Effect of winter warming on soil moisture and salinization

In order to study the effect of winter warming on soil moisture and salinization, the field experiments that increased temperature by an infrared radiator were designed at Xidatan experiment station of Yellow River irrigation areas in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The results showed that compared with no warming, winter warming by 0.5-2.5℃ reduced the moisture content of 0-20, >20-40 and >40-60 cm soil horizons by 0.2%-3.9%, 0.4%-1.4% and 0.3%-0.6%, respectively; correspondingly alkalization increased by 1.2%-4.4%, 0.1%-0.4% and 0.2%-0.6%; total alkalinity increased by 0.01~0.04, 0.01~0.03 and 0.01-0.02 cmol/kg; pH value increased by 0.1-1.0, 0.1-0.5 and 0.1-0.6; and total salt content increased by 0.05-0.71, 0.02-0.20 and 0.01-0.11 g/kg. Winter warming intensifies soil moisture evaporation and then increases the soil salinization.