{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T04:20:13Z","timestamp":1772252413715,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]],"date-time":"2022-03-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648598400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100016692","name":"Key R&amp;D Program of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["(2021BBF03001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["(2021BBF03001"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100016692","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["31160267"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31160267"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Agronomy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Degraded soils (including salinized, eroded, and low organic matter) resulting from natural and human effects are universal in arid and semi-arid regions all over the world. Bentonite and humic acid (BHA) are increasingly being tested to remediate these degraded lands, with potential benefits on crop production and soil health. A field study was conducted to quantify the effects of BHA application at six rates (0, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 Mg ha\u22121) on (i) dynamic changes in soil properties and (ii) oat crop productivity parameters in a dryland farming ecosystem. The specific objective of this paper was to determine the residual effects four to five years after a one-time BHA application on soil health and crop performance. The findings demonstrated that with the increasing rates of one-time BHA application, soil profile water storage displayed a piecewise linear plus plateau increase, whereas soil electrical conductivity, pH, and bulk density were all reduced significantly (p &lt; 0.05) in the 0\u201320 cm and 20\u201360 cm layers. The improved soil environments gave rise to an increased activity of soil enzymes urease, invertase, and catalase that, respectively, reached peak values of 97%, 37%, and 32% of the control at the rates of 18 to 24 Mg BHA ha\u22121. In turn, this boosted soil nutrient turnover, leading to a 40% higher soil available P. Compared with the control treatment, application of BHA at the estimated optimum rate (roughly 24 Mg ha\u22121) increased grain yield by 20%, protein yield by 62%, water use efficiency by 41%, and partial factor productivity of N by 20%. The results of this study indicated for the first time that a one-time BHA application would be a new and effective strategy to combat land degradation and drought, and promote a sustainable soil micro-ecological environment in dryland agroecosystems under a varying climate scenario.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy12040853","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]],"date-time":"2022-03-30T21:22:14Z","timestamp":1648675334000},"page":"853","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Residual Effect of Bentonite-Humic Acid Amendment on Soil Health and Crop Performance 4\u20135 Years after Initial Application in a Dryland Ecosystem"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3326-2317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bin","family":"Ma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Desertification Control, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan 750002, China"},{"name":"Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada"},{"name":"National Outstanding Agriculture Research Talents Innovation Team, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yangmei","family":"Bao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Desertification Control, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan 750002, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8328-9481","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Baoluo","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Neil B.","family":"McLaughlin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ming","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Desertification Control, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan 750002, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jinghui","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Outstanding Agriculture Research Talents Innovation Team, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4509","DOI":"10.1002\/ldr.4056","article-title":"Climate change-triggered land degradation and planetary health: A review","volume":"32","author":"Talukder","year":"2021","journal-title":"Land Degrad. Dev."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geoderma.2013.08.013","article-title":"The dimensions of soil security","volume":"213","author":"McBratney","year":"2014","journal-title":"Geoderma"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fcr.2017.07.009","article-title":"Effect of bentonite amendment on soil hydraulic parameters and millet crop performance in a semi-arid region","volume":"212","author":"Mi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Field Crops Res."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1091","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molliq.2017.06.115","article-title":"A comprehensive review on recent developments in bentonite-based materials used as adsorbents for wastewater treatment","volume":"241","author":"Pandey","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Mol. Liq."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, Q., Slan\u00fd, M., Gu, X., Miao, Z., Du, W., Zhang, J., and Gang, C. (2022). Lubricity and rheological properties of highly dispersed graphite in clay-water-based drilling fluids. Materials, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma15031083"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"213","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1004412512557","article-title":"Effect of biotite, zeolite, heavy clay, bentonite and apatite on the uptake of radiocesium by grass from peat soil","volume":"206","author":"Paasikallio","year":"1999","journal-title":"Plant Soil"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geoderma.2018.12.014","article-title":"Effect of bentonite-humic acid application on the improvement of soil structure and maize yield in a sandy soil of a semi-arid region","volume":"338","author":"Zhou","year":"2019","journal-title":"Geoderma"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2004.09.019","article-title":"Effect of drip irrigation on squash (Cucurbita pepo) yield and water-use efficiency in sandy calcareous soils amended with clay deposits","volume":"73","author":"Sheta","year":"2005","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Piccolo, A. (2002). The Supramolecular Structure of Humic Substances: A Novel Understanding of Humus Chemistry and Implications in Soil Science, Advances in Agronomy, Academic Press.