Agroforestry techniques for the rehabilitation of degraded salt-affected lands in India

The development of appropriate technologies for the judicious use of India's 8.11 million ha of salt-affected lands would give increased food, fodder and fuelwood production. A sizeable portion of the salt-affected lands of the Indo-Gangetic plain have been reclaimed through chemical amendments and are being commercially used for arable farming. However, large areas of salt-affected common lands, village and government lands and waste lands near cities, along railway tracks and roads do not have any productive use. Owing to their sparse vegetative cover such lands are vulnerable to further degradation and can be a source of runoff causing floods, especially where cows congregate. Research at the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal has generated agroforestry techniques which could enable the economic exploitation of such marginal lands. This paper deals with various aspects of these techniques, which have been applied to over 50 000 ha by 1994. Based on eight to ten years of growth and biomass figures, the most salt-tolerant woody species identified were: Prosopis juliflora, Acacia nilotica, Casuarina equisetifolia, Tamarix articulata, Leptochloa fusca (a palatable forage grass which was found to be a promising primary colonizer of salt lands). Agronomic practices for the successful establishment of trees such as planting methods, amendment use, irrigation, spacing and lopping schedules are discussed. A Prosopis juliflora-leptochloa fusca silvipastoral model was found to be excellent for fuelwood and forage production and for the amelioration of high pH soils. This system, when followed for little more than four years, reclaims alkali soils to such an extent that normal agriculture crops such as Trifolium alexandrinum and T. resupinatum can be grown successfully. A ridge-trench system of tree planting was found to be helpful in alkali soils, the in situ rainwater conservation it led to assisting biomass production. Eucalyptus tereticornis, Populus deltoides and Tectona grandis based agroforestry were promising for reclaimed salt-affected lands. The short- and long-term effects of various tree plantations on the physicochemical properties of the soil and on soil-water relations are also discussed. Agroforestry options for the development of salt-affected lands found in various agroclimatic zones of India are explored.     

武汉城市绿地早春开花蔷薇科植物种类与应用调查

通过文献阅读与实地调查,对武汉地区城市绿地中常用的早春开花的蔷薇科植物种类和应用现状进行了分析和总结,旨在为武汉地区蔷薇科植物的引种和优良品种推广应用提供指导。     

新疆和田地区不同盐碱地地貌水盐分布差异性研究

新疆地区土地盐碱化危害严重,造成生产能力下降。通过同一时段对和田地区不同盐碱地地貌(未开垦的荒平地、荒坡地、荒低洼地以及使用3年的熟平地)的实地考察和测试研究,获得水盐分布现场数据。分析造成不同盐碱地地貌水盐分布差异的原因,结果表明:土壤含水量高低次序为:荒低洼地>使用3年熟平地>荒平地>荒坡地,土壤含盐量高低次序为:荒低洼地>荒平地>荒坡地>使用3年熟平地,未开垦盐碱地地貌土壤含盐量与土壤含水量呈正相关。     

旱地红壤长期定位施肥养分下移特征及作物产量效应研究

为了给合理施肥与面源污染防治提供科学依据,以玉米为试材,试验设4个处理,研究了旱地红壤长期施肥养分在剖面中的下移特征和作物产量效应。结果表明长期施用N、P肥和有机肥显著增加0~20 cm碱解氮、速效磷、速效钾和有机质含量;N与P或有机肥配施明显减少20~60 cm碱解氮含量,60~80 cm碱解氮含量差异较小;P与有机肥配施减少20~40 cm速效磷含量;40~60 cm速效磷含量差异极小;40 cm以下速效钾差异不明显,有机质60~80 cm以下无差异。低产红壤经28年改良培肥,生产性能达到中上等肥力水平。长期施N和NP,玉米籽粒分别在第8、24年绝收,NMP处理比NP处理显著增产。     

农产品生产价格波动与农地利用的关系——以甘肃省为例

农产品生产价格波动与农村耕地利用关系密切,事关中国粮食安全和农业可持续发展问题。以甘肃省为例,通过实地调查和统计数据分析,对主要农产品生产价格波动对农地利用影响的状况进行实证研究,从而为政府相关部门针对影响的不同状况采取相应的对策和政策措施提供参考。     

