The characteristics of gully erosion over rolling hilly black soil areas of Northeast China

In this study,short-term gully retreat was monitored from the active gullies selected in representative black soil area,using differential global positioning system(GPS).With the support of geographic information system(GIS),multi-temporal digital elevation models(DEM) were constructed from the data collected by GPS and used for further analysis.Based on the analysis of multi-temporal DEM,we discussed the erosion-deposition characteristics within gully and a developing model for black soil gully area of Northeast China was proposed.The results are:(1) The analysis of the monitored gully data in 2004 indicated that the retreat of gully head reached more than 10 m,gully area extended 170-400 m2,net gully eroded volume 220-320 m3,and gully erosion modulus 2200-4800 t?km?2?a?1.(2) Compared with the mature gully the initial gully grows rapidly,and its erosion parameters are relatively large.The erosion parameters have not only to do with flow energy,but also with the growth phase.(3) There are significant seasonal differences in gully erosion parameters.The extension of gully area and width dominates in winter and spring without marked net erosion while changes mainly occur in gully head and net erosion in rainy season.(4) It is remarkable for freeze-thaw erosion in the black soil area of NE China.The gully wall of SG2 extended 0.45 m under freeze-thaw effect in 2004,and the distance of gully head retreated maximally 6.4 m.(5) Due to freeze-thaw action and snowmelt,gully is primarily in the interior adjustment process in winter and early spring.There are much more depositions compared with that during rainy season,which can almost happen throughout the gully,while erosion mostly occurs near head,esp.for gullies having a relatively long history of development.On the other hand,the process of energy exchange with exterior dominates in rainy season.It is considered that this cyclic process is an important mechanism for gully growth in high latitude or/and high attitude regions.

Study on Relative Soil and Water Conservation Benefits of Ridge Tillage in Different Terrain Conditions in the Black Soil Area of Northeast China

Ridge tillage, which is a very common and important tillage measure in the black soil area of northeast China, has some soil and water conservation bene- fits, but has little attention. It is very important to explore the spatial distribution of the ridge direction of the arable land and its soil and water conservation benefits in different terrain conditions in the black soil area. So Binxian County of Heilongjiang Province was selected as the study area, and 168 field investigation units were ex- tracted by stratified sampling method and investigated. According to equations of slope gradient factor and slope gradient in ridge direction, and based on the soft- ware of Arcmap, SPSS and Excel, the investigation data of soil and water loss in Binxian County were analyzed and counted, The results show that in plain, hilly and mountainous areas, the average ground slope gradients are 1.92°, 6.20° and 8.27° respectively, and the average slope gradients along ridge direction are 1.33°, 4.52°and 6.45° respectively, which account for about 70%, 73% and 78% of the average ground slope gradients in the same terrain condition; the relative quantities of soil erosion in the present ridge tillage condition account for about 55%, 69% and 67% respectively of that in down-slope ridge tillage conditions, so the present ridge tillage has obviously relative soil and water conservation benefits. Based on these results, the reasons of the present ridge tillage status were analyzed, and some reform measures were proposed. The results could not only help to comprehend the spatial distribution and soil and water conservation benefits of ridge tillage in the black soil area of Northeast China, but also provide scientific references for the layout of local soil and water conservation measures.

Gully Erosion Regionalization of Black Soil Area in Northeastern China

Gully erosion is the frequent and main form of soil erosion in the black soil area of the northeastern China, which is one of the most important commodity grain production bases in China. It is encroaching upon the fertile farmland there. Regionalization of gully erosion can reveal the spatial distribution and regularity of the development of gully erosion. Based on the eco-geographical regional background features of the black soil area, this study combined the regionalization with influencing factors of the development of gully erosion. GIS spatial analysis, geostatistical analysis, spatial statistics, reclassification, debris polygon processing and map algebra methods were employed. As a result, the black soil area was divided into 12 subregions. The field survey data on type, length, volume and other characteristics indicators of gully erosion were used to calibrate the results. Then the features of every subregion, such as where the gully erosion is, how serious it is, and why it happens and develops, were expounded. The result is not only an essential prerequisite for gully erosion surveys and monitoring, but also an important basis for gully erosion prevention.

Changes in and evaluation of surface soil quality in Populus×xiaohei shelterbelts in midwestern Heilongjiang province,China

To examine changes in surface soil quality over time in Populus×xiaohei shelterbelts,we collected soil samples from five shelterbelts of different ages and also from former cropland left fallow for 25 years.Twenty-one surface soil(0–20 cm)properties were measured,and variation in soil quality was assessed using one-way ANOVAs and multiple comparison tests.Based on this analysis,16 soil indexes were used in a model evaluating soil quality,with each index given weight as determined by the correlation coefficient.Compared with the control,the postmature forest had greater soil moisture content but lower bulk density(P<0.05).The mature forest also had higher soil pH,total organic carbon,alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen,available phosphorus,and biomass nitrogen content,but reduced nitrate-nitrogen and total phosphorus content than the control(P<0.05).Total porosity was highly positively correlated with aeration,nitrate-nitrogen,alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen,available phosphorus,microbial biomass carbon and microbial biomass nitrogen.Soil total organic carbon,ammonium nitrogen,nitrate-nitrogen,alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen,total nitrogen,available phosphorus,microbial biomass carbon and microbial biomass nitrogen were all strongly correlated.In the soil quality evaluation model,total organic carbon was assigned the highest weight and total potassium content the lowest.The soil quality index was lowest in the near-mature forest and greatest in the postmature forest.Generally,soil quality in P opulus×xiaohei shelterbelts varied with age and was higher in the 10–20 cm versus 0–10 cm soil layer.After a single forest generation,surface soil quality was significantly improved.