The effects of tillage induced surface roughness,slope and discharge rate on soil detachment by concentrated flow: An experimental study

Soil erosion in sloping cropland is a key water and soil conservation issue in the Loess Plateau region, China. How surface roughness influences soil detachment remains unclear due to the inconsistent results obtained from existing studies. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the effects of tillage practices on soil detachment rate in sloping cropland and establish an accurate empirical model for the prediction of soil detachment rates. A series of movable bed experiments were conducted on sloping surfaces under three different tillage practices (manual dibbling, manual hoeing, and contour drilling), with a smooth surface (non-tillage) as a control. The research indicated that soil detachment rate significantly increased with roughness (p < 0.05) since the average soil detachment rate was the highest under the contour drilling treatment (6.762 g m⁻² s⁻¹), followed by manual hoeing (4.180 g m⁻² s⁻¹), and manual dibbling (3.334 g m⁻² s⁻¹); the lowest detachment rate was observed under the non-tillage treatment (3.214 g m⁻² s⁻¹). Slope gradient and unit discharge rate were positively correlated with soil detachment rate and proved to be more influential than soil surface roughness. Four composite hydraulic parameters were introduced to estimate soil detachment rate on tilled surfaces. Regression analyses revealed that stream power was the most effective predictor of soil detachment rate compared with unit length shear force, shear stress, and unit stream power. By integrating surface roughness as a variable, the detachment rate could be accurately described as a nonlinear function of stream power and surface roughness. The results of the present study indicate that tillage practice could influence soil loss on sloping cropland, considering the higher soil detachment rates under all tillage practices tested compared with non-tillage. The results are attributed mainly to concentrated flow caused by the high water storage levels on tilled surfaces, which could damage surface microtopography and, subsequently, the development of headcuts.     

基于聚落考古信息的中国北方农牧交错带东段历史耕地覆盖格网化重建*

中国北方农牧交错带是半农半牧、时农时牧的地带,此类区域因其独特自然环境和社会经济发展过程,准确地重建耕地覆盖难度较大。采用能够指示农业活动时空位置的考古遗址信息重建历史耕地覆盖,是提高此类区域耕地覆盖重建结果可靠性的有效途径之一。本研究选择位于中国北方农牧交错带带宽最大的东段作为研究区,使用聚落考古信息与历史文献重建了辽、金、元、明4个时期5'×5'的耕地覆盖变化。结论如下: (1)从辽代至明代,研究区耕地面积总量减少了98.0%,元明时期的耕地显著少于辽金时期,表明该区发生了从半农半牧到牧业的根本转变。(2)辽代耕地分布范围最大,金代耕地分布范围有所缩小,辽金时期均呈现“插花式”的分布格局,元代耕地分布范围急剧缩减,至明代仅有零星耕地分布。(3)研究区耕地覆盖变化受气候变化和人文因素的双重影响。辽金时期,气候相对温暖湿润,统治者重视农业发展; 元明时期,气候寒冷干燥,民族习惯以牧为主。基于聚落考古信息重建的历史时期耕地覆盖,不仅再现了该区域“插花式”的耕地分布格局,还刻画了该区由农转牧的土地利用变化过程。     

中国东北耕地物候期对气候变化的响应(英文)

We investigated the responses of cropland phenophases to changes of agricultural thermal conditions in Northeast China using the SPOT-VGT Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) ten-day-composed time-series data, observed crop phenophases and the climate data collected from 1990 to 2010. First, the phenological parameters, such as the dates of onset-of-growth, peak-of-growth and end-of-growth as well as the length of the growing season, were extracted from the smoothed NVDI time-series dataset and showed an obvious correlation with the observed crop phenophases, including the stages of seedling, heading, maturity and the length of the growth period. Secondly, the spatio-temporal trends of the major thermal conditions (the first date of ≥10℃, the first frost date, the length of the temperature-allowing growth period and the accumulated temperature (AT) of ≥10℃) in Northeast China were illustrated and analyzed over the past 20 years. Thirdly, we focused on the responses of cropland phenophases to the thermal conditions changes. The results showed that the onset-of-growth date had an obvious positive correlation with the first date of ≥10℃ (P < 0.01), especially in the northern part of the Songnen Plain, the eastern part of the Sanjiang Plain and the middle and eastern parts of Jilin Province. For the extracted length of growing season and the observed growth period, notable correlations were found in almost same regions (P < 0.05). However, there was no obvious correlation between the end-of-growth date and the first frost date in the study area. Opposite correlations were observed between the length of the growing season and the AT of ≥10℃. In the northern part of the Songnen Plain, the eastern part of the Sanjiang Plain and the middle part of Jilin and Liaoning Provinces, the positive correlation coefficients were higher than the critical value of 0.05, whereas the negative correlation coefficients reached a level of 0.55 (P < 0.05) in the middle and southern parts of Heilongjiang Province and some parts of the Sanjiang Plain. This finding indicated that the crop growth periods were shortened because of the elevated temperature; in contrast, the extended growth period usually meant a crop transformation from early- or middle-maturing varieties into middle or late ones.     

The impact of cropland conversion on environmental effect in the Loess Plateau: a pilot study based on the national experimental bases

Conversion of cropland to forestry and grassland is an important method to reduce soil erosion and improve the biophysical environment in the Loess Plateau. The feasibility, methods, and environmental effects of cropland conversion were studied based on 11 typical watersheds of national experimental bases instead of different geographic areas of the Loess Plateau. Between 1986 and 2000, cropland, sloping cropland and non-agricultural land decreased by 8%, 92.5% and 8% respectively, while forestry increased by 15.7%. The land use change not only decreased annual soil erosion by 74%, but also increased vegetation coverage by 100% and improved the soil condition and biodiversity. This can be achieved by building basic farmland, increasing capital and scientific input, and planting trees and grasses according to the natural biophysical restrictions.     

