Changes in soil erosion in cropland in northeastern China over the past 300 years

Xie, Yonghong; Lin, Haiying; Yu, Ye; Ren, Xiaodan

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2019.01.026

Cited by 75 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Abandonment could be seen as a nature-based solution such as the use of straw in forest fire affected land [66,67] to the high erosion rates found in agricultural land [68], and could be used as a strategy to balance the carbon cycle [69] and rehabilitate the soils under the millennia-old use of agriculture [70]. The research carried out at the Canals Municipality shows that abandonment could be positive from an environmental point of view, but there is also the risk of a forest fire as the vegetation could be very flammable during the Mediterranean summer drought [71].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Cerdà

Ackermann

Terol

et al. 2019

Water

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Due to the reduction in the prices of oranges on the market and social changes such as the ageing of the population, traditional orange plantation abandonment in the Mediterranean is taking place. Previous research on land abandonment impact on soil and water resources has focused on rainfed agriculture abandonment, but there is no research on irrigated land abandonment. In the Valencia Region—the largest producer of oranges in Europe—abandonment is resulting in a quick vegetation recovery and changes in soil properties, and then in water erosion. Therefore, we performed rainfall simulation experiments (0.28 m2; 38.8 mm h−1) to determine the soil losses in naveline orange plantations with different ages of abandonment (1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years of abandonment) which will allow for an understanding of the temporal changes in soil and water losses after abandonment. Moreover, these results were also compared with an active plantation (0). The results show that the soils of the active orange plantations have higher runoff discharges and higher erosion rates due to the use of herbicides than the plots after abandonment. Once the soil is abandoned for one year, the plant recovery reaches 33% of the cover and the erosion rate drops one order of magnitude. This is related to the delay in the runoff generation and the increase in infiltration rates. After 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years, the soil reduced bulk density, increase in organic matter, plant cover, and soil erosion rates were found negligible. We conclude that the abandonment of orange plantations reduces soil and water losses and can serve as a nature-based solution to restore the soil services, goods, and resources. The reduction in the soil losses was exponential (from 607.4 g m−2 in the active plot to 7.1 g m−2 in the 10-year abandoned one) but the water losses were linear (from 77.2 in active plantations till 12.8% in the 10-year abandoned ones).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Cerdà

Ackermann

Terol

et al. 2019

Water

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“…Additionally, the effect of soil The CSLE estimates in the study were consistent with the field-based assessment in PSUs. Data from 2010 NSES showed that out of 2871 PSUs in Yunnan, rain-fed cropland parcels were found within 1800 PSUs in the field investigation, the average soil erosion rates of rain-fed cropland in these PSUs were revealed in Figure 5c, which were calculated based on first hand on-site data with higher resolution (10 m) in the 2010NSES for each PSU [22]. Additionally, the effect of soil conservation measures on erosion reduction is also presented in Figure 5d.…”

Section: Spatial Distribution Of Soil Erosion In Yunnanmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Evans et al (2016) extrapolated field-based data across the landscape and clarified the extent and frequency of water erosion rate from arable land in Britain [21]. Xie et al (2019) quantified soil erosion changes in cropland in northeastern China over the past 300 years using data form field survey and historical cropland areas [22]. However, it is important to note that the direct extrapolation may cause poor estimation of regional soil erosion rates if the scale issue is not carefully considered [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The data collected concerning the erosion affecting factors share uniform standards and specifications and was well-examined in every step of the survey. After a comprehensive analysis of rainfall, soil, terrain, land use and soil conservation practice, the soil erosion rate was computed by CSLE model with a spatial resolution of 10 m for each land parcel, then statistical methods were applied to evaluate the distribution, area and intensity of soil erosion at PSU, county, provincial and national levels [22]. Yunnan, as one of the mountainous provinces suffering from severe soil erosion, received a lot of attention in the national survey for its complex erosion conditions and irreplaceable ecological value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantitative Assessment of Soil Erosion Based on CSLE and the 2010 National Soil Erosion Survey at Regional Scale in Yunnan Province of China

