Difference in organic carbon contents and distributions in particle-size fractions between soil and sediment on the Southern Loess Plateau,China

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of long-term cultivation and water erosion on the soil organic carbon （OC） in particle-size fractions. The study site is located at Nihegou Watershed in the Southern Loess Plateau, China. The soil at this site is loess with loose and silty structure, and contains macropores. The results showed that the OC concentrations in sediments and in the particle-size fractions of sediments were higher than those in soils and in the particle-size fractions of soils. The OC concentration was highest in the clay particles and was lowest in the sand particles. Clay particles possessed higher OC enrichment ability than silt and sand particles. The proportions of OC in the silt fractions of soil and sediment were the highest （mean value of 53.87% and 58.48%, respectively）, and the total proportion of OC in the clay and silt fractions accounted for 96% and 98% of the total OC in the soil and sediment, respectively. The loss of OC was highest in silt particles, with an average value of 0.16 Mg ha^-1 y^-1, and was lowest in the sand （0.003 Mg ha^-1 y^-l）. This result suggests that the fine particle-size fraction in the removed sediment may be an important indicator to assess soil OC losses.     

黄土高原丘陵沟壑区切沟侵蚀与地形关系分析——以纸坊沟流域为例

沟蚀是土壤侵蚀研究的主要内容之一,地形地貌是沟蚀的一个重要影响因子。本文以安塞纸坊沟流域作为研究区域,选择土地利用方式、土壤类型、坡度坡长因子、平面曲率、坡向和地形湿度指数6个因子,通过因子内切沟所占比重/整个研究区切沟所占比重计算各个因子的权重值,通过空间叠加分析土壤侵蚀敏感性,并通过重分类的方法把土壤侵蚀敏感性分为基本无侵蚀、轻度侵蚀、中度侵蚀、强度侵蚀、剧烈侵蚀5个等级,来研究切沟侵蚀与地形的关系。结果表明：切沟多发生在坡度坡长较大、地表湿度较高的林草地区域和更容易发生侵蚀的黄绵土区域,并且多分布在阴坡的凹面;对比分析切沟侵蚀和土壤侵蚀敏感性,切沟大多分布在中等侵蚀敏感性以上的区域,约占总切沟的90%;实验权重值对验证区冲沟的响应精度为82.43%（中度侵蚀及其以后阶段）,与实际值90.53%相差不大,说明此种方法对黄土丘陵沟壑区具有一定适用性,对黄土丘陵沟壑区水土保持工作有重要意义。     

黄土高原沟谷地貌发育演化研究进展与展望

黄土沟谷是黄土地貌中最有活力、最具变化、最富特色的对象单元,黄土高原千沟万壑的地貌形态以及触目惊心的侵蚀状态也让区域内沟谷地貌的形成、发育及演化问题成为研究中焦点及前沿性科学问题。近年来,诸多学者采用地学测年法、特征表达法、监测模拟法力图实现对黄土沟谷发育演化进程中“过去-现代-未来”的科学认知。这些研究在相当程度上丰富了黄土沟谷发育过程的认知。本文梳理了黄土高原沟谷地貌演化相关研究的现状,并从黄土高原地貌演化、黄土沟谷发育、基于DEM的沟谷信息提取与表达等研究进行了系统的回顾、梳理与分析。此外,本文提出“黄土沟道剖面群组”概念与方法,试图从新的视角审视黄土沟谷地貌发育演化过程。沟道剖面在黄土沟谷发育演化进程中传递物质能量和累积地形动力,并通过径流节点的串联实现剖面群的连接与组合,形成独特的剖面“群组”模式;该沟道剖面群组是集黄土沟谷地貌特征与过程于一体的综合信息集成体,其三维空间结构是对黄土沟谷地貌发育演化的高度抽象与映射,并可望进一步丰富黄土高原数字地形分析理论与方法体系,为黄土高原黄土地貌成因机理与空间分异格局带来创新的认识。     

无人机倾斜摄影测量在黄土丘陵沟壑区治沟造地中的应用

土地整治是一项惠民生、保生态、增良田的惠民工程,黄土丘陵沟壑区治沟造地土地整治是陕西省延安市土地整治的创新模式.通过黄土丘陵沟壑区土地整治项目实践,分析无人机倾斜摄影测量技术在土地整治项目前期、中期、后期的实际应用效果.结果表明,土地整治项目中使用无人机倾斜摄影技术获取实景三维数据,利用多期模型进行比对,可极大地降低人...     

