Interactions between soil conservation and dryland farming of heterogeneously eroding areas in Loess Hills,China

The unidirectional impacts of soil conservation on dryland farming and local livelihood have been well studied.However,there are gaps in literature regarding the interactions among factors,such as labor force and financial capital,in response to soil conservation,as well as the influence of such interactions on the relationships between environmental projects and agricultural development.By combining the Chinese Soil Loss Equation(CSLE)model and statistical analyses,this study investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of soil erosion while also identifying the controlling factors that affect crop and livestock farming.The aim was to reveal how these factors interacted to influence agriculture in two case study areas between 2000 and 2017.The results showed that soil erosion substantially declined as a consequence of soil conservation,while the output from crop farming increased,indicating that there was a synergy between soil conservation and dryland farming in both the districts,over time;and factors facilitating crop farming,such as labor force,agricultural machinery,and irrigation,appeared to exert an adverse effect on livestock farming in both areas,implying a tradeoff between livestock and crop farming in the context of programs such as the Grain for Green Program(GGP)in the Loess Hills.Such a tradeoff is a result of the competition for cropland and labor that exists due to grazing prohibition and rural-urban migration.Therefore,policy-related resolutions are required to address the land use conflicts and migration-related rural labor losing due to implementation of the GGP in the Loess Hills.

Regions and Their Typical Paradigms for Soil and Water Conservation in China

China is experiencing conflicts between its large population and scarce arable land,and between a demand for high productivity and the severe soil erosion of arable land.Since 1949,China has committed to soil and water conservation(SWC),for which eight regions and 41 subregions have been developed to improve the environment and increase land productivity.To obtain information from the regional planning and strategies for SWC and to explore whether SWC practices simultaneously contribute to soil conservation,ecosystem functioning,and the livelihoods of local farmers,and to summarize the successful experiences of various SWC paradigms with distinct characteristics and mechanisms of soil erosion,this paper systematically presents seven SWC regions(excluding the Tibetan Plateau region)and 14 typical SWC paradigms,focusing on erosion mechanisms and the key challenges or issues in the seven regions as well as on the core problems,main objectives,key technologies,and the performance of the 14 typical paradigms.In summary,the 14 typical SWC paradigms successfully prevent and control local soil erosion,and have largely enhanced,or at least do not harm,the livelihoods of local farmers.However,there remain many challenges and issues on SWC and socioeconomic development that need to be addressed in the seven SWC regions.China,thus,still has a long way to go in successfully gaining the win-win objective of SWC and human aspects of development.