The trade-off between soil water recovery and nitrate leaching following the orchard-to-cropland conversion in the Chinese Loess Plateau.

A large-scale conversion of apple orchards into farmland has occurred in the tableland region of the Chinese Loess Plateau due to the aging of apple trees and the increase in pests and diseases. However, the impact of this conversion on soil desiccation recovery and soil nutrient transportation remains unclear, posing a new challenge for sustainable agricultural development in the region. The study employed the space-time substitution approach to select a long-standing orchard and croplands that has been growing maize for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-years post-orchard conversion as sampling sites, to investigate the effects of recovery durations of orchard-to-cropland conversion on deep soil water recharge and residual nitrate dynamics, as well as the key factors driving these changes.