SOIL EROSION AND ITS IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENT IN YIXING TEA PLANTATION OF JIANGSU PROVINCE

Soil erosion on sloping field has led to a lot of environmental prob lems. In order to reveal the seriousness of the damage of soil erosion on slopin g fields 137Cs tracer method was used to estimate soil erosion rate. 137Cs refer ence inventory of 2200Bq/m2 in Yixing, southern Jiangsu Province, was estimated and a model for estimating erosion of cultivated soil was established in order t o avoid overestimating soil erosion rates. Then based on the soil erosion rates and measured soil physical and chemical properties, direct and indirect impacts of soil erosion on environment were further discussed. Direct impacts of erosion on environment included on-site and off-site impacts. The on-site impacts we re that soil layer became thin, soil structure was deteriorated and soil nutrien ts decreased. The off-site impacts were that water bodies were polluted. The in direct impacts of soil erosion on environment were the increase of fertilizer ap plication and energy consumption, and change of adaptability of land uses. Altho ugh erosion intensity was not serious in the study area, its environmental impac ts should not be ignored because of great soil nutrient loss and coarseness of s oil particles.

Determination of 137Cs reference inventories in a large-scale region： A case study in the central-eastern Inner Mongolia Plateau

In isotope 137 Cs tracing studies, it is a premise to determine suitable 137 Cs reference inventory（CRI） plots and the CRI values. Owing to the heterogeneous spatial distribution of 137 Cs deposition in the ground and diverse, or even irregular, operations in sampling and testing procedures, CRI determination is usually faced with many difficulties and uncertainties. In addition, more difficulties occur in an investigation of a large-scale region because of time constraints and measurement cost limitations. In this study, traditional CRI acquiring methods were summarized first, and then a new complex scheme was established, involving seven core steps and coupling the model estimate and sample measurement. The above CRI determination methodology was implemented in the central-eastern Inner Mongolia Plateau. The case study results showed that the CRI in the dark chestnut soil sub-region, located in the east and south of Xing＇an City, exhibited 2447 Bq·m–2; the CRI in the aeolian sandy soil sub-region, positioned in the south central Tongliao City and central Chifeng City, showed 2430 Bq·m–2; the CRI in the sandy chernozem soil sub-region, situated in the northwestern Chifeng City, presented 2384 Bq·m–2; and the CRI in the chestnut soil sub-region, in the southern Xilin Gol City, was 2368 Bq·m–2. The newly proposed CRI determination scheme was proved effective, and the determined CRI plots and CRI values were convincing. The methodology offered a framework for 137 Cs tracing studies in large-scale regions or long-distance transects.

Estimating Soil Erosion in Northeast China Using ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pbex

Evaluation of soil erosion in agricultural fields is valuable to develop conservation practices for reducing agricultural nonpoint source pollution. Soil erosion rates were quantified using the fallout radionuclide tracer technique in Mojiagou Basin located on the outskirts of Changchun in Northeast China. The calculated soft erosion rates in the study area were 1.99 and 1.85 mm year-1 using 137Cs and excess 210pb （210Pbex） measurements, respectively. Both fallout radionuclides showed a similar tendency at downslope sites. All measured sites have experienced net erosion during the past 50 to 100 years. 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements were useful to quantify soil erosion rates on field and small basin scales. At this rate of erosion, the current fertile topsoil layer would be entirely removed within 70 years.