Evaluation of the Efficiency of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Straw Checkerboard Barriers Technique on Moisture Retention, CO2 Production, and Soil Microbial Population

IntroductionThe incidence of drought periods and its continuity in arid and semi-arid areas is considered one of the factors affecting soil microbial population and activity and soil water content, and thus affect soil fertility and nutrient availability. Implementation of the straw checkerboard barrier technique in these areas as a cheap, effective, and easy technology has an important role in reviving soil microbial communities and desertification control. In the present study, the effect of the straw checkerboard barriers technique on moisture retention, soil microbial population and their CO2 production was investigated.Materials and MethodsThis research was carried out in a semi-arid region prone to wind erosion with damaged soil communities, in which the straw checkered barrier technique was established to control wind erosion. For this purpose, 5 t.ha-1 of rice (Oryza sativa L.) straws were arranged in 1 m × 1 m checkerboard patterns in January 2018. This research was carried out in a part of the “ Margh” meadow the south of Shahrekord, the capital of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province (50° 50 ́E, 32° 17 ́N). Then the effect of this technique on soil microbial properties, including respiration and soil microbial biomass as well as moisture retention and aggregate stability, were considered. The same area was also dedicated for control as bare ground. Several straw squares were randomly selected, and the trend of changes in microbial respiration and soil moisture in the border of barriers, the center of barriers, and bare ground were measured in several stages. Also in the fourth stage of microbial respiration determination, microbial biomass, and aggregate stability were measured too. Microbial respiration and soil moisture data were analyzed based on a split-plot experiment in time in a randomized complete block design, and microbial biomass data and weight and geometric mean particle diameter were analyzed based on a randomized complete block design.Results and DiscussionThe results indicate that soil water content at the borders of the barriers significantly increased compared to the center of the barriers and the bare ground by 10.91% and 18.56%, respectively. Soil water content at the borders of the barriers was maintained for a longer time compared to the bare ground, but the decreasing trend of soil moisture in the bare ground was steeper over time, reaching the lowest position compared to the others. This can be attributed to the reduction o