The relative importance of different grass components in controlling runoff and erosion on a hillslope under simulated rainfall

Li, Changjia; Pan, Chengzhong

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.01.007

Cited by 97 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The Brachiaria decumbens grass may have compromised water infiltration in this treatment since the other treatments in the livestock phase had higher SIR and different grass species. Additionally, a study showed that that grass cover is more effective in reducing soil erosion than surface flow [35], which corroborates our findings. It reveals the importance of pasture renewal to prevent forage growth decline.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of Long-Term Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems on Soil Erosion and Water Infiltration in a Brazilian Cerrado Site

et al. 2019

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Integrating agricultural land uses is a suitable alternative for fostering economic development and improving food security. However, the effects of long-term integrated systems on soil erosion and water infiltration are still poorly understood. Here, we investigate the influence of different agricultural land uses on soil erosion and water infiltration in an Oxisol site located in the Brazilian Cerrado region. The experimental area consisted of continuous grazing under variable stocking rates with regular fertilization (CG-RF), continuous cropping under no-till (CC-NT) and no-till with 4-year subsoiling (CC-SS), rotation of one year cropping and three years livestock in the livestock phase (C1-L3), rotation of four years cropping and four years livestock in the cropping phase (CL-4C) and in the livestock phase (CL-4L), and integrated crop-livestock-forestry in the cropping phase (CLF-C) and in the livestock phase (CLF-L). To evaluate water infiltration and soil loss, we used a rainfall simulator with a constant rainfall intensity of 74.9 ± 3.6 mm h−1 in plots of 0.7 m2. We carried out 72 rainfall simulations comprising four repetitions in each treatment under vegetation and bare soil. Stable infiltration rate (SIR) ranged from 45.9 to 74.8 mm h−1 and 19.4 to 70.8 mm h−1 under vegetation covers and bare soil, respectively. Our findings indicated that SIR values under CLF-C were 60% greater than under CG-RF. We also found that soil loss rates under CLF-C were 50% smaller than under CG-RF. The crop–livestock rotation period that presented better results of SIR and soil loss was one year of cropping and three years of livestock (C1-L3). Overall, we noted that SIR and soil loss values under CLF-C are similar to the Cerrado native vegetation. Therefore, our study reveals the opportunity to increase agricultural production, improve food supply, and reduce soil erosion with adequate soil and agricultural management.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of Long-Term Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems on Soil Erosion and Water Infiltration in a Brazilian Cerrado Site

et al. 2019

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“…These results suggest that natural grass planted on the lower parts of a slope would be more efficient at controlling hillslope erosion than the artificial grass in this study because of the combined effect of roots and grass cover (Gyssels, Poesen, Bochet, & Li, ). Li and Pan () also observed that natural grass could significantly decrease sediment yields by more than 90%, as compared with loess soil slopeland under simulated rainfall and inflow conditions in the field run‐off plot. However, Nearing et al () observed that sod‐forming grass even can make soil water repellant and had a smaller hydraulic conductivity than bunch grasses, which questioned the efficiency of natural grass.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

How the spatial distribution of grass contributes to controlling hillslope erosion

Pan

2019

Hydrological Processes

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The aim of this study was to investigate how the spatial distribution of grass influenced run-off and erosion from a hillslope with loess and cinnamon soils in the rocky area of Northern China. We set up a trial to test the two soils with different treatments, including bare soil (BS), grass strips on the upper (UGS) and lower (DGS) parts of the slope, grass cover over the entire slope (GS), and a grass carpet on the lower part of the slope (GC), under simulated rainfall conditions. The results showed that the run-off coefficients for the loess and cinnamon soils decreased by between 4% and 20% and by between 2% and 37%, respectively, when covered with grass.Grass spatial distribution had little effect on the run-off, but more effect on erosion than vegetation coverage degree. The most effective location of grass cover for decreasing hillslope erosion was at the foot, and the high efficiency was mainly due to controlling of rill formation and sediment deposition. The soil loss from GS, DGS, and GC on the loess and cinnamon soils was between 77% and 93% less and 55% and 80% less, respectively, compared with the loss from BS. However, the soil characteristics had little effect on soil erosion for well-vegetated slopes. The results highlight the importance of vegetation re-establishment at the foot of hillslope in controlling soil erosion.

