Effects of Bahia Grass Cover and Mulch on Runoff and Sediment Yield of Sloping Red Soil in Southern China

doi:10.1016/S1002-0160(11)60123-9

Pedosphere

Volume 21, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 238-243

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(11)60123-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Rainfall, runoff (surface runoff, interflow and groundwater runoff) and soil loss from 5 m × 15 m plots were recorded for 5 years (2001-2005) in an experiment with three treatments (cover, mulch and bare ground) on sloping red soil in southern China. Surface runoff and erosion from the Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) cover plot (A) and mulch plot (B) during the 5 years were low, despite the occurrence of potentially erosive rains. In contrast, the bare plot (C) had both the highest surface runoff coefficient and the highest sediment yield. There were significant differences in interflow and surface runoff and no significant difference in groundwater runoff among plots. The runoff coefficients and duration of interflow and groundwater runoff were in the order plot B > plot A > plot C. Effects of Bahia grass cover were excellent, indicating that the use of Bahia grass cover can be a simple and feasible practice for soil and water conservation on sloping red soil in the region.

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Citation Excerpt :
This might have occurred because a high disturbance was induced in first 1–2 y by terrace construction and grass plantation (Chen et al., 2020a, 2020b; Wei et al., 2019). Although it is difficulty for the new terraces to conserve soil resources owing to the exposure of surface soil at the edges of the terraces (Chen et al., 2020a, 2020b), the grasses may be fully established after 1–2 y (Li et al., 2011). Moreover, after approximately of 7 y succession of OD without SWCMs, the erosion rate changed from a larger to lower value in our study.
The degradation of soil resources is accelerating owing to water erosion induced by detrimental land use/land cover (LULC) practices. Although the relationship between affecting factors associated with LULC and soil erosion has been well-documented, a systematic review of LULC for erosion control is lacking. A quantitative synthesis of 1270 runoff and 1302 sediment observations from 79 references covering 57 sites was conducted to assess the effects of LULC on erosion control in the red soil hilly region (RSHR) of southern China. The results indicated that the maximum runoff and soil loss were found in bare land (BL), but the minimum runoff and soil loss were detected in cropland and grassland, respectively. Among the 16 land use subtypes, BL left for natural succession had the highest runoff, but the lowest runoff was found in orchard with contact cover; the soil loss was largest for cropland without conservation measures, while the minimum value was detected in natural shrubland. When the vegetation coverage exceeded 60%, runoff and soil loss both tended to reach a stable rate. Land use with a multi-layer vegetation structure or ground/contact cover or broadleaf plant had less runoff and lower sediment values. In addition, soil loss decreased sharply during the initial 3 y of vegetation restoration, and then slowly declined until reaching a relatively stable rate after 15 y of succession. Our results confirmed that land use (except for BL) has a limited influence on soil erosion provided that suitable land cover is established. This study revealed that sustainable land management measures should be adopted based on local conditions to reduce soil erosion induced by irrational LULC. These findings can serve as a scientific basis for policy makers and land managers with respect to water erosion control in the RSHR.

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: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40830640 and 41071026) and the Plan for Innovation of Graduate Students of Jiangsu Province, China (No. CX09B_168Z).

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Effects of Bahia Grass Cover and Mulch on Runoff and Sediment Yield of Sloping Red Soil in Southern China

Abstract

Bioresource Technol.

Agr. Ecosyst. Environ.

Geomorphology.

Catena.

Soil Till. Res.

J. Arid Environ.

Water Sci. Technol.

J. Arid Environt.

Earth-Sci. Rev.