more than the wilting point, and soil water resources in the MID is more than the soil water resources use limit by plant. The precipitation changes with time in 2019 (Fig.6),and the 24-years-old red plum apricot tree grow well and red plum apricot mature because the soil water resource in the MID is more than SWRULP.
(Fig.6 Here)
Discussion
Governed by atmospheric demand, soil water and plant characteristics, plant water relationship is dynamic, complicated, and important to effective water management, particularly to the soil water management in the water limited regions, such as Loess plateau in China. When planting red plum apricot trees, soil water content and the soil water resources in soil root zone are high because the size of canopy and the root system of red plum apricot tree is small. As the trees grow, the leaf area index increases and height growth increases. At the same time, the amount of soil water took up by plant roots would keep rising, which could cause rapid decline of soil water content and soil water resources in the soil root zone even if there are some rise after a rain event, led to the appearance of soil drying and the dried soil layers in the soil profile (Guo and Shao 2003; Guo 2014). Because soil drying have accumulates effect, as the soil drying develop, dried soil layers developed. When the soil drying develop at stage, the permanent dried soil layers, the dried soil layers appears in the soil layer below the MID , the soil drying develop into severe desiccation of soil and red plum apricot cannot extract enough water from the soil to meet the transpiration of the plant, which ultimately resulted in soil degradation and influence the quality and effective of red plum apricot because permanent dried soil layers may cut off the link between soil waters in the soil layers upper than MID and soil layers deep than MID, and affect water circle severely in land (Tian 2010) and sustainable use of soil water resources.
Because severe desiccation of soil and soil degradation does harm to ecological and economy benefit of red plum apricot forest and it is not good for sustainable use of soil water resources and sustainable produce of red plum apricot forest in water-limited regions, we should interfere and control the degree red plum apricot forest use soil water, and evade the severe drying of soil and soil degradation and ensure health of red plum apricot forest ecosystems in water limited regions. Before control of soil degradation, we should select a suitable index to difference severe drying of soil from soil drying before control soil degradation because soil drought is a natural phenomenon, it often happens and we have to make plant to accommodate. Severe drying of soil is a disaster, which causes severe soil degradation and vegetation decline, we have to control it.
There are some soil water deficit indices, such as crop moisture index (Palmer 1968) , soil moisture deficit index, evapotranspiration deficit index, plant water deficit index (Shi and others 2015) .These drought indices divides into meteorological, hydrological and agricultural drought index (Mishra and Singh 2010).Because most of the drought indices are based on meteorological variables (Mckee and others 1993) or on a water balance equation, they do not account for water deficit accumulation or soil water storage (Martínez-Fernández and others 2015), they can not act as a suitable index for distinguishing severe drying of soil from soil drought phenomenon in the red plum apricot forest in the water-limited regions because soil drought is a nature phenomenon, a water deficit accumulation or a decrease in soil water storage in a given soil depth. We have to develop a new index.
Because soil water resources are the soil water storage in soil root zone and can account for soil accumulation drought (Guo 2014),we can use soil water resources in the MID under extreme condition, soil water use control limit by red plum apricot to express the severe drying of soil and act as an suitable soil water management index, that is to say, when the soil depth of DSL equals MID in which soil water resources equal SWRULP, we reduce soil water use by plant to avoid the form of permanent dried soil layers in the soil layers below MID.
Digging method can measure the infiltration depth in farmland, but it cannot be used to determine the depth of infiltration and maximal infiltration depth in the nature soil profile because it destroy soil structure. Two curves method was used to estimate the depth of infiltration and soil water supply for a rain event proposed by Guo (2004), . A series of two curves methods for maximal infiltration depth for a long time infiltration process (Guo and Shao 2009, Guo 2014, 2020).
SWRULP is one of the most important criteria for plants to use soil water rationally (Guo 2010, 2014, 2020,2021a,2021b) , for it integrate soil depth, infiltration depth, wilting point and soil water management requirement and better difference the serious drying of soil from light drying of soil in the forest land. When the soil water resources in the MID equal to SWRULP, we should estimate the SWCCV , especially SWCCV in the kay period of plant water relation regulation (Guo 2021a and 2021b) and regulate the RBSWPG because the environment in which plants are growing is complex, and roots distribution varies with soil depth, and plants absorb water from different soil depth at the same time, and soil water deficit index cannot describe this kind of severe drying of soil. And soil water in the kay period of plant water relation regulation seriously affects plant growth and maximum yield and beneficial results when the soil water resources in the MID equals or smaller than SWRULP.
Conclusion
Soil desiccation is a natural phenomenon and often happens in water-limited regions. Soil desiccation and infiltration has an accumulative effect. When soil desiccation accumulates to a limit, which severely influences the plant growth, causing soil degradation and threatening the quality and economic benefits of red plum apricot. At this time, we should regulate the RBSWPG. For better management of soil water, control of soil degradation and realize sustainable use of soil water resources and high quality production of red plum apricot, we must have a better understanding of the difference between soil desiccation and serious desiccation of soil and determine Soil Water Resources Use Limit by Plant and SWCCV in the key period of plant water relationship regulation and prepare to regulate the RBSWPG when soil desiccation develops to serious desiccation of soil.
The SWRULP can serve as a standard to determine whether or not plant have excessively used soil water resources as well as the theoretic foundation to determine start time of regulating RBSWPG. The Soil Water Resources Use Limit by red plum apricot is 212.7 mm. Because The annual precipitation in 2018 is 536.2 mm, which is 120.6 mm more than the mean precipitation 415.6 mm and the soil water resources is more than the Soil Water Resources Use Limit by red plum apricot of 212.7 mm and red plum apricot grow well, we do not need to regulating RBSWPG. When the soil water resources in the MID of 290 cm has reached the limit, the use of soil water resources by red plum apricot will reach their limit. We have to consider regulate the RBSWPG and realize sustainable use of soil water resources and high quality production of red plum apricot in water-limited regions.
Because the interannual and seasonal variation of precipitation is great in the study site, and the study of soil desiccation and soil degradation effect on red plum apricot need to be continue.
Acknowledgements
This project is supported by National key Research & Development plan(Project No. 2016YFC0501702)and the National Science Foundation of China (Project No: 41071193) .
Additional Information
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
Competing Financial Interests statement :
There is not Competing Financial and non-financial interests
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