The Faxinal System: Forest fragmentation and soil degradation on the communal grazing land

The Brazilian faxinal is a traditional agrosilvopastoral system, which combines extensive grazing, subsistence cropping and low impact forest extraction, managed within a communal property system. Today it is at serious risk of disappearing due to increasing grazing pressure and logging activities that are leading to environmental problems such as forest fragmentation and soil degradation. The objectives of the study were to: a) evaluate soil physical degradation levels in different grazing areas within the faxinal system; and b) correlate soil degradation, fodder quantity and livestock dynamics in different pasture areas according to the household's location. Landscape mapping, vegetation surveys, and livestock grazing dynamics were assessed. In addition, soil physical parameters were evaluated for each land use (e.g., resistance, bulk density, porosity, moisture, and water infiltration rates). Results showed that livestock grazing and household locations are the main driving forces that lead to forest fragmentation. The household location creates three interrelated gradients in the communal grazing land: 1) soil physical degradation decreases from the pasture areas to araucaria forests; 2) fodder quantity decreases from pastures to araucaria forests; and 3) the livestock grazing intensity decreases from pastures to araucaria forests. In addition, some management practices to mitigate land degradation, including improvement of pastures, installation of removable troughs for drinking water in the upland areas and restriction of livestock from the riparian zone, have been proposed.     

Rule-based GIS-modelling for management purposes: A case study from the islands of Froan,Sør-Trøndelag,mid-western Norway

The coastal heath region along the western coast of Norway, dominated by Calluna vulgaris, is undergoing rapid change. Vegetation changes are caused by changes in management, including reduced frequency or abandonment of periodic heath burning and reduced cutting and grazing. The islands of Froan, in the outermost part of Sør-Trøndelag County in mid-western Norway, are dominated by coastal heath in a state of recession due to reduced traditional land use. The coastal heath is acknowledged as vulnerable and valuable by national environmental authorities, and local landscape management is supported by different national subsidies. The authors mapped the vegetation on Froan and used rule-based GIS-modelling to predict the relative potential for future vegetation changes. The model was based on a range of map layers, including management themes such as history of heath burning and peat removal, current practices of sheep grazing, and also themes derived from the vegetation map, such as soil nutrients, soil moisture and present management status. The resulting model output provides relative probabilities of future changes under different land-use scenarios, and highlights where management efforts should be focused in order to maintain the traditional landscape character.     

Modeling watershed-scale sequestration of soil organic carbon for carbon credit programs

Impending risks associated with climate change have forced the global community to devise tradable pollution permit or “cap and trade” approaches to control the release of greenhouse gases. In the U.S, soils have the potential to offset about 10 percent of annual CO₂ emissions; however, if carbon credits are to be included in greenhouse gas control programs, soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration rates associated with agricultural land uses must be computed at a watershed scale. The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) water quality model, the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) erosion model, and the CENTURY 4.0 a soil carbon model were used to simulate carbon sequestration rates for 160 crop-tillage rotations in 272 sub-basins of the Big Creek watershed (12,300 hectares). Under annual crops, only no-till in a corn-soybean rotation, on low to moderate slopes results in net gains in SOC. Substantial annual rates of SOC sequestration occur only under perennial crops such as Conservation Reserve Program (CRP; 0.14 t/ha without erosion; 0.08 with erosion), pasture (0.67 t/ha without erosion; 0.58 with erosion), hay (0.88 t/ha without erosion; 0.52 with erosion), and forest (2.66 t/ha without erosion; 2.49 with erosion). Erosion thus has a large effect on the spatial distribution of field-measured SOC by moving it down slope and increasing its spatial variability. Because of this, carbon credit programs should be based on field practices, thus targeting the locations where the sequestration of atmospheric carbon actually occurs and minimizing monitoring costs. Developing model-based estimates of SOC sequestration rates of field practices at many locations would thus greatly serve the needs of carbon crediting programs.     