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“…Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive effect of vegetation cover in reducing water erosion in semiarid environments such as parts of the Loess Plateau of China (e.g., Duan, Huang, & Zhang, ; Pan & Shangguan, ; Pan, Shangguan, & Lei, ), the Mediterranean environments (e.g., Cerdà, ; Durán‐Zuazo & Rodríguez‐Pleguezuelo, ; Quinton, Edwards, & Morgan, ; Ruiz‐Colmenero, Bienes, Eldridge, & Marques, ), and North America (e.g., Turnbull, Wainwright, & Brazier, ; Wainwright, Parsons, & Abrahams, ). Revegetation is usually recognized as an important measure for controlling erosion and offsetting the soil degradation caused by erosion (Hu, Lü, Fu, Comber, & Harris, ; Li & Pan, ; Maetens, Poesen, & Vanmaercke, ). Being pioneer species, natural and planted forages tend to be the first to colonize dryland and semiarid areas so as to reduce erosion risk (Wainwright, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the loess hilly areas of China, the slopes can be as high as greater than 25° (Chen, Wei, Fu, & Lu, ) and those areas are priorities for forage restoration projects (McVicar et al, ). However, relatively few studies have been conducted to examine the effects of forages on controlling runoff and erosion on steep slopes (>25°) (Duan et al, ; Li & Pan, ; Pan et al, ; Pan et al, ). In addition, the majority of previous studies were conducted under laboratory conditions with a small‐size flume or a bin (Pan et al, ; Zhao, Huang, Wu, & Gao, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overland runoff erosion dynamics on steep slopes with forages under field simulated rainfall and inflow

Pan

2020

Hydrological Processes

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Although numerous studies have acknowledged that vegetation can reduce erosion, few process-based studies have examined how vegetation cover affect runoff hydraulics and erosion processes. We present field observations of overland flow hydraulics using rainfall simulations in a typical semiarid area in China. Field plots (5 × 2 m 2 ) were constructed on a loess hillslope (25 ), including bare soil plot as control and three plots with planted forage species as treatments-Astragalus adsurgens, Medicago sativa and Cosmos bipinnatus. Both simulated rainfall and simulated rainfall + inflow were applied. Forages reduced soil loss by 55-85% and decreased overland flow rate by 12-37%. Forages significantly increased flow hydraulic resistance expressed by Darcy-Weisbach friction factor by 188-202% and expressed by Manning's friction factor by 66-75%; and decreased overland flow velocity by 28-30%.The upslope inflow significantly increased overland flow velocity by 67% and stream power by 449%, resulting in increased sediment yield rate by 108%. Erosion rate exhibited a significant linear relationship with stream power. M. sativa exhibited the best in reducing soil loss which probably resulted from its role in reducing stream power. Forages on the downslope performed better at reducing sediment yield than upslope due to decreased rill formation and stream power. The findings contribute to an improved understanding of using vegetation to control water and soil loss and land degradation in semiarid environments. K E Y W O R D Sforage, hydraulics, overland flow, rainfall simulation, upslope inflow

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The relative importance of different grass components in controlling runoff and erosion on a hillslope under simulated rainfall

Cited by 97 publications

References 44 publications

Effects of Long-Term Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems on Soil Erosion and Water Infiltration in a Brazilian Cerrado Site

Effects of Long-Term Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems on Soil Erosion and Water Infiltration in a Brazilian Cerrado Site

How the spatial distribution of grass contributes to controlling hillslope erosion

Overland runoff erosion dynamics on steep slopes with forages under field simulated rainfall and inflow

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