Table 1 Management practices, dominant vegetation and some physical and chemical soil parameters of the three ecosystems.

From: Nitrogen isotopic signatures and fluxes of N2O in response to land-use change on naturally occurring saline–alkaline soil

S. no

Ecosystem

Management practice

Dominant plant species

Soil bulk density (g cm−3)

Soil pH

Soil salinity (mS cm−1)

1

Grassland

Native grassland, no grazing, no cutting, no fertilizer

Common reed (Phragmites australis)

1.56 ± 0.04a

8.74 ± 0.07

2.29 ± 0.19

2

Cropland

Converted from the grassland, fertilizer use (organic + chemical), irrigation once a year (saline water)

Cotton (Gossypium spp., Lumian 28)

1.58 ± 0.01a

8.45 ± 0.06

2.17 ± 0.29

3

Tamarix

Converted from the grassland, no fertilizer use, no cutting, no litter removal

Tamarix (Tamarix chinensis)

1.38 ± 0.02b

8.58 ± 0.04

2.15 ± 0.10

  1. Different letters in the row indicate significant differences (< 0.05), while no letters means no difference.
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