Effects of peat on water conserving properties of sandy soil

Hydrophysical characteristics of peat, sand, peat-sand mixed media and evaporation and water potential under three irrigation conditions were compared. Effects of peat on water conserving properties of sandy soil were analyzed. The results showed that through utilizing low-humified sphagnum peat to amend sandy soil, the total porosity, field capacity, saturated capacity were increased, and water retention of the medium was improved. The degree of medium shrinkage was increased with the increase of peat in media. Effect of irrigation frequency on the evaporation and water potential of different media is obvious. The higher the peat content was, the quicker the surface evaporation was along with the increase of irrigation frequency. Using infrequent irrigation, the pure peat retained more available water for the plant growth.