The impact of dynamic change of cropland on grain production in Jilin

The quantity and quality changes of cropland in Jilin province are analyzed by combining the statistics from 1949 to 1999 and land-use maps interpreted from TM images in 1986 and in 2000. In general, the decreasing trend of the cropland in Jilin province was derived from the statistic data in 1949-1999. While since 1983, the cropland area has increased slightly, because of the conversion from other land-use types to cropland. It is showed that the net increase of cropland was about 43.40×104 ha. While the quality change of the cropland can be seen from that mainly caused by the conversion from forestland, grassland to cropland and the change mainly took place in the west, where it is ecologically fragile. According to the spatial distribution model, the centroids' move of the cropland and the grain production are calculated, whose directions are not consistent. The impact of the dynamic change of the cropland on food security is further analyzed.     

云南怒江流域土地资源利用的主要问题及退耕工程探讨

由于开发历史、地理位置以及自然条件等多种原因的影响 ,云南怒江流域经济发展水平整体偏低 ,土地资源利用存在着一些突出问题 ,如土地利用结构与农业内部结构比例失调 ;人地矛盾日益突出 ;陡坡垦殖、水土流失现象日益严重等。针对这些问题 ,提出 :将海拔在 2 5 0 0m以下、自然生态环境破坏最严重、生态系统最脆弱、坡度大于 2 5°的耕地 ,改农作物种植为经济林经营 (退耕还林模式 ) ;在坡度介于 1 5°～ 2 5°的坡耕地上种植经济林 (农林复合模式 ) ;将部分水利条件差的坡耕地停止种植粮食作物 ,改种牧草 (退耕还草模式 )     

农田蒸散发量变化规律分析

根据冉庄水资源实验站大型地中蒸渗仪在种植小麦、玉米情况下的农田蒸散发量实测资料，分析了农田蒸散发量的时程及深度变化规律，提出了在实验条件下农田蒸散发量的数值范围。     

黄土高原退耕还林(草)及其综合效应研究--以黄土高原国家试验示范区典型小流域为例

Conversion of cropland to forestry and grassland is an important method to reduce soil erosion and improve the biophysical environment in the Loess Plateau. The feasibility, methods, and environmental effects of cropland conversion were studied based on 11 typical watersheds of national experimental bases instead of different geographic areas of the Loess Plateau. Between 1986 and 2000,cropland, sloping cropland and non-agricultural land decreased by 8%, 92.5% and 8% respectively,while forestry increased by 15.7%. The land use change not only decreased annual soil erosion by 74%, but also increased vegetation coverage by 100% and improved the soil condition and biodiversity. This can be achieved by building basic farmland, increasing capital and scientific input,and planting trees and grasses according to the natural biophysical restrictions.     

Unexpected nationwide nitrate declines in groundwater of Korea

Elevated levels of nitrate in groundwater are an important concern for health and the environment. The overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer to croplands is one of the major sources of high nitrate content in groundwater. In this study, we analyse the nitrate concentrations in Korean groundwater based on data from groundwater quality monitoring wells (n = 1,022–2,072), which were sampled twice annually over a recent 13‐year analysis period (2001–2013). We report that groundwater nitrate levels are decreasing, despite steadily increasing groundwater use. The maximum nitrate concentration decreased from 168.91 to 48.11 mg/L, whereas the mean values also show a gradual decreasing trend. Non‐parametric Mann–Kendall tests on nitrate concentrations also confirm the decreasing trend. The nitrate decrease is more clearly evident in agricultural groundwater as compared to domestic and drinking groundwaters. This decrease of nitrate in groundwater coincides with a large decline in nitrogen fertilizer application due to reduced cropland areas, more sustainable agricultural practices, and progressive improvement of sewage disposal services. This study proposes that the long‐term adoption of best practices in agriculture has had a positive impact on groundwater nitrate control.     

Change of Soil Organic Carbon after Cropland Afforestation in ′Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control′ Program Area in China

Land use change is one of the major factors that affect soil organic carbon(SOC) variation and global carbon balance. However, the effects of land use change on SOC are always variable. In this study, using a series of paired-field experiments, we estimated the effects of revegetation types and environmental conditions on SOC stock and vertical distribution after replacement of cropland with poplar(Populus tomentosa) and korshinsk peashrub(Caragana korshinskii) in three climate regions(Chifeng City, Fengning City and Datong City of the ′Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control′(BTSSC) program area. The results show that SOC sequestration rate ranges from 0.15 Mg/(ha·yr) to 3.76 Mg/(ha·yr) in the soil layer of 0–100 cm in early stage after cropland afforestation in the BTSSC program area. The SOC accumulation rates are the highest in Fengning for both the two vegetation types. Compared to C. korshinskii, P. tomentosa has greater effects on SOC accumulation in the three climate regions, but significantly greater effect only appears in Datong. The SOC density increases by 20%–111% and 15%–59% for P. tomentosa and 9%–63% and 0–73% for C. korshinskii in the 0–20 cm and 20–100 cm soil layers, respectively. Our results indicate that cropland afforestation not only affects SOC stock in the topsoil, but also has some effects on subsoil carbon. However, the effect of cropland afforestation on SOC accumulation varied with climate regions and revegetation types. Considering the large area of revegetation and relatively high SOC accumulation rate, SOC sequestration in the BTSSC program should contribute significantly to decrease the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.