Soil quality assessment provides a tool for agriculture managers and policy makers to gain a better understanding of how various agricultural systems affect soil resources. Soil quality of Hailun County, a typical soybean （Glycine max L. Merill） growing area located in Northeast China, was evaluated using soil quality index （SQI） methods. Each SQI was computed using a minimum data set （MDS） selected using principal components analysis （PCA） as a data reduction technique. Eight MDS indicators were selected from 20 physical and chemical soil measurements. The MDS accounted for 74.9% of the total variance in the total data set （TDS）. The SQI values for 88 soil samples were evaluated with linear scoring techniques and various weight methods. The results showed that SQI values correlated well with soybean yield （r = 0.658＊＊） when indicators in MDS were weighted by the regression coefficient computed for each yield and index. Stepwise regression between yield and principal components （PCs） indicated that available boron （AvB）, available phosphorus （AvP）, available potassium （AvK）, available iron （AvFe） and texture were the main factors limiting soybean yield. The method used to select an MDS could not only appropriately assess soil quality but also be used as a powerful tool for soil nutrient diagnosis at the regional level.
Soil aggregates are an important controlling factor for the physico-chemical and biological processes such as ammonium(NH;) retention. Straw return to the field is increasingly recommended to promote soil carbon(C) sequestration and improve crop yields. However, the effects of straw return on NH;retention at soil aggregate level in agricultural soils have seldom been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the influences of long-term straw return on NH;adsorption and fixation in microaggregates(<0.25 mm) with or without soil organic carbon(SOC) oxidization. Soil samples were collected from plots of three treatments, i.e., no fertilizer(CK), inorganic NPK fertilizers(NPK), and inorganic NPK fertilizers with rice straw return(NPKS), from a 20-year-old field trial with rice-wheat rotations in Taihu Lake Region, China. Soil aggregates were separated using wet-sieving method. The SOC of microaggregates was oxidized by H;O;. The results showed that longterm straw return significantly increased SOC and NH;adsorption, but inhibited NH;fixation in microaggregates. NH;adsorption potential and strength-obtained from adsorption isotherms-increased, but NH;fixation decreased along with increasing SOC in microaggregates, indicating the important role of SOC in NH;adsorption and fixation. This was verified by the SOC oxidization test that showed a relative decrease in NH;adsorption potential for the NPKS treatment and an increase in NH;fixation in all three treatments. Therefore, long-term straw return influences NH;adsorption and fixation by enhancing SOC content and could improve N availability for crop uptake and minimize applied N fertilizer losses in rice-wheat cropping systems.