中国生态脆弱带人地关系行为机制模型及应用

以农牧交错带为研究对象,通过建立人地关系行为机制模型,探讨外部社会经济因素影响土地退化的机制,并重点就当前正在实施的退耕还林还草政策所带来的生态经济效果进行分析。模型拟合结果显示,利用玉米及农作物秸秆作为饲料,扩大舍饲动物饲养,或者扩大种植葵花或油料作物等商品作物以替代自给性作物糜子,将可以在不加剧水土流失的前提下增加农户收入。模型结果还显示,非农就业机会增加时,农户会减少坡地垦殖。这表明推进农村工业化和城镇化发展,增加农民非农就业机会,鼓励农民进城的政策对于黄土高原的水土保持也是有促进作用的。     

阴山北麓不同用地方式下春季土壤可蚀性研究

阴山北麓位于中国北方农牧交错带内,此区属于生态环境脆弱地带,加之人类对土地资源的不合理利用,导致了严重的土壤风蚀问题,土壤可蚀性是影响土壤侵蚀大小的重要因素之一。本文通过对该区域土壤取样及室内理化分析,结合采样点的地表物质组成、植被覆盖度及土壤有机质含量等因素,分析了其潜在可蚀性。研究结果表明:阴山北麓草地的平均土壤潜在可蚀性最小,为63.82%,耕地的平均土壤潜在可蚀性最大,为66.05%,灌丛和林地居于其中,分别64.58%和64.88%。耕地的平均可蚀性>林地的平均可蚀性>灌丛的平均可蚀性>草地的平均可蚀性。随着春季温度的升高和不断的风蚀,土壤可蚀性也发生相应的变化,但这种变化并不是持续的,当温度达到一定程度时,土壤温度和湿度环境发生了变化,土壤潜在可蚀性反而降低,表现为第二次采样的土壤可蚀性>第三次采样的土壤可蚀性>第一次采样的土壤可蚀性。土地利用方式不同,土壤表层的理化性质、地表状况也会产生一定的差异,从而导致了表层土壤的潜在风蚀性不同。人类活动在土地利用过程中起主导作用,它是叠加在自然因素之上的影响土壤潜在风蚀性的人为因素。所以,应加强对耕地的保护,退耕还林草,减小其潜在风蚀性。     

Soil erosion rates in rangelands of northeastern Patagonia: A dendrogeomorphological analysis using exposed shrub roots

Soil erosion is an important process of land degradation in many rangelands and a significant driver of desertification in the world's drylands. Dendrogeomorphology is an alternative to traditional methods for determining soil erosion rate. Specifically, the vertical distance between the upper portion of exposed roots and the actual soil surface can be used as a bioindicator of erosion since plant establishment. In this study, we determined (i) the soil erosion rate from exposed roots of the dwarf shrub Margyricarpus pinnatus [Lam.] Kuntze in two ecological sites in the northeastern rangelands of Patagonia and (ii) the relationship between shrub age and upper root diameter. We selected two ecological sites, a pediment-like plateau and a flank pediment, where the dominant soils were Xeric Haplocalcids and Xeric Calciargids, respectively. The soil erosion rates in the pediment-like plateau and in the flank pediment were 2.4 and 3.1 mm yr^− 1, respectively. Data clearly indicate a high rate of soil erosion during the mean 8-year life span of the dwarf shrubs in degraded patches, which represent ~ 10% of surface cover in the study area. Simple linear regression analysis yielded a highly significant predictive model for age estimation of M. pinnatus plants using the upper root diameter as a predictor variable. The measurement of ground lowering against datable exposed roots represents a simple method for the determination of soil erosion rates. In combination with other soil surface features, it was used to infer the episodic nature of soil erosion. This approach could be particularly useful for monitoring the effects of land management practices on recent soil erosion and for the establishment of records in regions where historical data regarding this process are scarce or absent.     

土地利用/覆盖变化对地表蚀积过程的影响——来自137Cs示踪的证据

 土地利用/覆盖变化不仅影响地表137Cs总量的再分配，而且显著影响土壤137Cs剖面分布。坝上地区各类土地利用/覆盖条件下137Cs总量的再分配，显示该区总体处于风蚀环境，其中农田和撂荒地是风蚀最严重的土地利用类型；137Cs剖面分布则指示了土地利用/覆盖变化过程中的土壤风蚀/堆积过程的转换，蚀积过程的转换证实了风蚀重灾区退耕还林还草，特别是退耕还草，对控制土壤风蚀、改善生态环境的重要意义。分析还认为，利用137Cs示踪方法计算土壤风蚀/堆积速率时，应格外注意样地的土地利用/覆盖变化过程。     

