The Loess Hilly–Gully region (LHGR) is the most serious soil erosion area in the world. For the small watershed with high management in this area, the scientific problem that has been paid attention to in recent years is the impact of the land consolidation project on the erosion environment in the gully region. In this study, the 3D simulation method of vegetation, eroded sediment and pollutant transport was innovated based on the principles of erosion sediment dynamics and similarity theory, and the impacts of GLCP were analyzed on the erosion environment at different scales. The verification results show that the design method and the scale conversion relationship (geometric scale: λl = 100) were reasonable and could simulate the transport process on the complex underlying surface of a small watershed. Compared with untreated watersheds, a significant change was the current flood peak lagging behind the sediment peak. There were two important critical values of GLCP impact on the erosion environment. The erosion transport in HMSW had no change when the proportion was less than 0.85%, and increased obviously when it was greater than 3.3%. The above results have important theoretical and practical significance for watershed simulation and land-use management in HMSW.
A new nano-soil stabilizer (N-MBER, Nanometer Material Becoming Earth into Rock) material was developed in this research by using the high activity and ultrafine properties of nano-SiO2 (NS), which were able to improve the properties of cement-based soil stabilizer and had broad application prospects. The results showed that (1) the strength of N-MBER obeyed a compound function relation with curing period and additive amount of NS. The relationship between strength and curing period obeyed an exponential function when the additive amount was constant. The strength and additive amount were a power function when the curing period was fixed. The compressive strength of N-MBER increased by more than 15% compared with MBER at day 28 of the curing period, and 50% compared with grade 32.5 cement. (2) The pozzolanic catalytic activity of NS significantly increased the amount of calcium silicate hydrate gel (C–S–H) in the N-MBER colloid. NS was also able to make the distribution of the network structure of colloidal space more uniform and improved the fractal dimension of particles by 0.05. The above results provide theoretical data for exploring the mechanism of soil stabilizer strength growth and for promoting the application of solid waste utilization.
Gully Land Consolidation (GLC) is a proven method to create farmlands and increase crop yields in the Loess Hilly and Gully Region, China. However, GLC influences phreatic water transformation and might cause the farmlands water disasters, such as salinization and swamping. For exploring the influence of GLC on phreatic water transformation and mitigating disasters, a series of indoor experiments were conducted in the artificial rainfall hall. Then, we simulated the phreatic water transformation patterns under more conditions with HYDRUS-3D. Finally, an engineering demonstration in the field was performed to validate our research. The indoor experiments indicated that GLC could increase phreatic water outflow rate 4.39 times and phreatic water coefficient (PWC) 2.86 times with a considerable delay. After calibration and validation with experimental data, the HYDRUS-3D was used to simulate phreatic water transformation under more soil thickness and rainfall intensities. Accordingly, we summarized the relationship among PWC, rainfall intensities, and soil thickness, and therefore suggested a blind ditch system to alleviate farmlands disasters. Field application showed that a blind ditch system could avoid disasters with 3.2 times the phreatic water transformation rate compared to loess. Our research provides implications for sustainable land uses and management in the region with thick soil covers.
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