Surface morphology of soil cracks in Yuanmou Dry-hot Valley Region, Southwest China

Surface morphology of soil cracks is one of the important factors influencing the water evaporation rate in cracked soil in Yuanmou Dry-hot Valley Region, Southwest China. Quantitative study of the complicated surface morphology of soil cracks is a prerequisite for further studies of soil-cracking mechanisms. The present paper establishes a quantitative indicator system by application of concepts and methods originating from Fractal Geometry and Network Analysis. These indicators can effectively express the complicated features of soilcrack network structure. Furthermore, a series of values related to soil-crack morphology was obtained by image processing on field photos of soil-crack quads, and gradation criteria for the degree of development of soil cracks were determined. Finally, the changes in values of the morphological indicators under different degrees of development were analyzed in detail. Our results indicate that （1） the degree of development of soil cracks can be divided into five grades, i.e., feeble development, slight development, medium development, intensive development and extremely intensive development; （2） the values of the indicators change predictably with increasing degree of development of soil cracks. The area density （Dc） increases, and both the area-weighted mean ratio of crack area to perimeter （AWMARP）, which reflects the intensity of cracking, and the index r, which is related to the connectivity of a soil crack, grow uniformly （albeit with different forms）. AWMRAP increases at a geometric rate while r shows logarithmmic growth, indicating a gradual increase in the connectivity of a soil crack. Nevertheless, the areaweighted mean of soil-crack fractal dimension （AWMFRAC） shows a decreasing trend, indicating a gradual decline in the complexity of cracks as area density increases.     

西北地区土壤资源特征及其开发利用与保护

在分析西北地区土壤分布规律的基础上,研究了不同类型区土壤的资源特征及其在开发利用中存在的问题,认为黄土地区土壤土质疏松、粉砂含量高、富含碳酸钙是水土流失的物质基础;干旱区广为分布的荒漠土壤资源的性能低劣、绿洲区水土资源的利用比例失调是造成土地荒漠化、土壤盐渍化的根本原因;而高原土壤的粗骨性、土层浅薄、有效肥力低则加速了草场的退化和沙漠化.提出了西北地区土壤资源的合理利用与生态环境保护相协调的途经,即搞好农田基本建设,采用旱作技术节水和合理用水,扩大林草植被,保护天然草场和林木.并认为西北土壤资源的开发利用要在充分发挥其生产潜力的同时,首先应遵循生态规律,开发与保护并重,防止土壤资源衰竭和破坏.     

Relationship between soil and water conservation practices and soil conditions in low mountain and hilly region of Northeast China

The soil and water conservation practices of ecological restoration（ER）,fish scale pit（FP）,furrow and ridge tillage across the slope（FR）,shrub strips（SS）,and vegetation-covered ridge（VR） are characteristic of the Jixing small watershed of the low mountain and hilly region of Jilin Province,Northeast China. This study aims to elucidate the effects of soil and water conservation practices on soil conditions after the short-term implementation of practices. Soil samples were collected from five soil and water conservation sites（ER,FP,FR,SS,and VR） and two controls（BL and CT） to investigate their properties. To evaluate the influence of soil and water conservation practices on soil quality,an integrated quantitative index,soil quality index（QI）,was developed to compare the soil quality under the different soil and water conservation practices. The results show that not all soil and water conservation practices can improve the soil conditions and not all soil properties,especially soil organic carbon（SOC）,can be recovered under soil and water conservation practice in short-term. Moreover,the QI in the five soil and water conservation practices and two controls was in the following order： ER VR BL FR CT SS FP. ER exhibited a higher soil quality value on a slope scale. In the low mountain and hilly region of Northeast China,ER is a better choice than the conversion of farmlands to planted grasslands and woodlands early in the soil and water conservation program.     