From water to tillage erosion dominated landform evolution

While water and wind erosion are still considered to be the dominant soil erosion processes on agricultural land, there is growing recognition that tillage erosion plays an important role in the redistribution of soil on agricultural land. In this study, we examined soil redistribution rates and patterns for an agricultural field in the Belgian loess belt. ¹³⁷Cs derived soil erosion rates have been confronted with historical patterns of soil erosion based on soil profile truncation. This allowed an assessment of historical and contemporary landform evolution on agricultural land and its interpretation in relation to the dominant geomorphic process. The results clearly show that an important shift in the relative contribution of tillage and water erosion to total soil redistribution on agricultural land has occurred during recent decades. Historical soil redistribution is dominated by high losses on steep midslope positions and concavities as a result of water erosion, leading to landscape incision and steepening of the topography. In contrast, contemporary soil redistribution is dominated by high losses on convex upperslopes and infilling of slope and valley concavities as a result of tillage, resulting in topographic flattening. This shift must be attributed to the increased mechanization of agriculture during recent decades. This study shows that the typical topographical dependency of soil redistribution processes and their spatial interactions must be accounted for when assessing landform and soil profile evolution.     

不同土壤侵蚀背景下土地利用的时空演变

为了研究土地利用、土地覆盖的时空变化，本文在遥感技术与GIS技术的支持下，对不同土壤侵蚀背景下土地利用的时间动态特征和空间动态特征进行了定量分析。具体表现为通过空间分析，对中国近五年来不同土壤侵蚀背景下的土地利用类型，如耕地状况、森林植被覆盖、城镇工矿建设用地等时空特征进行了动态分析。研究结果表明：我国土壤侵蚀以水力、风力、冻融侵蚀为主，水力侵蚀以微度水力侵蚀为主，在微度水力侵蚀区，耕地、草地、建设用地面积增加，其中耕地增加最多，林地、未利用地面积逐渐减少。风力侵蚀以剧烈风力侵蚀为主，在微度风力侵蚀区，草地面积减少，而未利用地的面积增加；在轻度、中度、强度风力侵蚀区，耕地、林地、未利用地用地面积增加，草地面积减少。在冻融侵蚀区，草地面积有显著增加，而未利用地面积减小。     

Plantation Forestry in Tropical Limestone Uplands: Environmental Constraints and Opportunities

This study addresses anthropogenic and ecological factors affecting a 50 hectare farmer-managed reforestation project in the cone karst of the central Philippine island of Bohol. Climate, soil moisture, micro-topographic features, soil fertility, management practices, and pre-plantation land use history are all related to, and assist in explaining the variability in, gmelina and mahogany survival and growth rates. Pre-plantation land use affects soil fertility and structure (affecting moisture-holding capacity), and micro-geomorphologic features such as slope angle, slope length, breaks in slope, and size and distribution of talus influenced tree growth and survival rates because of their relationship to soil erosion and deposition.     

中国北方农牧交错带风水蚀复合区的粮食与退耕还林(草)问题

中国北方农牧交错带风水蚀复合区是一个非常特殊的生态脆弱区,通过对该类型区60个典型县域的实地考察和统计资料分析表明：①该类型区的人均粮食产量自给有余,但粮食单产较低,较高的人均粮食产量是以扩大耕地面积,牺牲生态为代价的,今后粮食增产的主要潜力重点应放在提高水浇地单产上。②从区域和国家生态安全角度考虑,该类型区不适宜大规模开垦耕地,而应在粮食自给的基础上逐渐转变为以牧为主的发展方向,退耕还林(草)正是实现这一重要转变的最有效途径和措施。③农户调查结果表明,退耕对农户粮食产量和家庭经济收入的影响不大,大部分农户能够自觉接受退耕还林(草)政策,但目前正处于相持阶段,仍需要国家给予适当经济补偿。因此,该类型区的退耕还林(草)工程不但不能压缩,而且应该进一步扩大规模,加大投资力度。     

鄂尔多斯地区土地荒漠化防治对策

鄂尔多斯地区是中国荒漠化严重的地区之一。它的形成,除了自然因素之外,主要是开垦、过牧超载、滥采等因素造成。防治的对策,主要是以防为主,防治并举,防、治、用结合。大力调整人-地关系,解决好"三农"(农业、农村、农民或牧业、牧区、牧民)问题,协调好"三牧"(禁牧、休牧、轮牧)关系,作好"三定"(以草定畜、以水定树、以自然环境条件确定人口居住数量)工作。     

贵州猫跳河流域土地利用变化和土壤侵蚀(英文)