et al. 2019

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Regional soil loss assessment is the critical method of incorporating soil erosion into decision-making associated with land resources management and soil conservation planning. However, data availability has limited its application for mountainous areas. To obtain a clear understanding of soil erosion in Yunnan, a pixel-based estimation was employed to quantify soil erosion rate and the benefits of soil conservation measures based on Chinese Soil Loss Equation (CSLE) and data collected in the national soil erosion survey. Results showed that 38.77% of the land was being eroded at an erosion rate higher than the soil loss tolerance, the average soil erosion rate was found to be 12.46 t∙ha−1∙yr−1, resulting in a total soil loss of 0.47 Gt annually. Higher erosion rates mostly occurred in the downstream areas of the major rivers as compared to upstream areas, especially for the southwest agricultural regions. Rain-fed cropland suffered the most severe soil erosion, with a mean erosion rate of 47.69 t∙ha−1∙yr−1 and an erosion ratio of 64.24%. Lands with a permanent cover (forest, shrub, and grassland) were mostly characterized by erosion rates an order of magnitude lower than those from rain-fed cropland, except for erosion from sparse woods, which was noticeable and should not be underestimated. Soil loss from arable land, woodland and grassland accounted for 52.24%, 35.65% and 11.71% of the total soil loss, respectively. We also found significant regional differences in erosion rates and a close relationship between erosion and soil conservation measures adopted. The CSLE estimates did not compare well with qualitative estimates from the National Soil Erosion Database of China (NSED-C) and only 47.77% of the territory fell within the same erosion intensity for the two approaches. However, the CSLE estimates were consistent with the results from a national survey and local assessments under experimental plots. By advocating of soil conservation measures and converting slope cropland into grass/forest and terraced field, policy interventions during 2006–2010 have reduced soil erosion on rain-fed cropland by 20% in soil erosion rate and 32% in total soil loss compared to the local assessments. The quantitative CSLE method provides a reliable estimation, due to the consideration of erosion control measures and is potentially transferable to other mountainous areas as a robust approach for rapid assessment of sheet and rill erosion.

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“…LUCC, combined with several atmospheric and topographical conditions, has an accelerating impact on soil and land degradation [17], including acidification, alkalization, soil erosion and nutrient leaching. In recent times, impacts of LUCC and soil erosion have been established to be a critical environmental concern, and significant impacts of the long term LUCC on nutrient losses and sedimentation have been reported at worldwide scale [15,[18][19][20]. Land use activities such as agricultural crop production accelerate the soil erosion process, ultimately degrading the water quality of streams owing to the accumulation of soil sediments in the water bodies [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use change affects water erosion in the Nepal Himalayas

Chalise

Kumar

2020

PLoS ONE

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Soil erosion is a global environmental threat, and Land Use Land Cover Changes (LUCC) have significant impacts on it. Nepal, being a mountainous country, has significant soil erosion issues. To examine the effects of LUCC on water erosion, we studied the LUCC in Sarada, Rapti and Thuli Bheri river basins of Nepal during the 1995-2015 period using the Remote Sensing. We calculated the average annual soil loss using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and Geographical Information System. Our results suggest that an increase in the agricultural lands at the expense of bare lands and forests escalated the soil erosion through the years; rates being 5.35, 5.47 and 6.03 t/ha/year in 1995, 2007 and 2015, respectively. Of the different land uses, agricultural land experienced the most erosion, whereas the forests experienced the least erosion. Agricultural lands, particularly those on the steeper slopes, were severely degraded and needed urgent soil and water conservation measures. Our study confirms that the long term LUCC has considerable impacts on soil loss, and these results can be implemented in similar river basins in other parts of the country.

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Changes in soil erosion in cropland in northeastern China over the past 300 years

Cited by 75 publications

References 25 publications

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Quantitative Assessment of Soil Erosion Based on CSLE and the 2010 National Soil Erosion Survey at Regional Scale in Yunnan Province of China

Land use change affects water erosion in the Nepal Himalayas

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Changes in soil erosion in cropland in northeastern China over the past 300 years

Cited by 75 publications

References 25 publications

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Quantitative Assessment of Soil Erosion Based on CSLE and the 2010 National Soil Erosion Survey at Regional Scale in Yunnan Province of China

Land use change affects water erosion in the Nepal Himalayas

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Changes in soil erosion in cropland in northeastern China over the past 300 years