Response of Typical Shrubs Growth and Soil Nutrients to Graphene Addition in Impoverished Land of the Ulan Buh Desert

Graphene can promote plant growth and improve soil conditions, but its effectiveness in enhancing infertile soils in arid regions remains unclear. This study selected three typical shrubs from the Ulan Buh Desert <i>Nitraria tangutorum</i>, <i>Xanthoceras sorbifolium</i>, and <i>Amygdalus mongolica</i> as research subjects. Five graphene addition levels were set: 0 mg/L (C0), 25 mg/L (C1), 50 mg/L (C2), 100 mg/L (C3), and 200 mg/L (C4).A pot experiment was conducted in June 2023 to investigate the effects of graphene addition on shrub growth and soil nutrients. The results showed that the optimal graphene addition levels for <i>A. mongolica</i>, <i>X. sorbifolium</i>, and <i>N. tangutorum</i> were C2, C2, and C3, respectively. Compared with the control, the total biomass of the different shrubs increased by 185.31%, 50.86%, and 161.10%, respectively. However, when the graphene addition exceeded the optimal level, shrub biomass showed a decreasing trend with increasing graphene concentration. Total shrub biomass was positively correlated with soil available nitrogen and potassium, while redundancy analysis indicated that soil organic matter was the primary factor influencing shrub growth. This suggests that graphene promotes shrub growth by affecting soil organic matter and available nutrients. Therefore, graphene addition can enhance soil fertility in barren lands in arid regions and significantly promote shrub growth. However, due to soil leaching effects, this growth-promoting effect may decrease over time.