复杂网络理论在黄土高原沟谷地貌特征研究中的应用

沟谷侵蚀是塑造黄土地表侵蚀形态的主要动力,沟谷的发育过程深刻地影响着黄土地貌的发育及演化.本文在黄土高原选择6个典型地貌样区,以样区的数字高程模型为基本数据源提取沟谷系统.将沟谷系统中的沟谷节点、沟谷源点和流域出水口点作为网络节点,网络节点之间的空间拓扑关系为边,高程差为权值,构建黄土高原沟谷加权复杂网络模型.对黄土沟...     

Quantifying spatial scale of positive and negative terrains pattern at watershed-scale: Case in soil and water conservation region on Loess Plateau

The positive and negative terrains (P-N terrains) widely distributed across China’s Loess Plateau constitute the dual structure characteristic of loess landforms. Analysis of loess P-N terrains at the watershed scale can serve to elucidate the structural characteristics and spatial patterns of P-N terrains, which benefits a better understanding of watershed evolution and suitable scales for loess landform research. The Two-Term Local Quadrat Variance Analysis (TTLQV) is calculated as the average of the square of the difference between the block totals of all possible adjacent pairs of block size, which can be used to detect both the scale and the intensity of landscape patches (e.g., plant/animal communities and gully networks). In this study, we determined the latitudinal and longitudinal spatial scale of P-N terrain patterns within 104 uniformly distributed watersheds in our target soil and water conservation region. The results showed that TTLQV is very effective for examining the scale of P-N terrain patterns. There were apparently three types of P-N terrain pattern in latitudinal direction (i.e., Loess Tableland type, Loess Hill type, and Transitional Form between Sand and Loess type), whereas there were both lower and higher values for P-N terrain pattern scales in all loess landforms in the longitudinal direction. The P-N terrain pattern also clearly presented anisotropy, suggesting that gully networks in the main direction were well-developed while others were relatively undeveloped. In addition, the relationships between the first scales and controlling factors (i.e., gully density, nibble degree, watershed area, mean watershed slope, NDVI, precipitation, loess thickness, and loess landforms) revealed that the first scales are primarily controlled by watershed area and loess landforms. This may indicate that the current spatial pattern of P-N terrains is characterized by internal force. In selecting suitable study areas in China’ Loess Plateau, it is crucial to understand four control variables: the spatial scale of the P-N terrain pattern, the watershed area, the main direction of the watershed, and the loess landforms.     

Deep profile soil moisture distribution characteristics for different microtopographies on the semi-arid Loess Plateau,China

Soil moisture is a limiting factor for vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau, China. Micro-topography may cause heterogeneities in the distribution of soil moisture, but little is known about its effect on deep soil moisture. Our study aims to explore the distribution and impact of soil moisture within the upper 10 m of soil for different microtopographies. Taking undisturbed slope as the control, five micro-topographies were selected. Soil moisture over a depth of 0-10 m from 2017 to 2019 was investigated, and soil particle size and soil organic matter were measured. Variance analysis and multiple comparisons were used to analyze the difference in soil moisture for different microtopographies and multiple-linear regression was used to analyze the influence of micro-topography on soil moisture. There are significant differences in soil moisture within the different layers underlying the examined micro-topographies, while the inter-annual variation in soil water storage for the selected microtopographies increase with increased rainfall. The depth of influence of micro-topographic vegetation on soil moisture exceeded 1000 cm for a gully(GU), 740 cm for a sink hole(SH), 480 cm for a scarp(SC), 360 cm for an ephemeral gully(EG) and 220 cm for a platform(PL). Micro-topography will cause the heterogeneous distribution of soil moisture in the shallower layers, which changes the vegetation distribution differences between micro-topographies. This may be the survival strategy of herbaceous vegetation in response to climate change in the Loess Plateau. For future vegetation restoration efforts, we need to pay attention to the influence of microtopography on soil moisture.     

