Newly created farmland should be artificially ameliorated to sustain agricultural production on the Loess Plateau

Ma, Jun; Chen, Yiping; Hong-jie, Wang; Hong, Wang; Wu, Junhua; Su, Cui-Cui; Xu, Chunxiang

doi:10.1002/ldr.3618

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The soil nutrient quality evaluation index of 91.8% in the Loess Plateau was in grade I and grade II, and the soil nutrient evaluation index was poor overall. Some studies have also shown that the Loess Plateau belongs to low quality cultivated land, with large topographic fluctuation, a lack of irrigation conditions, poor soil quality and low soil nutrient content [44,45]. The scope of this study was 0 to 60 cm soil layer, and the SQI showed a downward trend as the soil layer decreased, and there were significant differences in the SQI among different layers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau

et al. 2021

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Soil nutrients are essential nutrients provided by soil for plant growth. Most researchers focus on the coupling effect of nutrients with potato yield and quality. There are few studies on the evaluation of soil nutrients in potato fields. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soil nutrients of potato farmland and the soil vertical nutrient distributions, and then to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for the fertilizer management practices for potatoes in Loess Plateau. Eight physical and chemical soil indexes were selected in the study area, and 810 farmland soil samples from the potato agriculture product areas were analyzed in Northern Shaanxi. The paper established the minimum data set (MDS) for the quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland by principal component analysis (PCA), respectively, and furthermore, analyzed the soil nutrient characteristics of the cultivated layer adopted soil quality index (SQI). The results showed that the MDS on soil quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland soil included such indicators as the soil organic matter content, soil available potassium content, and soil available phosphorus content. The comprehensive index value of the soil quality was between 0.064 and 0.302. The SPSS average clustering process used to classify SQI was divided into three grades: class I (36.2%) was defined as suitable soil fertility (SQI < 0.122), class II (55.6%) was defined as moderate soil fertility (0.122 < SQI < 0.18), and class III (8.2%) was defined as poor soil fertility (SQI > 0.186). The comprehensive quality of the potato farmland soils was generally low. The proportion of soil nutrients in the SQI composition ranged from large to small as the soil available potassium content = soil available phosphorus content > soil organic matter content, which became the limiting factor of the soil organic matter content in this area. This study revolves around the 0 to 60 cm soil layer; the soil fertility decreased gradually with the soil depth, and had significant differences between the respective soil layers. In order to improve the soil nutrient accumulation and potato yield in potato farmland in northern Shaanxi, it is suggested to increase the fertilization depth (20 to 40 cm) and further study the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau

et al. 2021

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“…The MR51 provided the best soil microstructure and sufficient fertility for B. napus , and the roots development of B. napus would promote nutrient transformation (Liu et al, 2020). Hence, the fertility of MR51 exceeded that in NCF cultivated for three years (Ma, Chen, Wang, et al, 2020) (Table 1), and its B. napus growth was significantly higher than most other treatments (Figure 5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The soil of NCF is mainly dominated by red clay removed from the depth of the surrounding slopes (Ma, Chen, Zhou, et al, 2020). The red clay is compact and cohesive due to the high clay and low sand content, which caused the poor microstructure of NCF (Ma, Chen, Wang, et al, 2020). The uncultivated soil generally has lower concentrations of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, and nutrients, which results in the weak fertility of NCF (Li et al, 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agronomic technology to promote sustainable utilization of newly created farmland in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2022

Land Degrad Dev

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The new farmland created by land consolidation often faces the problems of poor soil structure and low productivity, which cause potential degradation risk. The Gully Land Consolidation Program (GLCP) significantly increased the quantity of farmland in the Chinese Loess Plateau (LP), but the research on a comprehensive method of simultaneously improving soil quality, agricultural profit, and utilization efficiency of newly created farmland (NCF) is relatively scant. This study explored an agronomic technology to improve soil quality, agricultural profit, and utilization efficiency NCF by the GLCP in the LP. Our field experiment was carried out in Yangjuangou catchment with seven soil treatments and planting Brassica napus (B. napus) on these soils: dry mixing Malan Loess and red clay at volumetric ratios of 1:0 (MR10), 5:1 (MR51), 2:1 (MR21), 1:1 (MR11), 1:2 (MR12), 1:5 (MR15), and 0:1 (MR01). The results showed that: the soil microstructure, physico‐chemical properties, and productivity of NCF were significantly improved after soil reconstruction by dry mixing Malan Loess and red clay. More specifically, the MR51 boosted the root thickness and fresh weight of B. napus by 78.69% and 45.01% compared to that of red clay (MR01). Crop optimization by the B. napus helped to increase the agricultural profits of NCF. The proposed three portfolios of B. napus' silage, vegetable plus rapeseed, and vegetable plus silage enhanced the profits by 35.39%, 57.05%, and 66.93% in comparison with that of traditional crop planting, respectively. Therefore, industrial integration through effective, ecological and economic (3E) agriculture could advance sustainable utilization of NCF. Further, developing efficient agriculture, animal husbandry, agricultural products processing industry, and ecological tourism would enhance the multi‐functional value of farmland. Our study suggests that targeted agronomic technology based on agricultural geographical engineering oriented to human‐environment interaction can provide technical support for minimizing the degradation risk of NCF and generating more sustainable development in ecologically fragile areas.

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“…Second, farmers who need cropland for survival have no right to reclaim abandoned cropland derived from off‐farm workers according to China's farmland policies (He et al, 2020; Wang, Li, He, et al, 2020). Finally, at the level of plot, cropland has uneven value following diverse attributes, thereby resulting in irrational farming and vegetation restoration patterns (Ma et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatially optimized cropland distribution promotes sustainable farming and vegetation restoration in mountainous regions

et al. 2022

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China's Grain-for-Green Program (GFGP) motivates conversion from steep slope cropland to forest or grassland to reverse serious land degradation. However, impoverished farmers potentially persist with inefficient slope farming for survival, thereby threatening the sustainable GFGP efforts. Consequently, a strategy for balancing farming and vegetation restoration from a spatial optimization perspective is necessary. Here, we selected two catchments with high and low agricultural intensity in the loess hilly and gully regions for a case study. Spatial analysis and binary logistic regression models were used to clarify the effects of topography, accessibility, and location factors on cropland distribution and explore spatially optimized cropland distribution. The results show that steep slope cropland is still widespread, of which cropland with slopes >15 accounts for 46.7% and 34.7% in the two catchments, respectively. Residences and roads significantly impact steep slope cropland distribution, and around 80% of cropland with slopes >15 is distributed within 200 m from residences or 100 m from roads. In cropland redistribution scenarios, cropland with slopes >25 and >15 can be redistributed to gentler slopes while maintaining cropland areas in catchments with high and low agricultural intensity. Correspondingly, 38.8% and 81.2%, respectively, of simulated cropland on gentle slopes needs optimized attributes such as accessibility in order to be priorities of farmers. Our research provides new insights into GFGP strategies for steep slope cropland restoration in catchments with different agricultural intensities, thereby advancing sustainable farming and vegetation restoration in China's mountainous regions.

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Newly created farmland should be artificially ameliorated to sustain agricultural production on the Loess Plateau

Cited by 22 publications

References 52 publications

Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau

Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau

Agronomic technology to promote sustainable utilization of newly created farmland in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Spatially optimized cropland distribution promotes sustainable farming and vegetation restoration in mountainous regions

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