Black soil degradation by rainfall erosion in Jilin, China

Abstract

Black soils, originally characterized by a deep, dark A-horizon, are widespread in the Northeast Plain of China and have been one of the most fertile agricultural resources in the country. However, more than a half-century of intensified management degraded its productivity, mainly with the loss of the dark-coloured A-horizon by rainfall erosion. Using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), the rainfall erosion losses of black soils in YuShu and DeHui counties of Jilin Province were estimated. The rate of loss of thickness of the A-horizon of black soils and the time over which the A-horizons of some black soils in the region might be lost were evaluated. The results showed that about 4-45 t ha À1 topsoil could have been lost each year under corn (Zea mays L.) production. Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr) production would double the losses. Soil losses were directly related to soil type, tillage practices and crop grain yields. The thickness of the A-horizon of black soils in the region decreased at rates of 0Á5-4Á5 mm yr À1, depending on soil type and management practices. Corn production may have resulted in an annual loss of 8Á3 million tonnes of topsoil from black soils alone in Jilin Province; soybean production could have greatly increased this loss. Traditional intensified farming can accelerate the degradation of black soils; conservation tillage has great potential to prevent rainfall erosion losses for the same soils. Accordingly, to preserve and restore the productivity of black soils, conservation tillage is appropriate and should be adopted in Jilin.

Using 137Cs technique to investigate the spatial distribution of erosion and deposition regimes for a small catchment in the black soil region, Northeast China

“…We compared erosion rates estimating from the 137 Cs measurements on the cores with data from soil erosion models and runoff plots which were established in a catchment 9 km away from the study catchment. Based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), the calculating average erosion rate was 1.0 mm yr −1 (Yang et al, 2003). This was very close to the measured erosion rate of 0.76 mm yr −1 in our study based on the 137 Cs-method.…”

“…This meant that slope shape was an important factor affecting soil erosion distribution pattern. However, the previous studies about soil erosion mechanism in this region mainly focused on the description of erosion intensity (Yan and Tang, 2005;Yang et al, 2003), and methods were limited to small-scale field monitoring and modeling (Wang et al, 2013;Wu et al, 2008). To date, only the two studies discussed the spatial distribution of erosion regimes for this region at a slope scale using the 137 Cs technology (Fang et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2010).…”

Integrated Use of GCM, RS, and GIS for the Assessment of Hillslope and Gully Erosion in the Mushi River Sub-Catchment, Northeast China

“…RUSLE estimates long-term average annual soil erosion amounts in a variety of environments, such as agriculture, forest, rangeland, mining sites, and construction sites [74]. The USLE/RUSLE model is considered adaptable for estimation of soil erosion by water in the black soil region of Northeast China, where long slope length and gentle slope are the main topographical features [9,13,75,76]. However, RUSLE may provide extremely high soil erosion predictions [31].…”

Overview of Mollisols in the world: Distribution, land use and management

“…The conversion from conventional tillage to conservation tillage, particularly no till, at an annual rate of 2%, could reverse the loss of SOC in Chinese Mollisols within 20 yr (Yang et al 2003a). However, this positive effect of conservation tillage on SOC in the Black Soil area of China applies only to severely eroded soil and sloping farmland, but not to flat and low, damp farmland (Qiao et al 2008).…”