Potential use of cover crops for soil and water conservation, nutrient management, and climate change adaptation across the tropics

Now, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, and land degradation due to climate change has been pushing to search for more sustainable systems. Soil and water conservation practice contribute high in the long term agricultural sustainability and sustainable agricultural farming. The objective of this paper is to review the major agronomic practices and their role in soil and water conservation. The review revealed that the major agronomic soil and water conservations practices in Ethiopia are strip cropping, mixed cropping, intercropping, fallowing, mulching, contour ploughing, crop rotation, conservation tillage and agroforestry. The plant canopies, litter and mulching intercept rain by decreasing the amount, intensity and the spatial distribution of the precipitation reaching the soil surface and this protects the soil surface from the direct impact of raindrops which can cause a splash and sheet erosion. In soil and water conservation, this practice is higher than others, because crops and leguminous woody perennials improve and enrich soil conditions by atmospheric nitrogen fixation, an addition of organic matter through litterfall and dead and decaying roots, nutrient cycling, modification of soil porosity and contribution to infiltration rates. It also alleviates and maintains salinity, alkalinity, acidity and waterlogging problems. Hence, the use agronomic practices for soil and water conservation is vital for climate change adaptation and mitigation because it can give both productive role (producing food, fodder, fuel, wood) and protective role (soil conserving functions, windbreaks and shelterbelts).

Download Full-text

Quantifying the Impacts of Climate Change, Coal Mining and Soil and Water Conservation on Streamflow in a Coal Mining Concentrated Watershed on the Loess Plateau, China

Water ◽

10.3390/w11051054 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1054 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Qiaoling Guo ◽

Yaoyao Han ◽

Yunsong Yang ◽

Guobin Fu ◽

Jianlin Li

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Coal Mining ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Soil And Water Conservation ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Annual Streamflow ◽

Significant Downward Trend ◽

The Impact ◽

Soil And Water

The streamflow has declined significantly in the coal mining concentrated watershed of the Loess Plateau, China, since the 1970s. Quantifying the impact of climate change, coal mining and soil and water conservation (SWC), which are mainly human activities, on streamflow is essential not only for understanding the mechanism of hydrological response, but also for water resource management in the catchment. In this study, the trend of annual streamflow series by Mann-Kendall test has been analyzed, and years showing abrupt changes have been detected using the cumulative anomaly curves and Pettitt test. The contribution of climate change, coal mining and SWC on streamflow has been separated with the monthly water-balance model (MWBM) and field investigation. The results showed: (1) The streamflow had an statistically significant downward trend during 1955–2013; (2) The two break points were in 1979 and 1996; (3) Relative to the baseline period, i.e., 1955–1978, the mean annual streamflow reduction in 1979–1996 was mainly affected by climate change, which was responsible for a decreased annual streamflow of 12.70 mm, for 70.95%, while coal mining and SWC resulted in a runoff reduction of 2.15 mm, 12.01% and 3.05mm, 17.04%, respectively; (4) In a recent period, i.e., 1997–2013, the impact of coal mining on streamflow reduction was dominant, reaching 29.88 mm, 54.24%. At the same time, the declining mean annual streamflow induced through climate change and SWC were 13.01 mm, 23.62% and 12.20 mm, 22.14%, respectively.

Download Full-text