Spatial variation and soil nitrogen potential hotspots in a mixed land cover catchment on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Soil nitrogen(N) is critical to ecosystem services and environmental quality. Hotspots of soil N in areas with high soil moisture have been widely studied, however, their spatial distribution and their linkage with soil N variation have seldom been examined at a catchment scale in areas with low soil water content. We investigated the spatial variation of soil N and its hotspots in a mixed land cover catchment on the Chinese Loess Plateau and used multiple statistical methods to evaluate the effects of the critical environmental factors on soil N variation and potential hotspots. The results demonstrated that land cover, soil moisture, elevation, plan curvature and flow accumulation were the dominant factors affecting the spatial variation of soil nitrate(NN), while land cover and slope aspect were the most important factors impacting the spatial distribution of soil ammonium(AN) and total nitrogen(TN). In the studied catchment, the forestland, gully land and grassland were found to be the potential hotspots of soil NN, AN and TN accumulation, respectively. We concluded that land cover and slope aspect could be proxies to determine the potential hotspots of soil N at the catchment scale. Overall, land cover was the most important factor that resulted in the spatial variations of soil N. The findings may help us to better understand the environmental factors affecting soil N hotspots and their spatial variation at the catchment scale in terrestrial ecosystems.     

Application of SCS model in estimation of runoff from small watershed in Loess Plateau of China

Soil Conservation Service （SCS） model, developed by U. S. Soil Conservation Service in 1972, has been widely applied in the estimation of runoff from an small watershed. In this paper, based on the remote sensing geo-information data of land use and soil classification all obtained from Landsat images in 1996 and 1997 and conventional data of hydrology and meteorology, the SCS model was investigated for simulating the surface runoff for single rainstorm in Wangdonggou watershed, a typical small watershed in the Loess Plateau, located in Changwu County of Shaanxi Province of China. Wangdonggou watershed was compartmentalized into 28 sub-units according to natural draining division, and the table of curve number （CN） values fitting for Wangdonggou watershed was also presented. During the flood period from 1996 to 1997, the hydrograph of calculated runoff process using the SCS model and the hydrograph of observed runoff process coincided very well in height as well as shape, and the model was of high precision above 75%. It is indicated that the SCS model is legitimate and can be successfully used to simulate the runoff generation and the runoff process of typical small watershed based on the remote sensing geo-information in the Loess Plateau.     

Potential sediment sources identification of debris flows in the Jiangjia Gully,China

It is of great significance for gully prevention and management to identify the potential sediment source of debris flow. Debris flow in a gully always originates from tributaries that have different gravity potential energies and sediment condition. In this study, tributaries of the Jiangjia Gully(JJG) in Yunnan province, China, are taken as the study area to determine the possible sediment sources of debris flow. It was found that tributaries with a high evolution index(EI, the integral of the hypsometric curve) always had high gravity potential energy, which favors the occurrence of landslide activity. Furthermore, the relationship between sediment distribution, gravity potential energy, and EI is compared, respectively. The results showed that the EI had a greater influence on the occurrence of landslides, and sediments were concentrated in tributaries with EI between 0.5 and 0.6. Accordingly, tributaries with EI 0.5 were identified as the sediment sources of debris flow. In addition, the shape of a tributary was related to EI and can reflect the condition of water and sediment storage.     

