Comparative Ameliorative Efficiency of Phosphogypsum and Elemental Sulfur in Semi-Terrestrial Soda and Sulfate Moderately Halophytic Solonetz of the Light Gray Earth Subzone

Abstract

The article presents the data from field tests on determination of the relative ameliorative efficiency of equivalent dosages of phosphogypsum and elemental sulfur on the alkaline saline semi-terrestrialsolonetz. Basing on the analysis data of soil water extract, higher ameliorative efficiency of elemental sulfur compared to phosphogypsum and fast amelioration of alkali-saline soils with the use of sulfur have been detected. Ten month of phosphogypsum and elemental sulfur incubation in soils significantly affected presence and contents of the salts, restructuring their ionic contents and growth of total salts. The latter required carrying out washing of the soils from the starting primary and newly formed secondary salts from root-inhabited soil layer. Washing of the soils ambiguously affected the ionic contents of the soil solution. It created more benefactor conditions on the elemental sulfur variant, to a greater degree reducing contents of all ions compared to phosphogypsum (the exception was НCO₃^-).