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN SALINE—ALKALI SOIL AREA OF SONGNEN PLAIN, NORTHEAST CHINA NORTHEAST CHINA

There is great potential for agriculture in saline-alkali soil area in Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Butthe sustainable crop production in this area has been restricted by a few of main factors, such as less precipitation, higherevaporation and frequent drought, high salinity and alkalinity, high exchangeable sodium content and poor infiltration ofthe soil, and insufficiency and low availability in nutrition. It is also considered that there are a few of favorable condi-tions for agricultural development in this region, such as sufficient light and heat resources, rich ground water resources,plenty of manure produced by livestock, and so on. At the same time, scientific management and measurements havebeen employed; rational irrigation and drainage system has been established; reclamation, amendment and fertilization ofsoil, and suitable strategies of cropping practices have been made for the sustainable development of agriculture. Great progress has been made during 1996- 2000.     

Rocky land desertification and its driving forces in the karst areas of rural Guangxi,Southwest China

With a subtropical climate, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has a typical karst landscape. Rocky desertification has become a serious environmental issue due to its high vulnerability caused by the joint effect of natural settings and human activities, because of which its eco- environment has been deteriorated in recent years, and farmland has been disappearing sharply at the same time. This, in turn, has exacerbated the poverty level in the rural areas of the region. In this study, we monitored the spatial distribution of rocky land desertification and its temporal evolution using Landsat TM/ETM images of 1985, 1995, 2000 and 2005. We also analyzed the driving forces of the desertification and its expansion. Through constructing regression models by using all the relevant variables and considering the lagged effects as well as fixed effects, we quantified the exact role of different factors causing rocky land desertification in the study area with some new findings. The new findings in this study are greatly helpful for preserving, restoring and reconstructing the degraded mountain environment in Guangxi and other karst areas in Southwest China, and also for alleviating poverty in the rural areas in the future.     

Soil fertility self-development under ecological restoration in the Zhuxi watershed in the red soil hilly region of China

Current methods that utilize simple data or models to judge whether soil fertility can selfdevelop are not sufficiently rigorous. A new framework has been set up using catastrophe theory, laboratory experiment, field work, and 3S(Geographic information system, Global positioning system, and Remote sensing) to explore soil fertility catastrophe under ecological restoration, discriminate whether soil fertility can self-develop, and propose adjustment of ecological restoration measures in the Zhuxi watershed of Changting County, Fujian Province, China, which is a typical representative of the red soil hilly region of China. The results show that: 1) the soil fertility is obviously improved through the four ecological restoration measures, which impels soil fertility catastrophe. Among 89 soil samples, catastrophic soil samples and stable soil samples account for 26(29.21%) and 63(70.79%) of the samples, respectively. The four ecological restoration measures are listed in the order lowquality forest improvement arbor–bush–herb mixed plantation orchard improvement closing measures according to the proportions of catastrophic soil samples. A typical soil sample in Bashilihe that can self-develop is selected as the criterion to judge the upper lobe and lower lobe of soil fertility in the process surface of the Cusp catastrophe model. Twenty-six(29.21%) were in the middle lobe, 10(11.24%) were in the upper lobe, and 53(70.79%) were in the lower lobe. The catastrophic direction of 26 catastrophic soil samples is to the upper lobe according to soil and water loss change as well as fieldwork. There is a significant positive correlation of Δ with soil and water loss change, and the lower soil and water loss relates to higher catastrophic probability. 2) Soil fertility self-development could be regionalized as "Soil fertility can self-develop" whose area was 12.74 km2(28.33%) distributed mainly in the leftmost and rightmost parts, "Soil fertility tends to self-develop" whose area was 11.63 km2(25.89%) distributed mainly in the middle part, and "Soil fertility cannot self-develop" whose area was 20.58 km2(45.78%) distributed mainly between the above two types. 3) There is no need to take ecological restoration measures and excessive human interference should be avoided in the future in regions of "Soil fertility can self-develop" and "Soil fertility tends to self-develop," and ecological restoration measures should be taken in region of "Soil fertility cannot self-develop." 4) We suggest withdrawal and implementation of ecological restoration measures should be incorporated into the evaluation criteria of ecological restoration to avoid misuse of funds.     