GIS-based Effect Assessment of Soil Erosion Before and After Gully Land Consolidation: A Case Study of Wangjiagou Project Region,Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is one typical area of serious soil erosion in the world. China has implemented ′Grain for Green′(GFG) project to restore the eco-environment of the Loess Plateau since 1999. With the GFG project subsidy approaching the end, it is concerned that farmers of fewer subsidies may reclaim land again. Thus, ′Gully Land Consolidation Project′(GLCP) was initiated in 2010. The core of the GLCP was to create more land suitable for farming in gullies so as to reduce land reclamation on the slopes which are ecological vulnerable areas. This paper aims to assess the effect of the GLCP on soil erosion problems by studying Wangjiagou project region located in the central part of Anzi valley in the middle of the Loess Plateau, mainly using the revised universal soil loss equation(RUSLE) based on GIS. The findings show that the GLCP can help to reduce soil shipment by 9.87% and it creates more terraces and river-nearby land suitable for farming which account for 27.41% of the whole study area. Thus, it is feasible to implement the GLCP in places below gradient 15°, though the GLCP also intensifies soil erosion in certain places such as field ridge, village land, floodplain, natural grassland, and shrub land. In short, the GLCP develops new generation dam land and balances the short-term and long-term interests to ease the conflicts between economic development and environmental protection. Furthermore, the GLCP and the GFG could also be combined preferably. On the one hand, the GFG improves the ecological environment, which could offer certain safety to the GLCP, on the other hand, the GLCP creates more farmland favorable for farming in gullies instead of land reclamation on the slopes, which could indirectly protect the GFG project.     

利用数字摄影测量方法估算半干旱区小流域沟谷侵蚀产沙

土壤侵蚀不仅表现黄土高原强烈的现代地貌过程,也是其生态环境恶化的象征,其地貌演化和土壤侵蚀互为因果,现代研究表明黄土高原半干旱小流域的沟谷侵蚀产沙占其水土流失总量的重要部分,近年有关沟谷侵蚀的定量研究成果,加深了人们对沟道侵蚀危害的认识,为土地资源的合理利用、沟谷危害的评价等提供了科学依据。传统的沟谷侵蚀定量研究是采用实地量测的方法,现代的数字摄影测量技术的发展为估算沟谷侵蚀研究提供了一个经济高效方法。本研究采用的髙分辨率数字高程模型是由3期历史航空照片根据数字摄影测量方法制作而成,利用它对黄土高原半干旱区一个小流域的1959～1981年及1981～1999年两个时段内沟谷侵蚀产沙量进行估算,将流域侵蚀产沙的实测值与估算结果进行评价。并指出此方法在沟谷侵蚀产沙量估算方面的统计学意义及在未来应用时要注意的问题;根据流域侵蚀产沙结果分析历史时期人类活动的影响:人类活动在一定程度上改善了环境,绝大部分泥沙被拦截在流域里,同时沟道侵蚀加剧,如何采取措施减少流域坡面和沟道的侵蚀,是目前人们所面对的问题;此外,结合流域水沙统计数据的DEM的侵蚀空间分析,结果表明坡面流、重力侵蚀及沟谷的下切是导致流域土壤侵蚀的主要原因。     

Spatiotemporal variation of soil organic carbon in the cultivated soil layer of dry land in the South-Western Yunnan Plateau,China

