Saline soils are of great concern globally. Selecting the Yellow River Delta as a model site, the influence of reclamation on soil salinity and saline soil quality was investigated. Soil quality index (SQI) was applied to statistically analyze 210 soil profile samples collected at seven depth layers in 30 sampling sites among native saline soils and three croplands (peanut, cotton, and wheat) in May 2020. After reclamation, the soil salt content (SSC) reduced from 4.52 g/kg to 1.44 g/kg after reclamation, with the degree of soil salinity reducing from severe to slight. The nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) contents of peanut, cotton, and wheat croplands were 1.90, 2.02, and 4.29 times higher and the available phosphorus (AP) contents were 5.43, 3.57, and 8.77 mg/kg higher than that of the saline soils, respectively, while the soil ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and available potassium (AK) contents were decreased. The NO₃⁻-N, AN, and AP contents of the three croplands showed a significant surface aggregation at depth of 0–30 cm. SQI increased by 0.10, 0.09, and 0.02 after the reclamation with the enhancement effect of wheat and cotton was more pronounced. It was discovered that reclamation notably improved the soil quality as a result of crop growth and field management of fertilization and irrigation.

It is important to strengthen the studies on the response of soil respiration components to tillage practices and natural precipitation in cropland. Therefore, soil heterotrophic respiration (R_H) and autotrophic (R_A) respiration were monitored by a root exclusion method in the North China Plain (NCP). The tillage practices included no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT), and the study periods were the summer maize growth stages in 2018 and 2019. R_H, R_A, soil water content and temperature were measured continuously for 113 days by an automatic sampling and analysis system. The soil R_H values on bright days and rain-affected days were higher under NT in 2018 (14.22 and 15.06 g CO₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively) than in 2019 (8.25 and 13.30 g CO₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively). However, the R_A values on bright days and rain-affected days were lower under NT in 2018 (4.74 and 4.97 g CO₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively) than in 2019 (5.67 and 6.93 g CO₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively). Moreover, NT decreased R_H but increased R_A compared to CT in 2019. Compared to bright days, the largest increase in both R_H and R_A after rain pulses was under CT in 2019 (6.75 and 1.80 g CO₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively). Soil water content and soil temperature were higher in 2018 than in 2019. Moreover, NT increased soil water content and decreased soil temperature on bright days compared to CT in 2019. Furthermore, soil temperature accounted for more variations in R_H on bright days and rain-affected days, but soil water content had a greater influence on R_A on bright days. However, after precipitation, higher soil water content decreased R_A under NT in 2018, while soil water content was positively related to R_A under CT in 2019. This study determined the differential response of R_H and R_A to tillage practices and natural precipitation pulses, and we confirmed that excessively dry soil increases soil carbon loss after rain events in the NCP.

The saline soils in the Yellow River Delta are primarily affected by seawater intrusion resulting from the intersection of land and sea, which exhibit variations in salinity. The quality of these soils is also influenced by anthropogenic reclamation, including fertilization and irrigation. This study quantitatively evaluated the distinct soil properties and soil quality characteristics of the Yellow River Delta during different reclamation years (i.e., 0a, 1a, 5a, 10a, and 20a) using principal component analysis (PCA) and the Soil Quality Index (SQI). The findings indicated that the soil salt content (SSC) significantly decreased (p < 0.05) from 6.60 g/kg in the initial reclamation year (0a) to 1.63 g/kg in the 10th year (10a) and then slightly increased to 2.85 g/kg in the 20th year (20a). Consequently, the soil salinity level shifted from saline soil to slight salinity and then increased to medium salinity. Ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) notably increased by 8.31 mg/kg during the first five years of reclamation (0a to 5a) and gradually decreased by 2.56 mg/kg in the 20th year (20a). On the other hand, nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) experienced a significant decrease of 2–5 times after reclamation but continued to increase by 8.96 mg/kg with subsequent reclamation years. The available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and soil organic carbon (SOC) exhibited a significant increase of 24.87 mg/kg, 10.11 mg/kg, and 6.76 g/kg, respectively, with increasing reclamation years. However, available potassium (AK) gradually decreased after reclamation and then increased in the 20th year (20a). The values of SQI for different reclamation years were 0.307 for 0a, 0.339 for 1a, 0.320 for 5a, 0.318 for 10a, and 0.327 for 20a, indicating an increasing trend with increasing reclamation years. It was discovered that long-term reclamation significantly reduced soil salinity and improved soil quality, leading to the sustainable development of reclaimed saline soils in the Yellow River Delta.

Soil water content (SWC) is an important factor restricting crop growth and yield in cropland ecosystems. The observation and simulation of soil moisture contribute greatly to improving water-use efficiency and crop yield. This study was conducted at the Shandong Yucheng Agro-ecosystem National Observation and Research Station in the North China Plain. The study period was across the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth stages from 2017 to 2019. A cosmic-ray neutron probe was used to monitor the continuous daily SWC. Furthermore, the crop leaf area index (LAI), yield, and aboveground biomass of winter wheat were determined. The root zone quality model 2 (RZWQM2) was used to simulate and validate the SWC, crop LAI, yield, and aboveground biomass. The results showed that the simulation errors of SWC were minute across the wheat growth stages and mature stages in 2017–2019. The root mean square error (RMSE) and relative root mean square error (RRMSE) of the SWC simulation at the jointing stage of winter wheat were 0.0296 and 0.1605 in 2017–2018, and 0.0265 and 0.1480 in 2018–2019, respectively. During the rain-affected days, the RMSE (0.0253) and RRMSE (0.0980) for 2017–2018 were significantly lower than those of 2018–2019 (0.0301 and 0.1458, respectively), indicating that rain events decreased the model accuracy in the dry years compared to the wet years. The simulated LAIs were significantly higher than the measured values. The simulated yield value of winter wheat was 5.61% lower and 3.92% higher than the measured yield in 2017–2018 and in 2018–2019, respectively. The simulated value of aboveground biomass was significantly (45.48%) lower than the measured value in 2017–2018. This study showed that, compared with the dry and cold wheat growth period of 2018–2019, the higher precipitation and temperature in 2017–2018 led to a poorer simulation of SWC and crop-growth components. This study indicated that annual abnormal rainfall and temperature had a significant influence on the simulation of SWC and wheat growth, especially under intensive climate-change stress conditions.

Soil water content (SWC) is a vital parameter for understanding crop growth and the soil nutrient water cycle. Monitoring SWC without inserting sensors into the soil, which can break the soil structure, has previously been a significant challenge for scientists. In this study, we developed a non-inserted portable frequency domain reflection (NIP-FDR) instrument to monitor SWC continuously and automatically. The working technique of this instrument was based on the improved adjustable high-frequency oscillation method originating from the frequency domain reflection principle. Compared to the control SWC measurement instrument, the difference in SWC at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–30 cm depth was within 1%, 3%, and 15%, respectively, and the mean variation of SWC was less than 5% in the indoor measurements. In the field verification experiment conducted in the summer of 2020, the mean error of SWC measurements at a depth of 0–20 cm was 5%, while we failed to compare SWC at a depth of 20–30 cm due to low variability in the SWC measurement at this depth during the summer measurement period. This pioneer NIP-FDR was able to effectively monitor surface SWC, especially at depths of 0–20 cm.