基于夜间灯光数据的西南地区县域旅游多维减贫效应时空变化研究

旅游发展是消除贫困的重要途径之一,从多维贫困视角对旅游减贫进行研究具有重要意义。以脱贫摘帽的西南地区国家级贫困县为研究案例,引入NPP/VIIRS夜间灯光数据测度多维贫困,并使用地理加权回归方法分析2012—2019年旅游发展的多维减贫效应。结果表明:(1) 2012—2019年,西南地区贫困县旅游发展水平不断提高,呈现“东高西低”的空间格局,旅游发展的区域差异不断缩小;(2) 2012年以来,西南地区贫困县多维贫困日趋改善;空间分布上,多维贫困程度自西向东逐渐降低,空间差异趋于缩小;(3)西南地区贫困县旅游发展能够缓解包括经济、教育、医疗和社会保障等方面的多维贫困,旅游多维减贫效应具有明显的空间异质性,川东、川北和滇东南地区贫困县的旅游减贫强度较高,滇西、渝东南和黔西地区旅游减贫强度较低;(4)旅游减贫强度主要受到旅游资源禀赋、经济发展水平和交通区位条件的影响,影响因素通过旅游资源开发、强化旅游产业支撑和提高旅游通达性等途径改善贫困地区的经济、教育、医疗和社会保障水平,实现旅游发展的多维减贫。旅游减贫的发展需要结合贫困地区实际情况考虑,提高旅游产品竞争力,完善配套设施建设,改善交通运...     

Weathering of pisha-sandstones in the wind-water erosion crisscross region on the Loess Plateau

Two types of pisha-sandstones of purple sandstones and gray sandstones, widely distributing in the wind-water erosion crisscross region of China, were selected and used in laboratory experiments for a better understanding of the drying-wetting-freezing weathering process resulting from the apportionment of water or salt solution to rock samples. Weathering experiments were carried out under the conditions of environment control （including temperature, moisture and salt solution）. All rock samples were frequently subjected to 140 drying-wetting-freezing cycles. The influences of weathering process were evaluated. It was found that the different treatments of moisture and salt solution applications could affect the nature of the weathering products resulting from drying-wetting-freezing. It was also observed that salt solution could effectively alleviate the weathering of pisha-sandstones. Although not all the observations could be explained, it was apparent that simulated environmental factors had both direct and indirect effects on the weathering of rocks.     

西南喀斯特地区不同石漠化阶段土壤物理参数的变异研究

为了探索中国西南喀斯特地区石漠化过程中土壤物理性质的变异规律,采用野外采样与实验室分析相结合的方法,对贵州省荔波县及普定县不同石漠化阶段典型土壤的物理参数进行了研究。结果表明:土壤有机质质量分数随石漠化程度的加深逐渐减小;非石漠化土壤重度仅为6.15 N/m3,随着石漠化的发展,土壤重度逐渐增大,总孔隙度随之减小;石漠化的发展导致土壤黏粒含量升高;土壤水稳性团聚体质量分数及微团聚体的结构系数均随石漠化程度加深而减小;土壤有机质质量分数与重度、砂粒含量、大于5 mm团聚体含量及结构系数的相关系数分别为-0.921 2、0.827 7、0.907 2、0.899 3,均达到极显著水平。通过封山育林等措施增加喀斯特地区有机质积累可改善土壤物理性质,对防治石漠化具有重要意义。     

Spatial heterogeneity of soil mineral oxide components in depression between karst hills,Southwest China

In karst regions,the spatial heterogeneity of soil mineral oxides and environmental variables is still not clear.We investigated the spatial heterogeneity of SiO2,Al2O3,Fe2O3,CaO,MgO,P2O5,K2O,and MnO contents in the soils of slope land,plantation forest,secondary forest,and primary forest,as well as their relationships with environmental variables in a karst region of Southwest China.Geostatistics,principal component analysis(PCA),and canonical correlation analysis(CCA)were applied to analyze the field data.The results show that SiO2was the predominant mineral in the soils(45.02%–67.33%),followed by Al2O3and Fe2O3.Most soil mineral oxide components had a strong spatial dependence,except for CaO,MgO,and P2O5in the plantation forest,MgO and P2O5in the secondary forest,and CaO in the slope land.Dimensionality reduction in PCA was not appropriate due to the strong spatial heterogeneity in the ecosystems.Soil mineral oxide components,the main factors in all ecosystems,had greater influences on vegetation than those of conventional soil properties.There were close relationships between soil mineral oxide components and vegetation,topography,and conventional soil properties.Mineral oxide components affected species diversity,organic matter and nitrogen levels.     

