Redistribution and loss of soil organic carbon by overland flow under various soil management practices on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Field rainfall simulations with intensities of 85 and 170 mm/h were conducted in 2002 and 2005 on a 15-m long slope on a loess soil in Luoyang, Henan Province, P. R. China to study the effects of different soil management practices on the redistribution and loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) by runoff and soil erosion. Field plots under winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) were set up in 2001 and included the following soil management practices: subsoiling with mulch (SSM), no-till with mulch (NTM), reduced tillage (RT) and conventional tillage control (CT). The results showed that SOC for topsoil (0–20 cm) increased in the NTM and SSM plots when compared with results from 2002 and 2005. For all treatments, SOC in the lower part of the plots was higher in 2005 than in 2002. The values from the upper parts of the plots were only lower in 2005 compared with the overall values for 2002 for RT and CT. The enrichment ratio of organic carbon (ER_oc) in runoff sediment varied from 1.01 to 2.24 with a mean of 1.25. During the simulated rainfall events, ER_oc was initially high and then reduced after a short period to reach a steady value at the end of the event, always remaining ≥1. The change in SOC loss rate was more dependent on the sediment loss rate than on the changes in SOC concentration in the sediment. The best results in terms of a reduction in soil and SOC loss were obtained with NTM: no runoff and hence no soil and SOC loss were observed. SOC losses observed for SSM were on average only 4% of those observed for CT. RT resulted in 71% SOC loss compared with CT although the runoff reduction was not pronounced. For farmers, SSM and NTM are the best alternatives in terms of SOC conservation. NTM has the additional advantage that it requires less labour and is more beneficial from economic and environmental perspectives.     

Soil management effects on runoff and soil loss from field rainfall simulation

Soil erosion from agricultural lands is a serious problem on the Chinese Loess Plateau. In total, 28 field rainfall simulations were carried on loamy soils under different management practices, namely conventional tillage (CT), no till with mulch (NTM), reduced tillage (RT), subsoiling with mulch (SSM), subsoiling without mulch (SS), and two crops per year (TC), to investigate (i) the effects of different soil management practices on runoff sediment and (ii) the temporal change of runoff discharge rate and sediment concentration under different initial soil moisture conditions (i.e. initially dry soil surface, and wet surface) and rainfall intensity (85 and 170 mm h^− 1) in the Chinese Loess Plateau. NTM was the best alternative in terms of soil erosion control. SSM reduced soil loss by more than 85% in 2002 compared to CT, and its effects on runoff reduction became more pronounced after 4 years consecutive implementation. SS also reduced considerably the runoff and soil loss, but not as pronounced as SSM. TC resulted in a significant runoff reduction (more than 92%) compared to CT in the initial ‘dry’ soil, but this effect was strongly reduced in the initial ‘wet’ soil. Temporal change of runoff discharge rate and sediment concentration showed a large variation between the different treatments. In conclusion, NTM is the most favorable tillage practices in terms of soil and water conservation in the Chinese Loess Plateau. SSM can be regarded as a promising measure to improve soil and water conservation considering its beneficial effect on winter wheat yield.     

耕作措施及雨强对南方红壤坡耕地侵蚀的影响

选择典型南方红壤区平均坡度为10°的坡耕地小区进行天然降雨观测,对横坡耕作、顺坡耕作、顺坡耕作+植物篱、稻草覆盖4种耕作措施在侵蚀过程中的径流泥沙和养分流失特征进行研究。结果表明,监测期间,径流深和泥沙流失量基本随雨强的增大而增加。随着耕作措施由顺坡耕作向顺坡耕作+植物篱、横坡耕作、稻草覆盖的转换,减流效益、减氮效益和减磷效益依次增大。稻草覆盖措施减流效益最佳,为91.77%;横坡耕作措施减沙效益最佳,为98.91%;稻草覆盖、横坡耕作和植物篱3种措施在防治高强度降雨引发的土壤侵蚀和养分流失具有较高的效益。耕作措施对泥沙粒径分布有影响。与顺坡耕作、横坡耕作相比,植物篱和稻草覆盖措施能够更有效地拦截径流中的粗颗粒。该研究可为南方红壤丘陵区坡耕地选择合适的耕作措施和防治农业非点源污染提供依据。     

Tillage and crop management impacts on soil loss and crop yields in northwestern Ethiopia

