Quantifying farmland shelterbelt impacts on catchment soil erosion and sediment yield for the black soil region, northeastern China

Abstract

As one part of the ‘Three Norths’ forest protection system, dense farmland shelterbelt networks in northeastern China could greatly modify water and sediment flows. In this paper, catchment soil erosion rate and sediment yield (SY) that are impacted by farmland shelterbelts were estimated using WaTEM/SEDEM model. The shelterbelts reduced catchment soil erosion and SY to some extent. The mean soil erosion rate and specific sediment yield (SSY; defined as the ratio of SY to catchment area; t km−2 yr−1) of the 25 reservoir catchments decreased from 351.6 and 93.9 t km−2 yr−1 under the supposed scenario without shelterbelts to 331.1 t km−2 yr−1 and 86.3% t km−2 yr−1 under the current situation with shelterbelts. The sediment trap efficiencies (STEs) varied from 0.01% to 23.6% with an average value of 7.6%. The STEs were significantly correlated with shelterbelt density, catchment perimeter, topographic factors, RUSLEP‐factor and land use patterns including patch density (PD), patch cohesion index (COHESION), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI) and aggregation index (AI). The multiple regression equation involving factors of catchment's topography and morphology and land use pattern has a satisfactory performance, and mean slope gradient (MSG) and AI explained most of the variability of shelterbelts’ STE. This information can help land managers to better design shelterbelts and to reduce water‐derived soil loss at catchment scale.

A novel optimal data set approach for erosion‐impacted soil quality assessments—A case‐study of an agricultural catchment in the Chernozem region of Northeast China

“…Soil samples were typically collected within 2 × 2 km grids, while 1 × 1 km grids were used in areas where obvious changes occurred in the landform type or the thickness of the surface layer, which is rich in organic matter, based on information from field investigations, reports from county annals, and secondary national soil survey data. The 1 × 1 km grids were typically used when sampling sites were selected on the slope toes, concave areas, slope crests, and convex areas of slopes where the thickness of the surface layer obviously increased or decreased due to erosion‐induced soil redistribution (Feng, 2018). For each grid, three sub‐samples were stochastically selected on a directional contour line at an approx.…”

“…The Chernozem region of Northeast China is one of the Country's most important crop production regions. Soil loss in this agriculture‐dominated region is both complex and severe, attributed to multiple erosion agents, long sloping cropland, soil properties, and concentrated rainfall, which has been determined by field investigations, laboratory experiments, radionuclide tracing (such as Cs‐137), magnetic tracing, and modeling (Fang et al, 2012; Fang, 2020; Liu et al, 2015; Ma et al, 2021; Xu et al, 2017; Yan et al, 2020). Particularly, Cs‐137 tracing provides a feasible way by which to estimate average annual soil loss.…”

Tracking research trends on the effects of vegetative strips within agricultural landscapes: A systematic map update

“…9a ,11 ). Vegetative strips often delineate natural field boundaries within agricultural landscapes (Lacoeuilhe et al 2016;Pelletier-Guittier, Theau & Dupras 2020), or are intentionally planted to provide cover to an adjacent agricultural field (Zheng, Zhu & Xing 2016;Fang 2021). We excluded studies that examined short-term (<12 months) within-field strips, e.g.…”

A new management tactic for Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) based on factors influencing the weevil population density

“…Farmland shelterbelts serve as barriers to farmland ecosystems and play an important role in reducing wind and sand disasters, reducing soil erosion, improving the ecological environment, adjusting the microclimate, and increasing crop yields 1–3 . The tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima Swingle (Sapindales: Simaroubaceae), is an important tree species found in the farmland shelterbelts in Northwest China 4,5 .…”