Toward sustainable soil and water resources use in China's highly erodible semi-arid loess plateau

Fan, Jun; Shao, Mingan; Wang, Quanjiu; Jones, Scott B.; Reichardt, Klaus; Cheng, Xiangrong; Xiaoli, Fu

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.11.027

Cited by 55 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In England, Fullen (1998) found that under developed ley pastures, erosion rates were limited to 0.1-0.5 t/ha/year against 11.3 t/ha/year for bare arable soils. In the Chinese Loess plateau, which is highly susceptible to soil erosion, runoff on fields planted with alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Caomuxi (Melilotus suaveolens Ledeb, a biennial forage) was limited to 13.0 mm against 81.0 mm for cropland leading to sediment losses by 4.6 and 40.6 t/ha/ year, respectively (Jun et al 2010). This trend was confirmed on sloppy (> 25°) croplands of the Loess plateau converted into forests and pastures leading to an estimated decrease of soil erosion from 85 to 55 t/ha/year although the latter remains extremely high (Fu et al 2011).…”

Section: Soil Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of ley pastures in tomorrow’s cropping systems. A review

Martin

Durand

Duru

et al. 2020

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Diversification of cropping systems has been proposed as a major mechanism to move towards sustainable cropping systems. To date, a diversification option that has received little attention is introduction of ley pastures into cropping systems, but the use of ley pastures is challenged by most future-oriented scenarios aiming to feed the world sustainably. In these scenarios, ruminant livestock feed only on permanent pastures, while cropping systems focus completely on production of crop-based human food. Diversification of cropping systems with ley pastures is thus compromised by knowledge gaps and future-oriented policy options. Here, we review ecosystem services provided by introducing ley pastures into cropping systems to increase sustainability of agriculture, discuss types of ley pastures and their management liable to promote these services, and raise future challenges related to introducing ley pastures into cropping systems. We conclude that (1) ley pastures provide a large set of input (soil conservation, nutrient provision and recycling, soil water retention, biological control of pests) and output (water purification, climate regulation, habitat provision for biodiversity conservation, forage production) ecosystem services of primary importance to cropping systems and society, respectively, as long as their spatial and temporal insertion within cropping systems is well-managed; otherwise, disservices may be produced. (2) To benefit from ecosystem services provided by ley pastures in cropping systems while limiting their disservices, it appears necessary to define a safe operating space for ley pastures in cropping systems. Moving towards this space requires changing plant breeding programs towards multiservice ley pastures, producing knowledge about emerging ways of introducing ley pastures into cropping systems (e.g., living mulch, green manure) and better quantifying the bundles of ecosystem services provided by ley pastures in cropping systems.

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Section: Soil Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of ley pastures in tomorrow’s cropping systems. A review

Martin

Durand

Duru

et al. 2020

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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“…Gully regions of the Loess Plateau are some of the most water-deficient areas in China. Most of the lands in the gully slope and tableland area are non-irrigated land, totally dependent on natural precipitation [40]. The natural resource development degree is considerably lower than the national bottom level, and the water supply from artificial wells is very limited, making it even more difficult to supply the water for human living in some villages [41].…”

Section: Analysis Of Carrying Capacity Of Water Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Regional System Planning Method of Rural Habitat in Gully Regions of the Loess Plateau, under the Background of Rural Vitalization Strategy in China

Zhang

Ding

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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Against the background of the Rural Vitalization Strategy in the gully regions of the Loess Plateau, large number of residents living in gullies move to tableland. On the one hand, this causes the disappearance of slope villages and gully villages; on the other hand, it increases ecological pressure on tableland, which was originally densely populated. The villages’ locations, the developing conditions, and the ecological carrying capacity of the surrounding villages have influence on the development direction of these villages and regional system planning. Through comparative analysis of different analysis methods for determining ecological carrying capacity, this paper takes the limiting factor analysis method as the main method and improves it according to the local conditions. Through the analysis of maximum ecological carrying capacity, current carrying capacity, and current population, we can determine which villages have the potential to support more immigrants and which ones should be integrated with others to improve the human settlement environment. At the same time, villages are graded so that the present and future human settlements’ environment can be further analyzed and predicted, which can be also adopted as an important guide for the local villages’ relocation and combination. Finally, we select a representative region to prove the general applicability of our planning method in the Loess Plateau.

