Long-term effects of grass ley set-aside on erosion rates and soil organic matter on sandy soils in east Shropshire, UK

Abstract

Metadata onlyThe contribution of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) ley set-aside to soil conservation and soil organic matter (SOM) content was investigated. Ten runoff plots (7–15°, 12–27% slope) at the Hilton Experimental Site, Shropshire, UK, were put to a grass ley in April 1991. Runoff and erosion rates during 9 years were low, despite the occurrence of potentially erosive rains. Mean runoff was 0.24 ± 0.20% (±S.D.) of precipitation (n = 89 plot-years), compared with a 15-year mean value of 0.13 ± 0.04% on permanent (control) grassland. Mean erosion rate was 0.21 ± 0.14 t ha−1 year−1 (n = 69 plot-years). Erosion rate and slope were poorly correlated, suggesting leys are highly effective for soil conservation. Mean SOM content increased consistently and significantly on the set-aside plots from 20.4 g kg−1 in 1991 to 31.1 g kg−1 in 2001. Contrary to the usually strong relationship between SOM and clay content, the percentage silt exhibited a stronger correlation with SOM than percentage clay content. Furthermore, there were equally strong correlations between SOM and cumulative particle size fractions of both clay and silt contents. In the absence of significant quantities of clay in these sandy soils, silts assist binding of SOM, which has significance for assessing soil carbon sequestration potential

Effect of agroforestry and time on soil and water conservation of sloping red soil in southeastern China

“…Grass cover is an important factor in reducing soil loss, particularly Bahia grass in southern China (Li et al 2011). Similar results were reported by Fullen (2006). Therefore, Bahia grass cover is very important for citrus orchards in southeastern China.…”

Multifractal characteristics of soil particle size distribution under different land-use types on the Loess Plateau, China

“…Therefore, it's valid to consider multifractal parameters as potential indicators to reflect the effects of land uses on soil physical properties. Because finer soil particles assisted binding of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrients (Lobe et al, 2001;Fullen et al, 2006), the value of D 1 and D 1 /D 0 were reasonably positively correlated with SOM ( Table 2). The correlation between clay and SOM was lower than the correlation between multifractal parameters (D 1 and D 1 /D 0 ) and SOM (Table 2).…”

Fractal features of soil particle-size distribution as affected by plant communities in the forested region of Mountain Yimeng, China

“…For example, the removal of native vegetation from an area with a high soil erosion potential could result in the selective removal of fine particle-size fractions caused by overland flow during the soil erosion process. Thus, different types of land-use and vegetation types largely influence PSD by either enhancing or inhibiting soil erosion (Martínez-Casasnovas and Sánchez-Bosch, 2000;Erskine et al, 2002;Basic et al, 2004;Fullen et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2008). Wang et al (2008) conducted a study to determine the effect of land-use types on multifractal parameters of PSD in the Loess Plateau of China.…”