Effects of Lucerne Removal Time on Soil Water and Productivity in a Lucerne- Wheat Rotation on the Western Loess Plateau

AbstractChanges in land use type can lead to variations in soil water characteristics. The objective of this study was to identify the responses of soil water holding capacity (SWHC) and soil water availability (SWA) to land use type (grassland, shrubland and forestland). The soil water characteristic curve describes the relationship between gravimetric water content and soil suction. We measured the soil water characteristic parameters representing SWHC and SWA, which we derived from soil water characteristic curves, in the 0–50 cm soil layer at sites representing three land use types in the Ziwuling forest region, located in the central part of the Loess Plateau, China. Our results showed that the SWHC was higher at the woodland site than the grassland and shrubland, and there was no significant difference between the latter two sites, the trend of SWA was similar to the SWHC. From grassland to woodland, the soil physical properties in the 0–50 cm soil layer partially improved, BD was significantly higher at the grassland site than at the shrubland and woodland sites, the clay and silt contents decreased significantly from grassland to shrubland to woodland and sand content showed the opposite pattern, the soil porosity was higher in the shrubland and woodland than that in the grassland, the soil physical properties across the 0–50 cm soil layer improved. Soil texture, porosity and bulk density were the key factors affecting SWHC and SWA. The results of this study provide insight into the effects of vegetation restoration on local hydrological resources and can inform soil water management and land use planning on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

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Contrasting Water Use Strategies of Tamarix ramosissima in Different Habitats in the Northwest of Loess Plateau, China

Water ◽

10.3390/w12102791 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 2791

Author(s):

Pengyan Su ◽

Mingjun Zhang ◽

Deye Qu ◽

Jiaxin Wang ◽

Yu Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Meteoric Water ◽

Water Source ◽

Water Sources ◽

Tamarix Ramosissima ◽

Water Line ◽

Meteoric Water Line ◽

Utilization Ratio

As a species for ecological restoration in northern China, Tamarix ramosissima plays an important role in river protection, flood control, regional climate regulation, and landscape construction with vegetation. Two sampling sites were selected in the hillside and floodplain habitats along the Lanzhou City, and the xylems of T. ramosissima and potential water sources were collected, respectively. The Bayesian mixture model (MixSIAR) and soil water excess (SW-excess) were applied to analyze the relationship on different water pools and the utilization ratios of T. ramosissima to potential water sources in two habitats. The results showed that the slope and intercept of local meteoric water line (LMWL) in two habitats were smaller compared with the global meteoric water line (GMWL), which indicated the existence of drier climate and strong evaporation in the study area, especially in the hillside habitat. Except for the three months in hillside, the SW-excess of T. ramosissima were negative, which indicated that xylems of T. ramosissima are more depleted in δ2H than the soil water line. In growing seasons, the main water source in hillside habitat was deep soil water (80~150 cm) and the utilization ratio was 63 ± 17% for T. ramosissima, while the main water source in floodplain habitat was shallow soil water (0~30 cm), with a utilization ratio of 42.6 ± 19.2%, and the water sources were different in diverse months. T. ramosissima has a certain adaptation mechanism and water-use strategies in two habitats, and also an altered water uptake pattern in acquiring the more stable water. This study will provide a theoretical basis for plant water management in ecological environment protection in the Loess Plateau.

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Effects of planting structure on soil water-stable aggregates, microbial biomass and enzyme activity in a catchment of Loess Plateau terraces, China

Applied Soil Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.apsoil.2020.103819 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 103819

Author(s):

Li Xiao ◽

Yimei Huang ◽

Junfeng Zhao ◽

Junying Zhou ◽

Fakher Abbas

Keyword(s):

Enzyme Activity ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Soil Water ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Water Stable Aggregates

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Soil water, nutrient distribution and use efficiencies under different water and fertilizer coupling in an apple–maize alley cropping system in the Loess Plateau, China

Soil and Tillage Research ◽

10.1016/j.still.2021.105308 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 218 ◽

pp. 105308

Author(s):

Xiaoyu Dou ◽

Ruoshui Wang ◽

Xuan Zhou ◽

Fei Gao ◽

Yang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Alley Cropping ◽

Cropping System ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Nutrient Distribution

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Effect of Nano-Carbon on Water Holding Capacity in a Sandy Soil of the Loess Plateau

Earth Sciences Research Journal ◽

10.15446/esrj.v21n4.66104 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 189-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Beibei Zhou ◽

Xiaopeng Chen

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Sandy Soil ◽

Water Retention ◽

Soil Mixture ◽

Cumulative Infiltration ◽

Nano Carbon ◽

Water Contents ◽

Soil Water Contents

The poor water retention capacity of sandy soils commonly aggregate soil erosion and ecological environment on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Due to its strong capacity for absorption and large specific surface area, the use of nanocarbon made of coconut shell as a soil amendment that could improve water retention was investigated. Soil column experiments were conducted in which a layer of nanocarbon mixed well with the soil was formed at a depth of 20 cm below the soil surface. Four different nanocarbon contents by weight (0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1%) and five thicknesses of the nanocarbon- soil mixture layer ranging from 1 to 5 cm were considered. Cumulative infiltration and soil water content distributions were determined when water was added to soil columns. Soil Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) were obtained using the centrifuge method. The principal results showed that the infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration increased with the increases of nanocarbon contents, to the thicknesses of the nano carbon-soil mixture layer. Soil water contents that below the soil-nano carbon layer decreased sharply. Both the Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten models could describe well the SWCC of the disturbed sandy soil with various nano carbon contents. Both the saturated water content (θs), residual water content (θr) and empirical parameter (α) increased with increasing nano carbon content, while the pore-size distribution parameter (n) decreased. The available soil water contents were efficiently increased with the increase in nanocarbon contents.

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