The dynamics of soil organic carbon(SOC)in cropland is one of the central issues related to both soil fertility and environmental safety. However, little information is available at county level regarding the spatiotemporal variability of SOC in the southwestern mountainous region of China. Thus, this study aimed to explore spatiotemporal changes of SOC in the cultivated soil layer of dry land in Mojiang County,Yunnan Province, China. Data were obtained from the second national soil survey(SNSS) of 1985 and soil tests for fertilizer application carried out by the Mojiang Agricultural Bureau in 2006. The ANOVA test was applied to determine any significant differences between the datasets, while semivariogram analysis was performed on geostatistics via an ordinary Kriging method in order to map spatial patterns of soil organic carbon density(SOCD). The results revealed that SOCD in the cultivated soil layer significantly decreased from 3.93 kg m~(-2) in 1985 to 2.89 kg m~(-2) in 2006, with a total soil organic carbon stock(SOCS) decrease of 41.54×10~4 t over the same period. SOCS levels fell most markedly in yellow-brown soil at a rate of51.52%, while an increase of 8.70% was found in the analysed latosol. Geostatistical analysis also showed that the recorded changes in SOCD between 1985 and2006 were spatially structured. The decreasing trend might be attributed to the combined action of intense cultivation, major crop residue removal without any protective tillage measures, unreasonable fertilization and natural climatic diversity inducing a large decrease in SOC in the studied cultivated dry land region of Mojiang County. Therefore, management measures such as protective tillage should be undertaken in order to enhance soil C sequestration.     

基于区域生长的黄土地貌沟沿线提取方法与实验

沟沿线是黄土地貌正负地形的分界线,地形在沟沿线处存在较大的高程变化和坡度转折。坡面畸变邻域法是一种有效提取沟沿线的方法,但该方法对正负地形进行分割时,往往会产生大量的碎屑多边形和分类错误,严重影响沟沿线的提取精度。为了解决这个问题,本文采用区域生长方法来改进坡面畸变邻域法的提取结果。首先,分别以DEM提取的山顶点和出水口点作为正负地形的生长点进行4邻域生长,生长至正负地形边界或大于坡度阈值为止;然后,采用边缘检测方法提取正负地形分界线;最后,依据形态学图像处理方法去除"毛刺"得到最终的沟沿线。结果显示,该方法实现了对沟沿线的自动提取,解决了由于正负地形分类错误造成的沟沿线定位不准确的问题,提高了沟沿线的提取精度,同时该方法也较好地保持了沟沿线的完整性和连续性,对黄土高原不同地貌类型具有普遍的适用性。     

Red Clay Sediment in the Central Chinese Loess Plateau and Its Implication for the Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau

Introduction A set of reddish clay-silt-sized sediments named red clay underlying the Quaternary loess-paleosol sequence widely distribute in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The thickness of the red clay sediments ranges from decades of meters to over 100 m (Evan et al.1991,Mo and Derbyshire 1991, SUN et al. 1997&1998, DING et al. 1999, GUO et al. 2001, QIANG et al. 2001). Previous studies show that not only loess-paleosol (e.g.LIU et al.1985,AN et al.1990,DING et al.1992),but also red …     

Impacts of land cover changes on runoff and sediment in the Cedar Creek Watershed,St. Joseph River,Indiana, United States

The relation between runoff and sediment and land cover is investigated in the Cedar Creek Watershed （CCW）, located in Northeastern Indiana, United States. The major land cover types in this watershed are cultivated land, woodland and pasture /Conservation Reserve Program （CRP）, which account for approximate 90 % of the total area in the region. Moreover, land use was changed tremendously from aooo to 9004, even without regarding the effect of the crop rotation system （corn ＆ soybean）. At least 49 % of land cover types were changed into other types in this period. The land cover types, ranking by changing area from high to low series, are rye, soybean, corn, woodland and pasture/CRP. The CCW is divided into 21 subwatersheds, and soil and water loss in each sub-watershed is computed by using Soil and Water Assessment Tool （SWAT）. The results indicate that the variations in runoff and sediment have positive relation to the area of crops （especially corn and soybean）; sediment is more sensitive to land cover changes than runoff; more heavy rainfall does not always mean more runoff because the combination of different land cover types always modify runoff coefficient; and rye, soybean and corn are the key land cover types, which affected the variation in runoff and sediment in the CCW.     