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2113(02)75003-7"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geoderma.2017.05.022","article-title":"Comparative effects of lignite-derived humic acids and FYM on soil properties and vegetable yield","volume":"303","author":"Ciarkowska","year":"2017","journal-title":"Geoderma"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1007\/s11104-012-1191-x","article-title":"Microarray analysis of humic acid effects on Brassica napus growth: Involvement of N, C and S metabolisms","volume":"359","author":"Jannin","year":"2012","journal-title":"Plant Soil"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105306","DOI":"10.1016\/j.still.2021.105306","article-title":"Improvement in dryland crop performance and soil properties with multiple annual applications of lignite-derived humic amendment","volume":"218","author":"Ma","year":"2022","journal-title":"Soil Tillage Res."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.4141\/S01-026","article-title":"Soil bulk density effects on soil microbial populations and enzyme activities during the growth of maize (Zea mays L.) planted in large pots under field exposure","volume":"82","author":"Li","year":"2002","journal-title":"Can. J. Soil Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1016\/j.soilbio.2013.12.017","article-title":"Interactive effects of temperature and soil moisture on fungal-mediated wood decomposition and extracellular enzyme activity","volume":"70","author":"Jones","year":"2014","journal-title":"Soil Biol. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103251","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejsobi.2020.103251","article-title":"Changes in soil biochemical properties following application of bentonite as a soil amendment","volume":"102","author":"Mi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur. J. Soil Biol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"542","DOI":"10.1139\/cjss-2018-0011","article-title":"Effects of a one-time application of bentonite on soil enzymes in a semi-arid region","volume":"98","author":"Mi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Can. J. Soil Sci."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14196","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms14196","article-title":"Climate change reduces extent of temperate drylands and intensifies drought in deep soils","volume":"8","author":"Schlaepfer","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chemosphere.2015.06.044","article-title":"Contrasting effects of biochar versus manure on soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in an Aridisol","volume":"142","author":"Elzobair","year":"2016","journal-title":"Chemosphere"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.still.2005.08.016","article-title":"Chemical and biochemical properties in a silty loam soil under conventional and organic management","volume":"90","author":"Melero","year":"2006","journal-title":"Soil Tillage Res."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1033","DOI":"10.2134\/jeq2011.0126","article-title":"Biochar and manure affect calcareous soil and corn silage nutrient concentrations and uptake","volume":"41","author":"Lentz","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Environ. Qual."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2072","DOI":"10.1007\/s11368-016-1406-5","article-title":"Clay amendment to sandy soil\u2014effect of clay concentration and ped size on nutrient dynamics after residue addition","volume":"16","author":"Tahir","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Soils Sediments"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.2136\/sssaj1964.03615995002800020040x","article-title":"Field experiments on sealing permeable fine sand with bentonite","volume":"28","author":"Rollins","year":"1964","journal-title":"Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geoderma.2015.02.014","article-title":"Are soil\u2013water functions affected by biochar application?","volume":"249\u2013250","author":"Ojeda","year":"2015","journal-title":"Geoderma"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1213","DOI":"10.4141\/cjps2011-167","article-title":"Comparisons among cultivars of wheat, hulled and hulless oats: Effects of N fertilization on growth and yield","volume":"92","author":"Ma","year":"2012","journal-title":"Can. J. Plant Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"312","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geoderma.2017.03.019","article-title":"Prolonged recovery of acid sulfate soils with sulfuric materials following severe drought: Causes and implications","volume":"308","author":"Mosley","year":"2017","journal-title":"Geoderma"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eja.2018.12.010","article-title":"Erect\u2013leaf posture promotes lodging resistance in oat plants under high plant population","volume":"103","author":"Wu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur. J. Agron."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.1071\/CP10372","article-title":"Climate change in south-west Australia and north-west China: Challenges and opportunities for crop production","volume":"62","author":"Turner","year":"2011","journal-title":"Crop Pasture Sci."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1002\/jsfa.6729","article-title":"Characterization of nitrogen and water status in oat leaves using optical sensing approach","volume":"95","author":"Zhao","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Sci. Food Agric."