Estimating regional losses of soil water due to the conversion of agricultural land to forest in China's Loess Plateau

Jia, Xiaoxu; Wang, Yunqiang; Shao, Mingan; Luo, Yiqi; Zhang, Chencheng

doi:10.1002/eco.1851

Cited by 62 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In the middle of the LP where precipitation is relatively abundant, high rates of soil water uptake by replanted forest contributed to the acceleration of soil desiccation range and intensity. Conversion of cropland to artificial forest has led to a considerable increase in vegetation coverage, but large‐scale vegetation restoration has had negative impacts on soil hydrological conditions (Chen et al, 2008; Wang et al, 2008; Jia et al, 2017b). To prevent the formation of soil desiccation and reduce the negative effects of replanted forests on the soil water budget, more information is needed about the effects of forest density, structure and species on soil water use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Between 2000 and 2008, the “Grain‐for‐Green” project has resulted in a 10.8% reduction in cropland area, and a 4.9 and 6.6% increase area of forestland and grassland in the LP, respectively (Lü et al, 2012). However, unsuitable vegetation restoration measures and poor land management have aggravated water scarcity and led to soil desiccation in deep soil layers (Li, 2001; Jia et al, 2017a, 2017b). The depth of depleted soil water sometimes exceeds 5 m because of the wide spread introduction of exotic plant species with deep root systems (e.g., Medicago sativa , Caragana korshinskii , Robinia pseudoacacia , and Pinus tabulaeformis ) (Li and Huang, 2008; Wang et al, 2009).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Factors Affecting Soil Desiccation Spatial Variability in the Loess Plateau of China

Zhao

Shao

Jia

et al. 2019

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Soil desiccated patterns varied with soil layers in the Loess Plateau (LP). Soil in grassland and forestland was more desiccated than that in cropland. Soil desiccation in the LP was jointly controlled by climate and non‐climate factors. Soil desiccation has occurred widely across the Loess Plateau (LP) of China because of excessive depletion of soil water by artificial ecosystems and limited long‐term rainfall recharge. This may lead to soil degradation and failure of afforestation efforts, which threatens ecosystem health in the LP. However, spatial characteristics and controlling factors of soil water generally vary within different soil layers. This has implications of vegetation recovery in the LP and has been overlooked in previous studies. This study investigates the spatial characteristics of soil desiccation in different layers from the 0‐ to 5‐m depth across the entire LP and explores the relationships between soil desiccation and environmental factors. The soil desiccated index (SDI) in the 0‐ to 1‐m soil layer was patchy, while in the 1‐ to 5‐m soil layer, the degree of soil desiccation generally increased from southeast to northwest following a gradient of decreasing rainfall. Soil desiccation in the forestland and grassland were more severe than that in the cropland because of higher evapotranspiration, lower precipitation recharge and lower soil water holding capacity. Soil desiccation at the shallow depth (0–1 m) was mainly attributed to climate factors whereas deep soil desiccation (1–5 m depth) was more likely attributed to the joint effects of climate factors and non‐climate factors. The results of this study can help develop practical sustainable land management practices, regional water budgets and help restoration of environment in the LP of China.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Soil Desiccation Spatial Variability in the Loess Plateau of China

Zhao

Shao

Jia

et al. 2019

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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“…Second, construction of the basic farmland and farmland infrastructure was enhanced to ensure grain production after large-scale cropland conversion [54]. Therefore, the changing rates of cropland are quite high in all sub-regions ( Figure 7).…”

Section: Differences Of Vegetation Dynamics Features Among Land Use Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Vegetation Greenness in the Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yellow River Basin over 2000–2015