Effects of soil conservation practices on soil erosion and the size selectivity of eroded sediment on cultivated slopes

Soil conservation practices can greatly affect the soil erosion process, but limited information is available about its influence on the particle size distribution(PSD) of eroded sediment, especially under natural rainfall. In this study, the runoff, sediment yields, and effective/ultimate PSD were measured under two conventional tillage practices, downhill ridge tillage(DT) and plat tillage(PT) and three soil conservation practices, contour ridge tillage(CT), mulching with downhill ridge tillage(MDT), and mulching with contour ridge tillage(MCT) during 21 natural rainfall events in the lower Jinsha River. The results showed that(1) soil conservation practices had a significant effect on soil erosion. The conventional tillage of DT caused highest runoff depth(0.58 to 29.13 mm) and sediment yield(0.01 to 3.19 t hm-2). Compared with DT, the annual runoff depths and sediment yields of CT, MDT and MCT decreased by 12.24%-49.75% and 40.79%-88.30%, respectively.(2) Soil conservation practices can reduce the decomposition of aggregates in sediments. The ratios of effective and ultimate particle size(E/U) of siltand sand-sized particles of DT and PT plots were close to 1, indicating that they were transported as primary particles, however, values lower/greater than 1 subject to CT, MDT and MCT plots indicated they were transported as aggregates. The ratios of E/U of claysized particles were all less than 1 independently of tillage practices.(3) The sediments of soil conservation practices were more selective than those of conventional tillage practices. For CT, MDT and MCT plots, the average enrichment ratios(ERs) of clay, silt and sand were 1.99, 1.93 and 0.42, respectively, with enrichment of clay and silt and depletion of sand in sediments. However, the compositions of the eroded sediments of DT and PT plots were similar to that of the original soil. These findings support the use of both effective and ultimate particle size distributions for studying the size selectivity of eroded sediment, and provide a scientific basis for revealing the erosion mechanism in the purple soil area of China.     

Vegetation Restoration in Response to Climatic and Anthropogenic Changes in the Loess Plateau,China

A thorough understanding of the vegetation succession in relation to both climatic changes and anthropogenic activities is vital for the formulation of adaptation strategies that address potential ecosystem challenges. Various climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation, as well as anthropogenic factors such as ecological engineering and population migration, will affect the conditions for vegetation. However, the relationships among various factors remain unclear and the response of vegetation to climate change and anthropogenic activities in the Loess Plateau of China has not been well established. This study investigated the spatio-temporal characteristics and relationships between vegetation coverage and climatic factors in the Loess Plateau for the period of 1985–2015. Further analysis separated the anthropogenic and climatic factors on vegetation succession based on residual analysis. The results showed that the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) followed a significant upward trend with annual change rates of 0.15% during 1985–2015. The trend of human-induced NDVI increase was consistent with the spatial distribution of increasing forest areas in the eastern part of the Loess Plateau. Eco-restoration projects were the main driving factors that promoted vegetation coverage on the Loess Plateau. Furthermore, these results demonstrated that migrants to cities in the Loess Plateau could relieve ecological pressures and promote vegetation restoration. Therefore, the government should strive to increase population mobility and restore vegetation to sustain this particularly fragile ecological environment.     

Bacterial diversity, composition and temporal-spatial variation in the sediment of Jiaozhou Bay, China

Studies on the diversity and distribution of bacterial populations will improve the overall understanding of the global patterns of marine bacteria and help to comprehend local biochemical processes and environments. We evaluated the composition and the dynamics of bacterial communities in the sediment of Jiaozhou Bay (China) using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Sediment samples were collected from 10 different sites in May, August, and November 2008 and in February 2009. There was significant temporal variation in bacterial community composition at all sites. However, the spatial variation was very small. The DGGE analyses of bacterial communities were used to divide the 10 stations into three types. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that the changes in bacterial communities were driven by sediment properties. Sequence analysis of DGGE band-derived 16S rRNA gene fragments revealed that the dominant bacterial groups in the sediment were of the classes γ-proteobacteria and δ-proteobacteria and phyla Bacteroidetes and Nitrospirae. Our results provide considerable insight into the bacterial community structure in Jiaozhou Bay, China.