Effects of soil conditioners on growth of different forage species and soil moisture in karst region

In the present study, the effects of soil conditioners on growth of different forage species including Paspalum thunbergii, Lolium perenne, Dolichos lablab and soil moisture on karst were evaluated using pot experiments. Under the same soil conditions and water management, there were obvious differences (P>0.05) between the biomass of these three forages which were D. lablab >P. thunbergii>L. perenne whereas the soil moisture change in the opposite order and differed significantly. The soil moisture in the field of P. thunbergii increased by 15.4% and 31.1% compared with that of L. perenne and D. lablab, respectively. The soil water holding capacity of P. thunbergii was obviously higher than that of D. lablab. With the conditions of no precipitation for 10 days and 5% straw biochar, the soil moisture of P. thunbergii, D. lablab and L. perenne, increased 17.9%、17.4% and 19.8%, respectively. The experimental results indicated that the application of P. thunbergii could increase the soil moisture and the improvement can be promoted by adding straw biochar.