Effects of Vegetation Coverage and Management Practice on Soil Nitrogen Loss by Erosion in a Hilly Region of the Loess Plateau in China

Soil erosion and nutrient loss due to erosion are world-wide problems. Similar to soil loss by erosion, soil nitrogen (N) loss by erosion in small catchments is affected by vegetation coverage. The practice of comprehensive management for catchments mainly by adjusting cropland, grassland and woodland areas was widely adopted to reduce soil and water loss in catchments of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Three experiments under natural and artificial rainfall conditions on N loss by erosion for a model catchment and for an actual catchment in Zhifanggou of Ansai County in China was performed to determine the relationships between comprehensive management and N loss by runoff in small catchments. The results for vegetation coverage of 60%, 40%, 20% and 0 show that runoff loss of ammonium, nitrate, and total N were 87.08, 44.31, 25.16, 13.71 kg/km(2); 85.50, 74.06, 63.95, 56.23 kg/km(2); and 0.18, 1.18, 1.98, 7.51 t/ km(2), respectively. Due to reduction in the size of cropped area on steeply sloping land, soil N loss by erosion in the catchments was decreased by 15.8% as compared with that in 1992, i.e., from 8 758.5 kg in 1992 to 7 562.2 kg in 1998. Whereas, catchments act as a filter for ammonium and nitrate in rain, the catchment filtering effects on nitrate is remarkably higher than that on ammonium. The enrichment of < 20 mum aggregate in sediment results in the enrichment of organic matter and total N in flood sediment. Greater vegetation coverage can effectively decrease soil erosion and total N loss. However, soil mineral N loss increased as vegetation coverage increased.

Analysis on Status and Development Trend of Wind Erosion in Black Earth Region of Northeast China

In this paper,areas and main factors of wind erosion in black earth region of Northeast China were systematically analyzed,as well as the development trend of wind erosion in black earth region of Northeast China.In addition,development trend of wind erosion in black earth region of Northeast China was analyzed from the aspects of the geographic position,climatic change law in recent 40 years and effects of northeast sand land desertification on wind erosion in black earth region,which had provided references for the research and prevention of wind erosion in soil of black earth region of Northeast China.

Capacity of soil loss control in the Loess Plateau based on soil erosion control degree

The capacity of soil and water conservation measures, defined as the maximum quantity of suitable soil and water conservation measures contained in a region, were determined for the Loess Plateau based on zones suitable for establishing terraced fields, forestland and grassland with the support of geographic information system(GIS) software. The minimum possible soil erosion modulus and actual soil erosion modulus in 2010 were calculated using the revised universal soil loss equation(RUSLE), and the ratio of the minimum possible soil erosion modulus under the capacity of soil and water conservation measures to the actual soil erosion modulus was defined as the soil erosion control degree. The control potential of soil erosion and water loss in the Loess Plateau was studied using this concept. Results showed that the actual soil erosion modulus was 3355 t·km^(–2)·a^(–1), the minimum possible soil erosion modulus was 1921 t·km^(–2)·a^(–1), and the soil erosion control degree was 0.57(medium level) in the Loess Plateau in 2010. In terms of zoning, the control degree was relatively high in the river valley-plain area, soil-rocky mountainous area, and windy-sandy area, but relatively low in the soil-rocky hilly-forested area, hilly-gully area and plateau-gully area. The rate of erosion areas with a soil erosion modulus of less than 1000 t·km^(–2)·a^(–1) increased from 50.48% to 57.71%, forest and grass coverage rose from 56.74% to 69.15%, rate of terraced fields increased from 4.36% to 19.03%, and per capita grain available rose from 418 kg·a^(–1) to 459 kg·a^(–1) under the capacity of soil and water conservation measures compared with actual conditions. These research results are of some guiding significance for soil and water loss control in the Loess Plateau.

Research of Ecological Restoration of Jari Agricultural Demonstration Site in Ethiopia

In order to resolve the issue of soil erosion in East African plateau, a micro-landscape irrigation region was established in Ethiopia plateau to research status quo of agricultural demonstration site in Jari in Ethiopia and to analyze the relation between structure and function of inner elements in different landscapes of demonstration site. Furthermore, in accordance with ecology, silviculture, agriculture and economics, the ecological landscapes were classified as per landscape functions; lands returning from farming were classified and re-used; ecosystems of grassland, river, agriculture and courtyard were researched; the feasibility of ecological restoration and sustainable development in demonstration site was demonstrated; the model for rational irrigation and water conservation was proposed. The research guarantees sustainable development of agriculture and animal husbandry and provides references for undeveloped countries with similar problems.

Dynamic analysis of mainstream area and vegetation coverage degree of Songhua River based on RS and GIS techniques

Based on remote sensing technique,using 1990's Landsat TM data and 2000's Landsat ETM data,the authors conducts the comparative study of mainstream area of Songhua River by means of human-computer inter-action method.The results show that the area of Songhua River mainstream was 738 102 km 2 in 1990,and was 810.451 km 2 in 2000.From 1990 to 2000,the increased area of river mainstream is up to 72.349 km2 due to soil erosion and water loss.Meanwhile,the dynamic changes of surrounding vegetation cover are also studied.It is estimated that the trend of surrounding soil erosion and water loss of Songhua River mainstream becomes worse in Jilin Province.