Due to the extremely poor soil cover, a low soil-forming rate, and inappropriate intensive land use, soil erosion is a serious problem in Guizhou Province, which is located in the centre of the karst areas of Southwest China. In order to bring soil erosion under control and restore environment, the Chinese Government has initiated a serious of ecological rehabilitation projects such as the Grain-for-Green Programme and Natural Forest Protection Program and brought about tremendous influences on land-use change and soil erosion in Guizhou Province. This paper explored the relationship between land use and soil erosion in the Maotiao River watershed, a typical agricultural area with severe soil erosion in central Guizhou Province. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamic change of land-use type in Maotiao River watershed from 1973 to 2007 using Landsat MSS image in 1973, Landsat TM data in 1990 and 2007. Soil erosion change characteristics from 1973 to 2007, and soil loss among different land-use types were examined by integrating the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with a GIS environment. The results indicate that changes in land use within the watershed have significantly affected soil erosion. From 1973 to 1990, dry farmland and rocky desertified land significantly increased. In contrast, shrubby land, other forestland and grassland significantly decreased, which caused accelerated soil erosion in the study area. This trend was reversed from 1990 to 2007 with an increased area of land-use types for ecological use owing to the implementation of environmental protection programs. Soil erosion also significantly varied among land-use types. Erosion was most serious in dry farmland and the lightest in paddy field. Dry farmland with a gradient of 6°-25° was the major contributor to soil erosion, and conservation practices should be taken in these areas. The results of this study provide useful information for decision makers and planners to take sustainable land use management and soil conservation measures in the area.     

黑土的水土流失及其保育治理

黑土因其肥沃而闻名，但其退化和水土流失问题往往易被忽略。虽然在人类影响下的现代环境过程开始较晚，但黑土区的环境已发生了较大的变化。对黑土水土流失的现状进行了评价，指出了黑土保育治理的必要性与紧迫性，提出了治理保育措施。     

多尺度土地利用与土壤侵蚀

土地利用能够通过改变一系列的自然现象和生态过程影响土壤侵蚀,尺度不同,土地利用与土壤侵蚀的作用机制也会发生变化。本文针对坡面尺度、小流域／流域尺度和区域尺度,综述了不同尺度上土地利用对土壤侵蚀的影响研究。其中,在坡面尺度上,土地利用与土壤侵蚀的研究主要包括土地利用方式和土地管理措施对土壤侵蚀的影响,相应尺度上的模型有USLE／RUSLE、WEPP等;在小流域／流域尺度上,土地利用与土壤侵蚀的研究主要涉及土地利用结构和土地利用格局对土壤侵蚀的影响,相关的模型有LISEM、AGNPS、EUROSEM和SEDEM等;在区域尺度上土壤侵蚀评价研究主要是通过尺度上推和宏观因子评价的方法进行。多尺度土地利用与土壤侵蚀研究作为自然地理学研究中的热点问题,在进一步的研究中需要关注多尺度综合与尺度转换、土地利用政策效应、土地利用格局与土壤流失过程等方面的研究内容。     

Soil erosion assessment tools from point to regional scales—the role of geomorphologists in land management research and implementation

Geomorphological research has played an important role in the development and implementation of soil erosion assessment tools. Because policy and management approaches include the use of soil erosion assessment tools, soil erosion research directly affects the public in terms of providing information on natural hazards and human impacts, and also as the basis for regulatory policy on land management. For example, soil loss calculations and geomorphological expertise are used to support soil conservation planning, both through agricultural legislation that defines maximum tolerable soil loss rates, and through federal and local legislation that requires soil erosion controls on many construction sites.To be useful for decision makers, soil erosion models must have simple data requirements, must consider spatial and temporal variability in hydrological and soil erosion processes, and must be applicable to a variety of regions with minimum calibration. The growing use of erosion models and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in local to regional scale soil and water conservation raises concerns about how models are used. This has prompted interest in methods to assess how models function at management scales and with the types of data that are commonly available to users. A case study of a GIS-based soil erosion assessment tool using the process-based Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) shows that using commonly available data rather than research grade data can have (predictably) a significant impact on model results. If model results are then used in management decisions, it is critical to assess whether the scale and direction of variation in results will affect management and policy decisions. Geomorphologists provide unique perspectives on soil erosion and can continue to affect policy through soil erosion research. This research should focus on fundamental processes, but equally important is continued development and evaluation of models that are matched to real world data availability, geomorphic settings, and information needs.     

