Effects of terracing on soil water and canopy transpiration of Pinus tabulaeformis in the Loess Plateau of China

Abstract

a b s t r a c tTerracing has long been considered one of the most effective measures for soil water conservation and site improvement. However, few studies regarding the quantitative effects of terracing on soil water dynamics and vegetation water use efficiency were reported. To fill these knowledge gaps, in this study, soil water content and canopy transpiration from 2014 to 2015 were monitored in both terrace and slope environments in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. Results showed that terracing had positive influences on soil water content among layers. Mean soil water content of the terrace site was 25.4% and 13.7% higher than that in the slope site in 2014 and 2015, and canopy transpiration at the terrace site increased by 9.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Canopy conductance at the terrace site was 3.9% higher than that at the slope site and it decreased logarithmically with the increase of vapor pressure deficit. This study highlighted the critical role of terracing in soil-water improvement and water-stress mitigation in semiarid environments. Thus, terracing has the potential to enhance sustainable vegetation restoration in water-limited regions.

Terraced Pasture Changes the Soil Moisture Dynamics

“…For other authors, such as Gao and Shao (2012), this stability is up to 300 cm deep. In our study, the stability occurred in all terraced pasture ( Figure 6), which may favor the plant growth (Zhang et al, 2017).…”

“…The planting and/or maintenance of trees in pastures is one of these alternatives (Chen et al, 2017). The trees facilitate the water infiltration into the soil, dynamizes the water cycle (Andrade et al, 2015;Ellison et al, 2017), increase recharge of the water source, contributes to the cycling of nutrients and restores vegetation (Zhang et al, 2017).…”

“…The negative impacts of the anthropic activity on soils and rivers were intensified by frequent climate changes. To mitigate the problems, terraces have been suggested to be implemented on pasture (Galdino et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2017;Chen et al, 2017 shielded antenna, control unit and a portable computer for recording the radargrams. We used 512 dashes to get high signals and noises ratio and the best records of the field profiles.…”

Percepção de agricultores (as) sobre práticas de conservação de solo e água implantados com apoio de órgãos públicos

“…As práticas vegetativas contribuem para aumentar a cobertura vegetal do solo, a infiltração e a rugosidade superficial do terreno (YAN et al, 2015;GALDINO et al, 2016). As práticas mecânicas, como por exemplo, os terraços, reduzem a velocidade da água e com isto diminui o escoamento superficial (ARNÁEZ et al, 2015) e favorecem sua infiltração e o aumento da umidade do solo em profundidade (QUEREJETA et al, 2000;ZHANG et al, 2017;LOPES et al, 2019); as barragens de contenção, mais conhecidas no Brasil como "barraginhas", e as caixas de contenção de água nas estradas também reduzem a velocidade do fluxo de água, a erosão e a deposição de sedimentos nos cursos de água (VASCONCELOS, 2017).…”

“…Todas estas práticas de manejo influenciam diretamente os parâmetros físico-químicos e biológicos dos corpos d'água e contribuem para aumentar as funções eco-hidrológicas do solo (TUNDISI; TUNDISI, 2010;TAMBOSI et al, 2015) e com isto favorecem os serviços ecossistêmicos, dentre eles o abastecimento do lençol freático (QUEREJETA et al, 2000;YAN et al, 2015;ZHANG et al, 2017); reduzem os custos para o tratamento de água potável; evitam inundações e; melhoram as condições de produção agrícola (VÖRÖSMARTY et al, 2010).…”