Wind erosion and airborne dust deposition in farmland during spring in the Horqin Sandy Land of eastern Inner Mongolia, China

In the Horqin Sandy Land of eastern Inner Mongolia in northern China, wind erosion in farmland is very common in a period from thawing of frozen surface soil in mid-March to sowing of crops in the end of April, largely because of dry and windy weather. However, little is known about the magnitude of wind erosion and associated nutrient losses due to erosion and the addition of nutrients by airborne dust deposition to farmlands during this period. A field experiment was conducted in an Entisol with sand origin under corn (Zea mays L.) production to investigate daily changes in wind speed and wind erosion intensity (as measured by soil transport rate) over a period from 20 March to 30 April 2001. We also measured daily rates of airborne dust deposition during the spring seasons with the high frequency of dust storm occurrence. The rates of soil transport by wind varied greatly from 13.2 to 1254.1 kg ha⁻¹ per day, averaging 232.1 kg ha⁻¹ per day, largely attributable to great variation between days in wind speed within the study period. The potential losses of nutrients through wind erosion were 0.26–24.95 kg ha⁻¹ per day (averaging 4.62 kg ha⁻¹ per day) in organic matter, 0.02–1.64 kg ha⁻¹ per day (averaging 0.31 kg ha⁻¹ per day) in nitrogen and 0.01–0.7 kg ha⁻¹ per day (averaging 0.13 kg ha⁻¹ per day) in phosphorus. The mean rates of airborne dust deposition ranged from 4.0 to 48.9 kg ha⁻¹ per day, averaging 19.9 kg ha⁻¹ per day, during the spring seasons. The potential addition of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus by dust input to the experimental field was, on average, 0.54, 0.04 and 0.02 kg ha⁻¹ per day, respectively. Although the addition was a fraction of the losses due to erosion, nevertheless, dust input in the spring seasons is one of the major suppliers of soil nutrition. The fact that the addition of nutrients by dust is about 1/10 of the losses of soil nutrients through wind erosion suggests that developing and adopting more effective management practices to reduce soil erosion losses and to improve soil fertility are crucial to achieve a sustainable agricultural system in a fragile, semiarid sandy land environment.     

Effects of 10 years of conservation tillage on soil properties and productivity in the farming–pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia, China

Soil degradation and subsequent yield decline are the main factors limiting further development of agriculture on the farming–pastoral transition zone of China. A 10-year field experiment was conducted in Inner Mongolia to compare the long-term effects of no-tillage with straw cover (NT), subsoiling with straw cover (ST), rototilling with straw cover (RT) and traditional tillage (TT) using ploughs on soil properties and productivity in a spring wheat–oat cropping system. Long-term conservation tillage increased soil organic matter in the top 20 cm by 21.4%, total N by 31.8% and Olsen's P by 34.5% in the 0–5 cm layer compared to traditional tillage. Mean percentage of macro-aggregates (>0.25 mm, +20%) and macroporosity (>60 μm, +52.1%) also improved significantly in the 0–30 cm soil layer ( P  <   0.05). The largest yield improvements coupled with greatest water use efficiency (WUE) were achieved by no-tillage with straw cover. Ten-year mean crop yields increased by 14.0% and WUE improved by 13.5% compared to traditional tillage due to greater soil moisture and improved soil physical and chemical status. These improvements in soil properties and productivity are of considerable importance for the seriously degraded soils in semiarid Inner Mongolia, as well as for food security, sustainable agriculture and carbon storage in the farming–pasture transition regions of China.     

基于农牧户视角的荒漠化治理中退牧还草技术综合评价——以内蒙古鄂托克旗为例

农牧户作为退牧还草技术的实施者和重要利益相关者,其对技术的感知度和认可度对于调整和完善退牧还草技术具有重要的现实意义。本文以草地荒漠化典型区域——内蒙古鄂托克旗为例,采用主观层次分析法和客观熵权法相结合的方法,构建包括技术成熟度、技术应用难度、技术相宜性、技术效益和技术推广潜力5个方面的退牧还草技术综合评价指标体系,基于农牧户视角对内蒙古鄂托克旗退牧还草技术进行综合评价。结果表明:1)基于农牧户视角的鄂托克旗退牧还草技术综合评价结果为0.469 8,说明农牧户对于退牧还草技术的综合评价处于中等水平,技术满意度一般,技术可持续性较弱。具体表现为农牧户对于技术自身的草地生态系统退化修复功能持以肯定态度,生态效益评价较高;而对于经济效益和技术可持续性评价较低。2)分项退牧还草技术评价结果由高到低的排序为:技术相宜性、技术效益、技术成熟度、技术应用难度、技术推广潜力。3)分区域研究得出,鄂托克旗退牧还草技术综合评价的区域差异性较小。因此,退牧还草技术的综合评价结果能够反映农牧户对于该项技术的满意程度,为退牧还草技术的持续有效实施提供参考。