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“…Thus, loss of soil nutrients destabilizes the structure and population of microbes in the soil ( Xiao et al, 2017 ; Du et al, 2020 ). Consequently, alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L. ) was revealed as ideal for protecting soil hence, was commonly grown on the Loess Plateau ( Jun et al, 2010 ). Soon after, alfalfa was discovered to be seriously depleting soil water in these areas, due to its deep roots’ water absorption from deep soil layers ( Jun et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L. ) was revealed as ideal for protecting soil hence, was commonly grown on the Loess Plateau ( Jun et al, 2010 ). Soon after, alfalfa was discovered to be seriously depleting soil water in these areas, due to its deep roots’ water absorption from deep soil layers ( Jun et al, 2010 ). Fan et al (2016) reported alfalfa can exhaust available soil water in a field in less than 6 years and prevent deep soil water recharge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of tied-ridge with biochar amendment on runoff, sediment losses, and alfalfa yield in northwestern China

Mak‐Mensah

Sam

Kaito

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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Background Loss of organic matter and mineral nutrients to soil erosion in rain-fed agriculture is a serious problem globally, especially in China’s Loess Plateau. As a result, increasing rainwater usage efficiency by tied-ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting with biochar is expected to improve agricultural productivity. Nonetheless, with limited knowledge on tied-ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting with biochar, small-scale farmers face the challenge of adoption, thus, the rationale for this study. Materials and methods A field experiment was conducted to determine the influence of open-ridging (OR) and tied-ridging (TR) with bio-degradable film on ridges and biochar in furrows on runoff, sediment losses, soil moisture, fodder yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) on sloped land, using flat planting (FP) without ridges and furrows as control, during alfalfa-growing year (2020). Results Runoff in flat planting (30%), open ridging (45%), and tied ridging (52%) were decreased with biochar to the extent where sediment was decreased in flat planting (33%), open ridging (43%), and tied ridging (44%) as well. The mean runoff efficiency was lower in flat planting (31%), open ridging (45%), and tied ridging (50%) in biochar plots compared to no-biochar plots. In biochar and no-biochar plots, soil temperature on ridges of TR was higher than that on OR, which was higher than FP during alfalfa growing season. Soil temperature in furrows during alfalfa growing season in biochar and no-biochar plots were in the order FP > OR > TR. Mean soil water storage for FP, OR, and TR, in biochar plots was higher than in no-biochar plots. This indicates biochar has a beneficial impact on open riding. Total annual net fodder yield (NFY) was significantly (p = 0.00) higher in treatments in the order TR > OR > FP. Tied ridging had a significant effect on actual fodder yield (AFY) in biochar plots, while open ridging significantly affected AFY in no-biochar plots. Annual total mean NFY and AFY increased by 8% and 11% in biochar plots compared to no-biochar plots. In biochar and no-biochar plots, water use efficiency was in the order TR > OR > FP. Conclusively, water use efficiency was significantly higher (p = 0.01) in biochar plots compared to no-biochar plots. Conclusion When crop production is threatened by soil erosion and drought, mulched tied-ridge with biochar is beneficial to crop growth in rain-fed agriculture, according to this research. Smallholder farmers should be trained on applying this technique for water-saving to mitigate runoff, soil erosion, sediment losses, and improve food security in semiarid areas.

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Toward sustainable soil and water resources use in China's highly erodible semi-arid loess plateau

Cited by 55 publications

References 17 publications

Role of ley pastures in tomorrow’s cropping systems. A review

Role of ley pastures in tomorrow’s cropping systems. A review

Research on Regional System Planning Method of Rural Habitat in Gully Regions of the Loess Plateau, under the Background of Rural Vitalization Strategy in China

Influence of tied-ridge with biochar amendment on runoff, sediment losses, and alfalfa yield in northwestern China

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