Abstract
Changes in natural rainfall characterized by heavy precipitation and high rainfall intensity would increase the risks and uncertainty of nutrients losses. Losses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) with water erosion from agriculture-related activities has become the principal nutrients resulting the eutrophication of water bodies. However, a little attention has been paid to the loss characteristic of N and P responding to natural rainfall in widely used contour ridge systems. To explore the loss mechanism of N and P in contour ridge system, nutrient loss associated with runoff and sediment yield was observed in in situ runoff plots of sweet potato (SP) and peanut (PT) contour ridges under natural rainfall. Rainfall events were divided into light rain, moderate rain, heavy rain, rainstorm, large rainstorm, and extreme rainstorm level, and rainfall characteristics for each rainfall level were recorded. Results showed that rainstorm, accounting for 46.27% of the total precipitation, played a destructive role in inducing runoff, sediment yield, and nutrient loss. The average contribution of rainstorm to sediment yield (52.30%) was higher than that to runoff production (38.06%). Rainstorm respectively generated 43.65–44.05% of N loss and 40.71–52.42% of P loss, although light rain induced the greatest enrichment value for total nitrogen (TN, 2.44–4.08) and PO4-P (5.40). N and P losses were dominated by sediment, and up to 95.70% of the total phosphorus and 66.08% of TN occurred in sediment. Nutrient loss exhibited the highest sensitivity to sediment yield compared to runoff and rainfall variables, and a significant positive linear relationship was observed between nutrient loss and sediment yield. SP contour ridge presented higher nutrient loss than that in PT contour ridge, especially for P loss. Findings gained in this study provide references for the response strategies of nutrient loss control to natural rainfall change in contour ridge system.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
References
An J, Zhang YQ, Wang YY (2020) Rainstorm pattern effects on the size distribution of soil aggregate in eroded sediment within contour ridge systems. J Soil Sediment 20(4):2192–2206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02561-7
Bao SD (2019) Soil and agricultural chemistry analysis. China Agriculture Press, Beijing (in Chinese)
Baptista I, Ritsema C, Geissen V (2015) Effect of integrated water-nutrient management strategies on soil erosion mediated nutrient loss and crop productivity in Cabo Verde drylands. Plos One 10(7):e0134244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134244
Barbosa FT, Bertol I, Luciano RV, Gonzalez AP (2009) Phosphorus losses in water and sediments in runoff of the water erosion in oat and vetch crops seed in contour and downhill. Soil till Res 106:22–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2009.09.004
Beniston JW, Shipitalo MJ, Lal R, Hopkins DW, Jones F, Joynes A, Dungait JAJ (2015) Carbon and macronutrient losses during accelerated erosion under different tillage and residue management. Eur J Soil Sci 66:218–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12205
Bagagiolo G, Biddoccu M, Rabino D, Cavallo E (2018) Effects of rows arrangement, soil management, and rainfall characteristics on water and soil losses in Italian sloping vineyards. Environ Res 166:690–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.048
Beverley H, Brian M, Cowie A (2018). Sustainable land management for environmental benefits and food security. A synthesis report for the GEF. p 127. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.25084.39041.