中国南方丘陵区非点源污染过程模拟研究进展

随着南方丘陵区开发利用强度的增大,氮、磷非点源污染和水体富营养化问题日益突出。由于流域尺度非点源污染过程的复杂性,难以建立大范围、重复可控的观测和实验环境,模型模拟成为非点源污染治理辅助决策的必要手段。已有学者对南方丘陵区非点源污染过程模拟开展了相关研究,但缺乏对已有成果及其存在问题的系统总结以及对下一步研究方向的分析探讨。本文首先分析了南方丘陵区非点源污染过程的机理,认为该地区的非点源污染过程模拟应满足多过程耦合、空间全分布式及考虑区域特点等要求;然后,对南方丘陵区非点源污染过程模拟研究现状以及存在问题进行了分析,总结了现有研究在描述非点源污染物迁移路径和反映区域特点等方面的不足;最后,从适合南方丘陵区特点的流域空间离散化方法、全分布式非点源污染物迁移路径的构建、特殊地物和人为活动在全分布式非点源污染模型中的综合表达等方面探讨了下一步研究方向,旨在为南方丘陵区非点源污染过程模拟研究提供参考和借鉴。     

Effects of tillage management on infiltration and preferential flow in a black soil, Northeast China

The impacts of no-tillage (NT) and moldboard plough (MP) managements on infiltration rate and preferential flow were characterized using a combined technique of double-ring device and dye tracer on a black soil (Mollisols) in Northeast China. The objective of this study is to evaluate how tillage practices enhance soil water infiltration and preferential flow in favor of soil erosion control in the study area. The steady infiltration rates under NT management are 1.6 and 2.1 times as high as those under MP management in the 6th and 8th years of the tillage management in place, while the infiltrated water amounts under NT management are 1.4 and 2.0 times as high as those under MP management, respectively. The depth of methylene blue penetrated into NT soil increases from 43 cm in the 6th year to 57 cm in the 8th year, which are 16 cm and 19 cm deeper than those in MP soil, respectively. The results of morphologic image show that more biological macro-pores occur in NT soil than in MP soil. These macro-pores play a key role in enhancing preferential flow in NT soil, which in turn promotes water infiltration through preferential pathways in NT soil. The results are helpful to policy-making in popularizing NT and have the implications for tillage management in regard to soil erosion control in black soil region of China.     

Spatial Strategy for Quality Labor in Rural Development - A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China

This study examines the issue of high-quality labor in rural enterprises of China. It develops a spatial strategy which consists of two dimensions： geographical space and administrative space. Different combinations of these two dimensions form a variety of approaches such as local internalization, local externalization, regional/national internalization, and regional/national externalization. In the local internalization approach, rural enterprises hire such high-quality labor and ask them to work on site, while in the local externalization approach, rural enterprises seek help from employees working in other local enterprises. In the regional/national internalization approach, rural enterprises set up research and development centers in big cities to take advantages of the high-quality labor pool there. Finally in the regional/national externalization approach, rural enterprises hire people from big cities on temporary contracts. Three approaches, hiring retired technical workers, shuttling between the rural site and country seats, and setting up R＆D centers in big cities are demonstrated through cases in Zhangjiagang, a leading county-level city in the southern Jiangsu Province. It is argued that rural enterprises need to broaden their perspectives of administrative space and geographical space and think creatively to deal with the shortage of quality labor in rural settings.     

Responses of soil fauna structure and leaf litter decomposition to effective microorganism treatments in Da Hinggan Mountains, China