2019

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The Grain to Green Project (GTGP), a large ecological restoration project aiming to control soil erosion and improve the ecological environment, has been implemented since 1999 and has led to great land use changes with decreased farmland and increased forest and grass, and significant vegetation variations. Understanding vegetation variations for different land use types is important for accessing the present vegetation development and providing scientific guidance for future ecological restoration design and regional sustainable development. With two land use maps and MODIS LAI data, trend analysis, fluctuation analysis, and R/S methods were applied to analyze the vegetation dynamic changes and sustainability for converted land use types from cropland and unconverted types over 2000–2015 in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. The results obtained were as follows: (1) Vegetation greening was remarkable in the entire study region (0.036 yr−1). The increasing rate was higher in wetter conditions with AI < 3 (0.036–0.053 yr−1) than arid regions with AI > 3 (0.012–0.024 yr−1). (2) Vegetation improved faster for converted forestland, shrubland, and grassland than unconverted types under similar drying conditions. Converted shrubland and grassland had a larger relative change than converted forestland. (3) Converted land use types generally exhibited stronger fluctuation than unconverted types with small differences among types. (4) Vegetation exhibited a sustainable increasing trend in the future, which accounted for more than 73.1% of the region, mainly distributed in the middle reach of the Yellow River. Vegetation restoration exerted important influences on vegetation greening and the effect was stronger for converted types than unconverted types.

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“…For example, Wang, Liu, Liu, and Zhang (2009) demonstrated that the depth of soil moisture depleted by alfalfa, shrub, and pine (common species chosen for revegetation) on the CLP reached 15.5, 22.4, and 21.5 m, respectively. Jia, Wang, Shao, Luo, and Zhang (2017) calculated that the mean annual soil moisture loss from 1 to 5-m depth increased at a rate of 16.2 mm/year after farmland conversion to forestland. Additionally, soil moisture dynamics in the shallow soils have been altered after vegetation restoration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture response to rainfall on the Chinese Loess Plateau after a long‐term vegetation rehabilitation

Jing-bo

Guo

Lin

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is a unique Critical Zone with deep loess deposits, where soil moisture is primarily replenished by seasonal monsoon rainfall. However, the role of vegetation, coupled with complex topography, on rainwater infiltration on the CLP, especially after long‐term revegetation for controlling erosion, is inadequately quantified. Over the growing season of 2016, we monitored soil moisture at the 30‐min interval at 5 depths (10, 20, 40, 60, and 100 cm) in an afforested catchment and a nearby catchment with natural regrowth of grasses. Two monitoring sites were established in each catchment, one in the downhill gully and the other in the uphill slope. We found that vegetation, topography, and rainfall attributes together determined rainwater infiltration and soil moisture replenishment. An accumulated rainfall amount of 9 mm was required to trigger soil moisture response at 10‐cm depth at the 2 grassland sites and the forestland uphill‐slope site whereas 14 mm of rainfall was required for the forestland gully site covered by dense undergrowth and trees. Rainfall events with larger sums and higher peak intensities permitted rainwater infiltration to deeper soil depths. However, no rain recharged soil moisture to 100‐cm depth during the monitoring period. The forestland uphill‐slope site showed the deepest wetting depth (up to 60‐cm depth), fastest wetting‐front velocity (up to 4 cm/hr below 10‐cm depth), and the most significant soil moisture increase (up to 15% cm 3 cm−3 increase at 10‐cm depth) after rainfall in the growing season. The grassland gully site had the highest soil water storage, whereas soil moisture was depleted the most at the forestland gully site. Findings of this study reveal the transient dynamics of soil moisture after rainfall on the CLP, which signifies the role of revegetation on rainwater infiltration in the loess Critical Zone.

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Estimating regional losses of soil water due to the conversion of agricultural land to forest in China's Loess Plateau

Cited by 62 publications

References 43 publications

Factors Affecting Soil Desiccation Spatial Variability in the Loess Plateau of China

Factors Affecting Soil Desiccation Spatial Variability in the Loess Plateau of China

Changes in Vegetation Greenness in the Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yellow River Basin over 2000–2015

Soil moisture response to rainfall on the Chinese Loess Plateau after a long‐term vegetation rehabilitation

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