Simulation Study of the Impact of Permanent Groundcover on Soil and Water Changes in Jujube Orchards on Sloping Ground

Abstract

Land degradation is recognized as a major environmental problem in rainfed fruit orchards on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Six treatments were used to investigate surface runoff and soil moisture by means of simulated rainfall experiments: (i) a control (clean cultivation) (CC); (ii) strip cock's foot (Dactylis glomerata L.) cover (SCF); (iii) strip crown vetch (Coronilla varia L.) cover (SCV); (iv) strip bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) cover (SBF); (v) strip white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cover (SWC); and (vi) complete white clover cover (WCC). The time to runoff was significantly longer under WCC than under other treatments (p < 0·05). The total runoff volume and sediment yield were significantly greater under CC than under the vegetation cover treatments (p < 0·05). The mean infiltration rate under WCC and CC was the largest and lowest and differed significantly from that under other treatments (p < 0·05). The change of soil water storage was the largest under WCC and the least under CC. The soil moisture was significantly greater under SCF than under other treatments (p < 0·05). Treatment SCF seemed to be the best groundcover for rainfed sloping jujube orchards on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Water Balance Components for Sustainability Assessment of Groundwater‐Dependent Agriculture: Example of the Mendae Plain (Tigray, Ethiopia)

“…Groundcovers exert significant influences on runoff, sediment, infiltration and soil moisture, as was demonstrated in a case study in rainfed cultures on the Chinese Loess Plateau by Huang et al . (). As soil water is a key factor affecting vegetation structure in water‐limited environments, the knowledge on the effects of land use on soil moisture variations is necessary to improve land and agricultural water management (Gao et al ., )…”

Soil Water Content and Root Patterns in a Rain‐fed Jujube Plantation across Stand Ages on the Loess Plateau of China

“…Jujube ( Ziziphus jujuba ) is a perennial fruit tree in arid and semi‐arid areas in central and Eastern Asia. Because the initiation of the large‐scale ecological rehabilitation project (known as ‘Grain for Green’ project) by the Chinese central government in 1999, the area of jujube orchards has been increased rapidly on the Loess Plateau mainly for conserving soil and water, and improving the economic income (Wu et al ., ; Zhao et al ., ; Huang et al ., ; Wang et al ., 2014). Soil water is critical variable linking to land degradation process in water‐limited environments because it controls vegetation growth and crop yield (Tallon & Si, ; Legates et al ., ; Zhao et al ., ); in turn, vegetation had a great influence on soil water balance (Wang et al ., ; Gao et al ., ; Yang et al ., ; Yu et al ., ).…”

Reducing sediment concentration and soil loss using organic and inorganic amendments at plot scale

“…When the vegetation cover cannot be established, organic and inorganic mulches can be used to protect the soil surface against the erosive forces of rain and runoff (Smets et al, 2008). Previous studies have been conducted about application of soil amendments to improve soil structure (e.g., Karami et al, 2012), change soil and water behavior (e.g., Huang et al, 2014) and reduce postfire runoff and soil erosion in recent years (e.g., Prats et al, 2014). Straw mulch as an organic amendment reduces soil erosion but also recovers the main soil properties lost due to the agriculture (García-Orenes et al, 2010).…”