Lack of appropriate agronomic practices is one of the major causes for soil erosion and low yields in teff (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.]) production in Ethiopia. A 3-yr study was conducted at the Aba Gerima watershed in northwestern Ethiopia, to investigate the effects of two tillage practices (reduced tillage [RT] and conventional tillage [CT]), two planting methods (row planting [RP] and broadcast planting [BP]), and two compaction options (with [+T] and without [–T] trampling) on soil loss and teff yields in a split-split plot arrangement. Sediment concentration ranged from 0.01 to 5.37 g L^?1 (mean, 0.25 g L^?1) in our study. Accordingly, the estimated total (August–October) soil loss ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 t ha^–1 (mean, 0.3 t ha^–1). The sediment concentration and total soil loss were significantly influenced (P < 0.05) by tillage, planting methods, and trampling only in the third monitoring year. RT reduced soil loss by 19% relative to that of CT, whereas RP resulted in a 13% reduction in soil loss over BP. The ?T plots showed a 15% reduction in soil loss as compared to + T plots. Results revealed significant increase in soil total carbon and nitrogen in RT and –T. Less soil loss and greater teff grain yield were obtained in plots with improved agronomic practices (RT and RP) compared to conventional ones (CT and BP). Based on our findings we conclude that the use of RT, RP, and –T practices can effectively minimize soil loss without any crop yield penalty.     

坡度对农业耕作措施水土保持作用的影响

农业耕作措施是水土保持三大措施之一,在坡耕地水土保持中起关键作用。利用人工模拟降雨试验方法,对不同坡度条件下农业耕作措施水土保持作用进行了研究。农业耕作措施包括等高耕作、人工掏挖和人工锄耕,以平整坡面为对照措施;降雨试验在长4m,宽1m的径流小区完成;坡度为5°,10°,15°,20°,25°;降雨强度为1,1.5,2mm/min。结果表明:与平整坡面相比,等高耕作、人工掏挖和人工锄耕分别减小产流量38.19%,32.25%和15.84%;减小产沙量均在50%以上,说明农业耕作措施具有明显的水土保持作用。通过对坡度与产流量、产沙量关系分析表明,在耕作坡面,坡度会影响产流量,但是大坡度与小坡度之间差异不显著。相反,坡度对产沙量具有显著影响,在小坡度条件下,产沙量受坡度的影响较小。当坡度大于15°后,坡度每增加1°,等高耕作、人工掏挖和人工锄耕耕作措施保土作用平均降低3.08%,4.74%和7.61%。回归分析表明产沙量与坡度之间存在指数函数关系。可见,坡度对农业耕作措施保水作用和保土作用的影响不同。     

翻耕除草对不同坡长下紫色土氮磷流失的影响

为揭示自然降雨下翻耕除草和坡长对紫色土氮、磷流失的影响,通过野外设置径流小区(2个坡面:翻耕除草与自然恢复;3种坡长:20,40,60 m,共9个小区),定位监测研究不同处理下产流产沙及氮、磷流失特征。结果表明,同一坡面不同坡长间产流产沙差异不显著(P0.05);同一坡长不同坡面处理小区的径流量、产沙量差异极显著(P0.01)。与翻耕除草相比,自然恢复坡面20,40,60 m坡长小区径流量分别减少77.55%,62.62%,79.56%,产沙量分别减少85.21%,94.97%,96.25%。仅在40 m坡长下,不同坡面处理径流中DN、DP流失量差异不显著(P0.05),其他坡长DN、DP流失量差异显著(P0.05);各坡长不同坡面处理下泥沙中TN、TP流失量差异极显著(P0.01)。与翻耕除草相比,自然恢复坡面处理径流中DN、DP流失量分别减少75.13%,80.22%,泥沙中TN、TP流失量分别减少96.07%,96.38%。在翻耕除草坡面处理下,降雨强度与径流量、产沙量及泥沙中的TN和TP流失量呈极显著幂函数关系;在自然恢复坡面处理下,上述关系均不显著。研究结果可为紫色土氮、磷流失及面源污染防治等提供理论参考依据。     