Microorganisms are nutritious resources for various soil fauna.Although soil fauna grazing affects microorganism composition and decomposition rate,the responses of soil fauna and leaf litter decomposition to added microorganism is little understood.In this study,in the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest of Tahe County in the northern Da Hinggan Mountains,China,three sampling sites(each has an area of 10 m2) were selected.The first two sites were sprinkled with 250 times(EM1) and 1000 times(EM2) diluted effective microorganism(EM) preparations evenly,and the third site was sprinkled with the same volume of water as a control site.The responses of soil fauna structure and leaf litter decomposition to EM treatment were conducted during three years.The results revealed that EM treatment resulted in significant increase of soil organic matter.The number of soil fauna in the EM1 and EM2 sites increased by 12.88% and 2.23% compared to the control site,and among them springtails and mites showed the highest increase.However,the groups of soil fauna in the EM1 and EM2 sites decreased by 6 and 9,respectively.And the changes in the diversity and evenness index were relatively complicated.EM treatment slowed the decomposition of broad-leaved litter,but accelerated the decomposition of coniferous litter.However,the decomposition rate of broad-leaved litter was still higher than that of coniferous litter.The results of this study suggested that the added microorganisms could help individual growth of soil fauna,and this method led to a change in the process of leaf litter decomposition.This paper did not analyze the activity of soil microorganisms,thus it is difficult to clearly explain the complex relationships among litter type,soil fauna and soil microorganisms.Further research on this subject is needed.     

Spatiotemporal patterns of road network and road development priority in three parallel rivers region in Yunnan, China: An evaluation based on modified kernel distance estimate

Road network is a critical component of public infrastructure,and the supporting system of social and economic development.Based on a modified kernel density estimate(KDE)algorithm,this study evaluated the road service capacity provided by a road network composed of multi-level roads(i.e.national,provincial,county and rural roads),by taking account of the differences of effect extent and intensity for roads of different levels.Summarized at town scale,the population burden and the annual rural economic income of unit road service capacity were used as the surrogates of social and economic demands for road service.This method was applied to the road network of the Three Parallel River Region,the northwestern Yunnan Province,China to evaluate the development of road network in this region.In results,the total road length of this region in 2005 was 3.70×104km,and the length ratio between national,provincial,county and rural roads was 1∶2∶8∶47.From 1989 to 2005,the regional road service capacity increased by 13.1%,of which the contributions from the national,provincial,county and rural roads were 11.1%,19.4%,22.6%,and 67.8%,respectively,revealing the effect of′All Village Accessible′policy of road development in the mountainous regions in the last decade.The spatial patterns of population burden and economic requirement of unit road service suggested that the areas farther away from the national and provincial roads have higher road development priority(RDP).Based on the modified KDE model and the framework of RDP evaluation,this study provided a useful approach for developing an optimal plan of road development at regional scale.     

Age-related changes of carbon accumulation and allocation in plants and soil of black locust forest on Loess Plateau in Ansai County,Shaanxi Province of China

The effects of reforestation on carbon(C) sequestration in China′s Loess Plateau ecosystem have attracted much research attention in recent years. Black locust trees(Robinia pseudoacacia L.) are valued for their important use in reforestation and water and soil conservation efforts. This forest type is widespread across the Loess Plateau, and must be an essential component of any planning for C sequestration efforts in this fragile ecological region. The long-term effects of stand age on C accumulation and allocation after reforestation remains uncertain. We examined an age-sequence of black locust forest(5, 9, 20, 30, 38, and 56 yr since planting) on the Loess Plateau to evaluate C accumulation and allocation in plants(trees, shrubs, herbages, and leaf litter) and soil(0–100 cm). Allometric equations were developed for estimating the biomass of tree components(leaf, branch, stem without bark, bark and root) with a destructive sampling method. Our results demonstrated that black locust forest ecosystem accumulated C constantly, from 31.42 Mg C/ ha(1 Mg = 10~6 g) at 5 yr to 79.44 Mg C/ha at 38 yr. At the ′old forest′ stage(38 to 56 yr), the amount of C in plant biomass significantly decreased(from 45.32 to 34.52 Mg C/ha) due to the high mortality of trees. However, old forest was able to accumulate C continuously in soil(from 33.66 to 41.00 Mg C/ha). The C in shrub biomass increased with stand age, while the C stock in the herbage layer and leaf litter was age-independent. Reforestation resulted in C re-allocation in the forest soil. The topsoil(0–20 cm) C stock increased constantly with stand age. However, C storage in sub-top soil, in the 20–30, 30–50, 50–100, and 20–100 cm layers, was age-independent. These results suggest that succession, as a temporal factor, plays a key role in C accumulation and re-allocation in black locust forests and also in regional C dynamics in vegetation.