东北黑土水土流失特点

东北黑土区是中国的主要粮食生产基地。黑土水土流失和肥力退化一直是东北农业持续发展必须面对的问题。文章以黑土为对象,分析了水土流失的方式和特点。黑土流失面积虽大,但侵蚀的土壤物质大部分没有进入河道,而是在黑土景观的低洼部位堆积下来,形成侵蚀和堆积共存的土壤物质再分布景观特征。合理的农业管理措施,如等高耕作和保护性耕作可以在很大程度上控制黑土侵蚀,保持和恢复黑土肥力。     

Sediment fingerprinting as an environmental forensics tool explaining cyanobacteria blooms in lakes

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms in water bodies present serious public health issues with attendant economic and ecological impacts. Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) is an important conservation and amenity asset within Snowdonia National Park, Wales which since the mid-1990s has experienced multiple toxic cyanobacteria blooms threatening the ecology and tourism-dependent local economy. Multiple working hypotheses explain the emergence of this problem, including climate change, land management linked to increased nutrient flux, hydromorphological alterations or changing trophic structure - any of which may operate individually or cumulatively to impair lake function. This paper reports the findings of a sediment fingerprinting study using dated lake cores to explore the linkages between catchment and lake management practices and the emergence of the algal blooms problem. Since 1900 AD lake bed sedimentation rates have varied from 0.06 to 1.07 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹, with a pronounced acceleration since the early 1980s. Geochemical analysis revealed increases in the concentrations of total phosphorus (TP), calcium and heavy metals such as zinc and lead consistent with eutrophication and a rising pollution burden, particularly since the late 1970s. An uncertainty-inclusive sediment fingerprinting approach was used to apportion the relative fluxes from the major catchment land cover types of improved pasture, rough grazing, forestry and channel banks. This showed improved pasture and channel banks are the dominant diffuse sources of sediment in the catchment, though forestry sources were important historically. Conversion of rough grazing to improved grassland, coupled with intensified land management and year-round livestock grazing, is concluded to provide the principal source of rising TP levels. Lake Habitat Survey and particle size analysis of lake cores demonstrate the hydromorphological impact of the River Dee Regulation Scheme, which controls water level and periodically diverts flow into Llyn Tegid from the adjacent Afon Tryweryn catchment. This hydromorphological impact has also been most pronounced since the late 1970s. It is concluded that an integrated approach combining land management to reduce agricultural runoff allied to improved water level regulation enabling recovery of littoral macrophytes offers the greatest chance halting the on-going cyanobacteria issue in Llyn Tegid.     

Impact of non-livelihood-based land management on land resources: the case of upland watersheds in Uporoto Mountains, South West Tanzania

Various land management strategies are used to prevent land degradation and keep land productive. Often land management strategies applied in certain areas focus on the context of the physical environment but are incompatible with the social environment where they are applied. As a result, such strategies are ignored by land users and land degradation becomes difficult to control. This study observes the impacts of land management in the upland watersheds of the Uporoto Mountains in South West Tanzania. In spite of various land management practices used in the area, 38% of the studied area experienced soil fertility loss, 30% gully erosion, 23% soil loss, 6% biodiversity loss and drying up of river sources. Land management methods that were accepted and adopted were those contributing to immediate livelihood needs. These methods did not control land resource degradation, but increased crop output per unit of land and required little labour. Effective methods of controlling land degradation were abandoned or ignored because they did not satisfy immediate livelihood needs. This paper concludes that Integrating poor people's needs would transform non-livelihood-based land management methods to livelihood-based ones. Different ways of transforming these land management methods are presented and discussed.     

Species diversity and regeneration of native species in Pennisetum ciliare (buffelgrass) pastures from the thornscrub of Sonora,México

To examine the influence of buffelgrass land conversion and pasture management on native species diversity and regeneration patterns, we describe community attributes and population structure in four different active pastures in thornscrub vegetation from eastern Sonora, Mexico. We compare a relatively undisturbed thornscrub community with a contiguous five years old active pasture, to identify species able to regenerate under current management practices. Buffelgrass conversion has a significant influence on species diversity and other community attributes. Active pastures have lower species diversity, crown cover and basal area of native species than the studied native thornscrub. An active pasture subjected to heavy grazing and without management of the thorny legume, Acacia cochliacantha, showed the lower species diversity and an almost monospecific stand of this legume. It is likely that the reduction in species diversity is caused by the conversion process, inadequate management and regeneration barriers that limit seedling establishment in active pastures. Our data recorded eight native species (13%) that were able to regenerate in active pastures. However, the great majority of native species were unable to regenerate under pastures. This study shows that under current management, active buffelgrass pastures maintain only a small fraction of native species with regenerating populations in the thornscrub.