Effects of liquid film mulching on soil properties of Platycladus orientalis stand in the hilly-gully region of Loess Plateau, western China

Water shortage is the main factor influencing vegetation restoration in the hilly and gully region of Loess Plateau of western China. Understanding the effect of spraying liquid film in the Platycladusorientalis forest land on soil moisture and nutrient status would help us solve the problem of water and nutrition deficiencies in the course of vegetation restoration. The results showed that: 1) In the first measurement after spraying liquid film, the amounts of decrease in the soil moisture content in the 0 -10cm,>10 -20 cm,>20 -40 cm,>40 -60 cm soil layers were 0.26%, 0.04%, 0.08% and 0.05%less than that in control. Measurement after rain found that the decrease in soil moisture content of eachsoil layer was 1.35%, 1.28%, 0.52% and 0.23% less compared to the control, respectively. 2)Liquid film after decomposition can effectively increase the contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N. Soil total N content was 0.11 g/ kg higher and SOC content was 4.27 g/ kg higher than the control in 0 -10 cm layer. 3) After treatment, the average increment of the height of P. orientalis was 231% from August to September and 224% from September to October, compared to the control, and theaverage increment of diameter was 305% and 261% during the corresponding periods. Our study suggests that the liquid film should be applied in the loess plateau region.