{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:24:10Z","timestamp":1787117050156,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786924800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Special Project of Scientific and Technological Cooperation and Exchange of Shanxi Province","award":["202404041101031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202404041101031"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013317","name":"Key Research and Development Program of Shanxi Province","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["202402140601007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202402140601007"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013317","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Shanxi Basic Research Project","award":["202303021212119"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202303021212119"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this study, we synthesized a lignin-based superabsorbent hydrogel (LWR) to relieve severe evaporation and structural degradation in inland saline\u2013alkali soils. The LWR was prepared via free-radical graft copolymerization of calcium lignosulfonate (CL) and acrylic acid (AA), with its swelling performance optimized systematically. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize its chemical and microscopic structure, and the soil column was exposed to three drying\u2013wetting cycles to explore the effects of hydrogel dosage on soil evaporation and crack evolution. CL may graft into polyacrylic acid under optimal conditions (60% AA neutralization, 4% CL, 1% initiator, and 0.03% crosslinker) to form a porous hydrophilic 3D network. Consequently, the optimized LWR achieved swelling capacities of 1480 g\/g and 122 g\/g in deionized water and a 0.9% NaCl solution, respectively, showing high water absorbency and salt resistance. During cyclic drying and wetting, soil evaporation was first dominated by the hydrogel\u2019s water retention capabilities; then, it was controlled physically by soil surface cracks. A moderate LWR dosage of 0.3% was used to maintain stable water retention in soil and the intact soil structure, which likely occurred due to its strong water absorption and hypothesized calcium ion bridging anti-cracking interactions. This work overturns the traditional view that a higher hydrogel dosage yields better water retention. Instead, it highlights the importance of conducting a long-term joint evaluation of the hydrogel\u2019s water retention capacity and its resistance to soil dry\u2013wet deformation stress, thereby offering theoretical support for eco-friendly water retention agent design and saline\u2013alkali land remediation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels12080734","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T12:01:26Z","timestamp":1786968086000},"page":"734","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Synthesizing a Calcium Lignosulfonate Composite Water Retention Agent and Evaluating Its Regulatory Effect on Water Evaporation and Crack Evolution in Saline\u2013Alkali Soil"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Xiaojing","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China"},{"name":"Soil Health Laboratory in Shanxi Province, Institute of Eco-Environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Baichuan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Health Laboratory in Shanxi Province, Institute of Eco-Environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiping","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Health Laboratory in Shanxi Province, Institute of Eco-Environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ke","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Health Laboratory in Shanxi Province, Institute of Eco-Environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaodi","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Health Laboratory in Shanxi Province, Institute of Eco-Environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hua","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao, J., and Zhang, Q.X. 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