Effects of gully erosion and gully filling on soil depth and crop production in the black soil region, northeast China

Degradation of soil physicochemical quality by ephemeral gully erosion on sloping cropland of the hilly Loess Plateau, China

“…In slope lands, gully erosion affects soil attributes through: (i) losses of soil nutrients and water storage capacity, (ii) exposure of subsoil material with low fertility and high acidity, and (iii) degradation of soil structural attributes (Smith et al, 2001;Su et al, 2010). Ephemeral gully erosion can decrease soil productivity and interfere with farming operations Liu et al, 2013). Chaplot et al (2005) reported that linear erosion, including rilling and gullying, irreversibly damages the fertility of cropping systems by the removal of surface soil.…”

Medium-term evolution of some ephemeral gullies in Sicily (Italy)

“…This type of erosion is a severe problem in many cultivated fields. Crops are washed out in areas where EGs develop and are submerged by the sediments at their lower end, and filling operations cause soil degradation (Liu et al, 2012;Tang et al, 2013) and reduce the long-term productivity of the farmland (Woodward, 1999). Furthermore, EGs constitute effective links for transferring runoff and sediment from uplands to valley bottoms and can rapidly evolve into permanent gullies (Vanwallaghem et al, 2005).…”

“…The results of 10-year simulation suggest that erosion rates could be 250-450% greater when gullies were tilled and reactivated annually as opposed to the no-till condition. Liu et al (2012) showed that filling gullies with soil from adjacent areas resulted in substantial land-productivity reduction. Tang et al (2013), in a study in Northeast China, concluded that gully erosion and gully filling caused soil degradation through a decrease in soil organic matter, total and available nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content.…”

Spatial distribution and morphologic characteristics of gullies in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China: Hebei watershed

“…Gullies create hazardous conditions for pedestrian traffic and farm machinery. Filling in gullies with soil from the inter-gully area may induce soil profile truncation and severe soil degradation that can result in permanent losses in crop productivity (Liu, Zhang, Liu, & Wilson, 2013;Poesen & Hooke, 1997). Furthermore, gullies can handicap human activities, such as cultivation and transportation.…”

“…Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, whose crop production strongly relies on the black soil, produce 10.8% of China's total crop production (Wu et al, 2008). Liu et al (2013) reported a 74% reduction in soil depth adjacent to gullies in the BSR due to filling in gullies, and every 1 cm decrease in soil depth due to infilling causes a 2% decrease in yield. Thus, gully erosion in this region is a serious threat to the food security of China (Liu et al, 2013).…”