A study on physicochemical properties of salinealkaline grassland soil in Loess Plateau of the north of Shanxi Province

To explore the physicochemistry properties of salinealkaline grassland soil in the Loess Plateau, the soil of salinealkaline grassland at layers of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm, 30-50 cm, 50-75 cm and 75-100 cm were sampled and analyzed in the fall of 2008, the spring and autumn of 2009 respectively. The results indicated that the average soil bulk density of plots was 1.37 to 1.44 g/cm3, and the average specific gravity of soil was 2.67 to 2.81. The soil was sandy loam of the mechanical components. The soil alkalized degree was high with average soil pH between 8.69 to 9.19 and average exchangeable sodium percentage above 20%. The average soil soluble salinity content was between 0.61% to 0.98%, the anion by Cl- and HCO3- primarily and the positive ion by Na+ and Ca2+ primarily. The organic matter and the total nitrogen in the soil were lack.