Developing sustainable cropping systems by integrating crop rotation with conservation tillage practices on the Loess Plateau, a long-term imperative

2018 ◽  
Vol 222 ◽  
pp. 164-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Li ◽  
Xuan Yang ◽  
Song Cui ◽  
Qian Yang ◽  
Xianlong Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Tillage Practices

Effect of long-term conservation tillage on soil fertility in rain-fed areas of the Loess Plateau

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-464
Author(s):  
Zhu-Zhu LUO ◽  
Gao-Bao HUANG ◽  
Ren-Zhi ZHANG ◽  
Li-Qun CAI ◽  
Ling-Ling LI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
The Loess Plateau

An evaluation of EPIC soil water and yield components in the gully region of Loess Plateau, China

2006 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. HUANG ◽  
J. GALLICHAND ◽  
T. DANG ◽  
M. SHAO
Keyword(s):  
Root Mean Square Error ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Validation Period ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Calibration Period

The Erosion and Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) has been used to determine the effect of different cropping systems and management practices on soil productivity in the Loess Plateau of China. However, its crop growth and soil water balance submodels have not been verified in this region. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the ability of EPIC to estimate soil water content (θ in m3/m3), seasonal evapotranspiration (ET in mm/season) and crop yield (Y in t/ha) for winter wheat and maize. A 20-year field experiment was conducted at the Changwu Agro-ecological Experimental Station of the Loess Plateau, and divided into a calibration period and a validation period. Data from calibration (1984–94) were used to optimize the four most sensitive parameters of the EPIC crop yield submodel, whereas data from 1994 to 2004 were used for validation. For both crops, there were no significant differences between measured and estimated long-term means of the three variables (P=0·05) for either the calibration or validation periods. EPIC estimated all three variables with a small relative root mean square error (RRMSE), i.e. the ratio of root mean square error to the mean value. For wheat and maize, the calibration period resulted in respective RRMSE values of 0·112 and 0·100 for θ, 0·121 and 0·116 for ET, and 0·135 and 0·147 for Y. During the validation period, the RRMSE values obtained were 0·090 and 0·085 for θ, 0·129 and 0·135 for ET, and 0·169 and 0·149 for Y, for wheat and maize, respectively. The performance of EPIC in estimating annual values of θ, ET and Y was variable. For validation, EPIC explained 65, 79 and 64% of the measured variations of θ, ET and Y, respectively, for wheat, and 60, 70 and 67% for maize. The EPIC-estimated long-term average values of the three variables were not significantly different from measured values for winter wheat and maize during the calibration and validation periods. It can therefore be used in the gully region of the Loess Plateau to define alternative cropping systems and management practices.

Rhizobacterial communities and crop development in response to long-term tillage practices in maize and soybean fields on the Loess Plateau of China

CATENA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 105319
Author(s):  
Tong Li ◽  
Yuze Li ◽  
Xuechun Gao ◽  
Shengnan Wang ◽  
Ziting Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Crop Development

Yield, water productivity and economic return of dryland wheat in the Loess Plateau in response to conservation tillage practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 155 (8) ◽  
pp. 1272-1286
Author(s):  
Z. LI ◽  
Q. ZHANG ◽  
Q. YANG ◽  
X. YANG ◽  
J. LI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Stubble Retention ◽  
No Till

SUMMARYWinter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production on the Loess Plateau in China has been threatened by water scarcity and climate change during the last decade. Sustainable crop production in this region requires managerial practices that can provide high yield and high water productivity (WP). A 7-year (2001–2008) study at the Loess Plateau Research Station of Lanzhou University investigated the effects of various conservation tillage practices on grain yield, soil water content (SWC), WP and economic return of winter wheat production. Tillage treatments included: conventional tillage (T), conventional tillage followed by stubble retention (TS), no-till (NT) and no-till followed by stubble retention (NTS). Over the entire experimental period, grain yield and WP of winter wheat ranged from 1279 to 4894 kg/ha and 0·32 to 2·41 kg/m3, respectively. Both were significantly affected by tillage treatment and year, while SWC was only affected by year. Grain yield and WP in TS was increased by 4·9, 12·1, 0·9% and 13·7, 20·4 and 3·9% compared with NTS, NT and T, respectively, over seven growing seasons. Additionally, a multiple linear regression analysis indicated that grain yield is mainly limited by SWC during planting. Despite its lower grain yield, the NTS treatment increased economic benefit by US$ 328, US$ 23 and US$ 87/ha compared with TS, NT and T, respectively. Therefore, it is suggested that increasing soil water storage at wheat sowing time and encouraging the use of NTS could improve economic returns in this region.

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