黑土长期定位试验原状土搬迁对土壤微生物性质的影响

通过测定黑土长期定位试验原状土整体搬迁前后四种处理(CK、NPK、M、MNPK)土壤可培养微生物数量、土壤微生物量含量及土壤酶活性变化,探讨搬迁的特定条件对土壤微生物性质的影响。结果表明,1搬迁前后5年各处理三大类微生物数量、微生物量碳、氮含量和四种土壤酶活性在0~20 cm土层中均高于20~40 cm土层;2每年在两个土层中MNPK处理的三大类微生物数量和微生物量碳、氮含量均最高,CK处理均最低,而每年在两个土层中土壤过氧化氢酶和转化酶活性CK和M处理均明显高于NPK和MNPK处理,而磷酸酶活性CK和M处理则低于NPK和MNPK处理,脲酶活性在4个处理中差异不大;3比较搬迁前后5年间各项微生物指标变化发现,各项指标年际间虽存在变化但程度不大,搬迁后2011年和2012年相对较高,同为小麦茬的搬迁前2010年和搬迁后2013年各项指标较为接近。研究说明,土壤深度和施肥对土壤各项生物指标影响较大,年际间变化也受到轮作方式的影响,搬迁对土壤微生物扰动影响远小于施肥和耕作方式等的影响。     

河北省藁城市农村居民点集约利用模式研究

建立了藁城市农村居民点集约利用评价指标体系,根据评价结果,按照利用的集约度由高到低将藁城市农村居民点分为A、B、C3类。针对不同类别居民点的特点,提出了3种农村宅基地集约利用模式,并为提高藁城市农村居民点集约利用能力提出了相应的对策建议。     

生长在矿区废弃地的栾树混交幼林生物量研究

对湖南湘潭锰矿矿业废弃地营造林的3．5-4．5年生栾树、杜英混交林进行了生物量研究．结果表明:林分密度为3 240株／hm2,栾树单株生物量为1 175-1 958 g,杜英为544-909 g;林分生物量为3125-5211．00 kg／hm2,林分净生产量为893．00- 2085．48 kg／(hm2·a)．现林木生命力强,生长旺盛,林分生产潜力大．为矿区废弃地的植物修复提供了优良树种．     

Changes in soil nitrogen availability due to stand development and management practices on semi‐arid sandy lands,in northern China

Soil nitrogen (N) availability is one of the limiting factors for plant growth on sandy lands. Little is known about impacts of afforestation on soil N availability and its components in southeastern Keerqin sandy lands, China. In this study, we measured N transformation under sandy Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv.) plantations of different ages (grassland, young, middle‐aged, close‐to‐mature) and management practices (non‐grazing and free‐grazing) during the growing seasons using the ion exchange resin bag method. Results showed that, for all plots and growing season, soil NH‐N, NO‐N, mineral N, and relative nitrification index, varied from 0·18 to 1·54, 0·96 to 22·05, 1·23 to 23·58 µg d⁻¹ g⁻¹ dry resin, and 0·76 to 0·97, respectively, and NO‐N dominated the available N amount due to intense nitrification in these ecosystems. In general, the four indices significantly increased in the oldest plantation, with corresponding values in non‐grazing sites lower than those in free‐grazing sites (p < 0·05). Our studies indicated that it is a slow, extended process to achieve improvement in soil quality after afforestation of Mongolian pine in the study area. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Causes and Effects of Gully Erosion on Agricultural Lands and the Environment

This study was aimed at assessing the causes of the gully erosion and its effects on the agricultural lands in the arid region of southeastern Iran. In this study, we have used geologic maps in scales of 1:50,000 and 1:250,000, aerial photographs on a scale of 1:20,000, field observation, and GPS (global positioning system). Three soil samples were taken from 25, 50, and 75% of the gully length at each location and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), cation exchange capacity (CEC), calcium (Ca), and soil texture. The causes of gully erosion, its effects on agricultural lands, characteristics of the gullies, soil depth, and vegetation of each area were evaluated. The results show that several parameters, including poor rangeland vegetation cover, overgrazing, human activities, intensive and short-period rainfall, improper land use, improper irrigation design, improper discharge of water in the channels, and soil characteristics influence the gully erosion. Gully erosion causes severe damage to agricultural lands, including soil loss, increase in surface runoff, lower soil water-holding capacity, lower quality and quantity of water, lower groundwater table, and lower agricultural production. It increased migration from villages to cities and increased socioeconomic problems and poverty. It also caused substantial damages to construction sites such as bridges, roads, and settlements as well as rivers and reservoirs and increased sediment concentration in rivers.