Fractal features of soil particle redistribution along sloping landscapes with hedge berms in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region of China |
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| Authors: | P Zhou W H Zhuang A B Wen Z L Shi |
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| Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences & Ministry of Water Conservancy, Chengdu, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dry land Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences & Ministry of Water Conservancy, Yangling, China;3. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic and Mountain River Engineering, College of Hydraulic and Hydroelectric Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China |
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| Abstract: | Most studies have evaluated the effects of soil redistribution under water erosion or tillage erosion within hill slope landscapes, yet few studies have demonstrated soil particle redistribution from the sloping lands with a hedge berm. In this study, soil particle redistribution and fractal dimension from sloping lands with or without a hedge berm were investigated. The main radius of soil particles being redistributed from the sloping lands ranged between 0.002 and 0.02 mm, whether or not a hedge berm existed. However, there were significant differences between sloping land with a hedge berm and without a hedge berm (P < 0.05). The values of the bias coefficient ranged from ?0.893 to ?0.817, and the values of peak convex coefficient ranged from ?1.619 to ?1.371. And the order of values of the fractal dimension for land with a hedge berm of 10 cm height was as follows: upper slope > middle slope > lower slope, and the sequence of the values of fractal dimension from sloping land without a hedge berm was upper slope >middle slope > lower slope. There was also a significant difference between the upper (US) and middle slope (MS) position (P < 0.05), and results also showed highly significant correlations (R2=0.9088 without hedge berm, R2 = 0.9048 with hedge berm, respectively). A regression analysis was performed to establish the logarithmic relationship between peak convex coefficient and soil depth (R2 = 0.9461 without hedge berm, R2 = 0.9780 with hedge berm, respectively). The correlation between fractal dimension and bias coefficient was significant (P = < 0.05). Our results suggest that fractal dimension, bias coefficient and peak convex coefficient were sensitive indices to evaluate the soil particle redistribution and the farming activities, such as building a hedge berm, could better describe the characters of soil structure and soil particle redistribution from sloping cultivated land. |
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| Keywords: | Soil particle redistribution fractal dimension bias coefficient peak convex coefficient sloping cultivated lands |
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