The effect of tillage systems on some microbial characteristics

Soils were sampled from plots with four variants of tillage methods: (1) conventional tillage (CT); (2) no tillage (NT); (3) minimum tillage (MTS); and (4) no tillage + mulch (NTM). Our aim was to study the influence of tillage on selected soil microbial properties. Determination of urease, dehydrogenase, invertase, arylsulphatase, potential nitrogenase activity, CFU of Azotobacter spp., and carbon microbial biomass has been conducted for time period 2002–2007. Soil samples from 0–0.1 m, 0.1–0.3 m, and 0.3–0.5 m were collected in the spring and autumn. Enzymatic activities (dehydrogenase, urease, arylsulphatase, and invertase) were significantly affected by soil depth and the tillage system employed. The statistically significant higher activity of urease was measured using the minimum tillage system (MTS), compared to the conventional tillage (CT) at soil depths of 0–0.1 m. The highest dehydrogenase activity was measured during the protective tillage treatment (NTM – no tillage with mulch). As far as other enzymatic activities (invertase and arylsulphatase) are concerned, the highest values were recorded in the protective tillage treatments. The highest counts of Azotobacter spp., as well as the highest nitrogenase activity (both statistically significant) were found in the no tillage + mulch (NTM) variant, at depths of 0.1–0.3 m. Microbial biomass (C-biomass) was the highest with the minimum tillage (MTS). The results show a positive influence of protection soil tillage on the reviving of upper layer of topsoil, especially in the variants where soil was supplied with organic matter.     

Effects of grass vegetation strips on soil conservation and crop yield under rainfed conditions in the Indian sub‐Himalayas

Vegetation strips (VS) along with conservation tillage, application of organic amendments and weed mulching improve crop yields by reducing run‐off and topsoil erosion. To investigate these issues, an experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions using grass VS for four and a half years (June 2007 to October 2011) at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayan region. VS were incorporated in the experimental plots (Entisols) in a randomized complete block design in permanent 100 × 20 m (2000 m²) plots with a 2% slope to evaluate the effects of vegetation strips on run‐off, soil loss and crop yield. Three treatments were evaluated: (i) without VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage, (ii) panicum as VS with recommended NPK under conventional tillage and (iii) palmarosa+ that consists of palmarosa as VS along with organic amendments (farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage. The results show that soil loss and run‐off were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in plots under palmarosa+ than without VS treatment. Mean soil loss of 3.4, 5.2 and 7.1 t/ha was recorded from palmarosa+, panicum and without VS treated plots, respectively. Mean run‐off was 234, 356 and 428 mm from plots under palmarosa+, panicum and without VS, respectively. Maize yield was lower on the plots under palmarosa+ compared with panicum, but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than without a strip. The succeeding rainfed wheat yield was significantly greater in plots under palmarosa+ than in the initial years. The wheat yield equivalent was significantly higher in plots under palmarosa+ followed by panicum and without VS. Thus, vegetation strips are recommended for wider adoption to reduce run‐off and soil loss and to increase crop yield. The long‐term goal is to achieve a palmarosa+ system (palmarosa as a vegetation strip along with organic amendments, farmyard manure, vermicompost and poultry manure) and weed mulch under minimum tillage.     

不同耕作措施对黑土坡耕地土壤侵蚀的影响

针对黑龙江省西部半干旱区土壤流失情况,在坡耕地径流小区通过野外人工模拟降雨试验,研究不同降雨强度、不同耕作措施下降雨产沙产流特征和过程。试验结果表明:降雨强度越大,对地表径流量和侵蚀量的影响越大,即雨强与径流量和泥沙量呈正相关,各种耕作措施的土壤流失顺序是顺坡垄裸地>横坡垄裸地>等高种植地>深松地>秸杆覆盖地>垄向区田地,植被覆盖地能有效控制水土流失,垄向区田地是这几种耕作措施中减少坡耕地水土流失的有效措施。     

Quantifying soil respiration in response to short-term tillage practices: a case study in southern Turkey

Abstract

The study aimed at quantifying the rates of soil CO₂ efflux under the influence of common tillage systems of moldboard plow (PT), chisel plow (CT), rotary tiller (RT), heavy disc harrow (DT), and no-tillage (NT) for 46 days in October and November in a field left fallow after wheat harvest located in southern Turkey. The NT and DT plots produced the lowest soil CO₂ effluxes of 0.3 and 0.7 g m^?2 h^?1, respectively, relative to the other plots (P < 0.001). Following the highest rainfall amount of 87 mm on the tenth day after the tillage, soil CO₂ efflux rates of all the plots peaked on the 12th day, with less influence on soil CO₂ efflux in the NT plot than in the conventional tillage plots. Soil evaporation in NT (64 mmol m^?2 s^?1) was significantly lower than in the PT (85 mmol m^?2 s^?1) and RT (89 mmol m^?2 s^?1) tillage treatments (P < 0.01). The best multiple-regression model selected explained 46% of variation in soil respiration rates as a function of the tillage treatments, soil temperature, and soil evaporation (P < 0.001). The tillage systems of RT, PT, and CT led, on average, to 0.23, 0.22, and 0.18 g m^?2 h^?1 more soil CO₂ efflux than the baseline of NT, respectively (P≤0.001).