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1469","DOI":"10.1007\/s10021-014-9808-y","article-title":"Ecohydrology of dry regions: Storage versus pulse soil water dynamics","volume":"17","author":"Lauenroth","year":"2014","journal-title":"Ecosystems"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1176","DOI":"10.1002\/ldr.3482","article-title":"Exploring soil amendment strategies with polyacrylamide to improve soil health and oat productivity in a dryland farming ecosystem: One-time versus repeated annual application","volume":"31","author":"Ma","year":"2020","journal-title":"Land Degrad. Dev."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1016\/0016-7061(83)90090-3","article-title":"Soils of the loess region in China","volume":"29","author":"Zhu","year":"1983","journal-title":"Geoderma"},{"key":"ref_32","first-page":"115985","article-title":"A review on the valorisation of food waste as a nutrient source and soil amendment","volume":"12","author":"Hoang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environ. Pollut."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pansu, M., and Gautheyrou, J. (2007). Handbook of Soil Analysis: Mineralogical, Organic and Inorganic Methods, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-540-31211-6"},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"Guan, S., Zhang, D., and Zhang, Z. (1986). Soil Enzyme and Its Research Methods, Agriculture Press."},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"55","article-title":"Ein kolorimetrisches verfahren zur bestimmung der ureaseaktivit\u00e4t in b\u00f6den","volume":"95","author":"Hoffmann","year":"1961","journal-title":"J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02181348","article-title":"Method of measuring invertase activity in soils","volume":"74","author":"Frankenberger","year":"1983","journal-title":"Plant Soil"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.2136\/sssaj1964.03615995002800020024x","article-title":"Some variables affecting the measurement of \u201ccatalase activity\u201d in soil1","volume":"28","author":"Johnson","year":"1964","journal-title":"Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Maclean, W., Harnly, J., Chen, J., Chevassus-Agnes, S., Gilani, G., Livesey, G., and Warwick, P. (2003). Food Energy\u2013Methods of Analysis and Conversion Factors, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Technical Workshop Report."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fcr.2011.06.014","article-title":"Responses of rainwater conservation, precipitation-use efficiency and grain yield of summer maize to a furrow-planting and straw-mulching system in northern China","volume":"124","author":"Wang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Field Crops Res."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1243","DOI":"10.2134\/agronj13.0487","article-title":"Concurrent improvement in maize yield and nitrogen use efficiency with integrated agronomic management strategies","volume":"106","author":"Wang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Agron. J."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1016\/0169-1317(94)90030-2","article-title":"Improvement of sandy soils by clay-substrate application","volume":"9","author":"Reuter","year":"1994","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"42","article-title":"Effect of different bentoniite on soil capacity of water-holding and oats yield in rainfed field","volume":"24","author":"Ma","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acta Agric. Boreali-Occident. Sin."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"455","DOI":"10.1016\/j.soilbio.2004.08.004","article-title":"Drought decreases soil enzyme activity in a Mediterranean Quercus ilex L. forest","volume":"37","author":"Sardans","year":"2005","journal-title":"Soil Biol. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1016\/j.soilbio.2016.12.027","article-title":"Tannins can slow-down but also speed-up soil enzymatic activity in boreal forest","volume":"107","author":"Adamczyk","year":"2017","journal-title":"Soil Biol. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gca.2007.10.005","article-title":"Microbial release of potassium from K-bearing minerals by thermophilic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus","volume":"72","author":"Lian","year":"2008","journal-title":"Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"350","DOI":"10.1016\/j.soilbio.2017.11.006","article-title":"Methodological recommendations for optimizing assays of enzyme activities in soil samples","volume":"125","author":"Margenot","year":"2018","journal-title":"Soil Biol. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"692","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tree.2014.10.006","article-title":"Going underground: Root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes","volume":"29","author":"Bardgett","year":"2014","journal-title":"Trends Ecol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2139","DOI":"10.1080\/01904167.2011.618574","article-title":"Leaf photosynthesis, biomass production and water and nitrogen use efficiencies of two contrasting naked vs. hulled oat genotypes subjected to water and nitrogen stresses","volume":"34","author":"Zhao","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Plant Nutr."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"874","DOI":"10.1097\/00010694-199012000-00007","article-title":"Salinity and moisture responses in wood residue amended bentonite mine spoil","volume":"150","author":"Belden","year":"1990","journal-title":"Soil Sci."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geoderma.2018.06.014","article-title":"Impact of biochar addition on soil properties and water-fertilizer productivity of tomato in semi-arid region of Inner Mongolia, China","volume":"331","author":"Li","year":"2018","journal-title":"Geoderma"}],"container-title":["Agronomy"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4395\/12\/4\/853\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T22:46:51Z","timestamp":1760136411000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4395\/12\/4\/853"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4]]}},"alternative-id":["agronomy12040853"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/agronomy12040853","relation":{"has-preprint":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.20944\/preprints202203.0008.v1","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2073-4395"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-4395","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]]}}}