Boardman J (2015) Extreme rainfall and its impact on cultivated landscapes with particular reference to Britain. Earth Surf Proc Land 40:2121–2130. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3792
Brouder SM, Volenec JJ (2008) Impact of climate change on crop nutrient and water use efficiencies. Physiol Plant 133:705–724. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2008.01136.x
Camargo JA, Alonso A, Salamanca A (2005) Nitrate toxicity to aquatic animals: a review with new data for freshwater invertebrates. Chemosphere 58(9):1255–1267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.10.044
Carpenter SR, Caraco NF, Correll DL, Howarth RW, Sharpley AN, Smith VH (1998) Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecol Appl 8(3):559–568
China meteorological administration (2012) Grade of precipitation, GB/T 28592-2012. Standards Press of China, Beijing. http://c.gb688.cn/bzgk/gb/showGb?type=online&hcno=B4A00E4ABCF80F8C6A048C1D0121A97D
Dai CT, Liu YJ, Wang TW, Li ZX, Zhou YW (2018) Exploring optimal measures to reduce soil erosion and nutrient losses in southern China. Agr Water Manage 210:41–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.07.032
Du YN, Li TY, He BH (2021) Runoff-related nutrient loss affected by fertilization and cultivation in sloping croplands: an 11-year observation under natural rainfall. Agr Ecosyst Environ 319:107549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107549
Duan J, Liu YJ, Yang J, Tang CJ, Shi ZH (2020) Role of groundcover management in controlling soil erosion under extreme rainfall in citrus orchards of southern China. J Hydrol 582:124290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124290
Fang HY (2021) Effect of soil conservation measures and slope on runoff, soil, TN, and TP losses from cultivated lands in northern China. Ecol Indic 126:107677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107677
Gao C, Zhu J, Zhu J, Hosen Y, Zhou J, Wang D, Wang L, Dou Y (2005) Effects of extreme rainfall on the export of nutrients from agricultural land. Acta Geogr Sin 60:991–997 (In Chinese with English abstract)
Gaspar L, Lizaga I, Blake WH, Latorre B, Quijano L, Navas A (2019) Fingerprinting changes in source contribution for evaluating soil response during an exceptional rainfall in Spanish pre-Pyrenees. J Environ Manage 240:136–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.03.109
Girmay G, Singh BR, Nyssen J, Borrosen T (2009) Runoff and sediment associated nutrient losses under different land uses in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. J Hydrol 376:70–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.07.066
González-Hidalgo JC, Peña-Monne JL, De Luis M (2007) A review of daily soil erosion in Western Mediterranean areas. CATENA 71(2):193–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2007.03.005
Grum B, Assefa D, Hessel R, Woldearegay K, Kessler A, Ritsema C, Geissen V (2017) Effect of in situ water harvesting techniques on soil and nutrient losses in semiarid Northern Ethiopia. Land Degrad Dev 28:1016–1027. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2603
Guo XS, Song FP, Gao Y, Ma FL (2013) Effect of simulated rainfall on spatial distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus and its particle composition of three types soil. J Soil Water Conserv 27(6):41–45 (In Chinese with English abstract)
Guo SF, Zhai LM, Liu J, Liu HB, Chen AQ, Wang HY, Wu SX, Lei QL (2019) Cross-ridge tillage decreases nitrogen and phosphorus losses from sloping farmlands in southern hilly regions of China. Soil till Res 191:48–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.03.015
He JJ, Cai QG, Li GQ, Wang ZK (2010) Integrated erosion control measures and environmental effects in rocky mountainous areas in northern China. Int J Sediment Res 25(3):294–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6279(10)60046-7
Issa OM, Bissonnais YL, Planchon O, Favis-Mortlock D, Silvera N, Wainwright J (2006) Soil detachment and transport on field- and laboratory-scale interrill areas: erosion processes and the size-selectivity of eroded sediment. Earth Surf Proc Land 31:929–939. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1303
Kleinman PJA, Sharple AN, McDowell RW, Flaten DN, Buda AR, Tao L, Bergstrom L, Zhu Q (2011) Managing agricultural phosphorus for water quality protection: principles for progress. Plant Soil 349:169–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0832-9
Li XB, Ma ZZ, Yao XY, Jing K, Zhu HY (2008) Current status and comprehensive control strategies of soil erosion for rocky mountain areas in the Northern China. Sci Soil Water Conserv 6(1):9–15 (In Chinese with English abstract)
Li HZ, Fan DX, Niu JZ, Jia GD, Sun JM, Yu XX, Linus Z (2018) Effect of rock fragment cover on nutrient loss under varied rainfall intensities: a laboratory study. Hydrol Res 49(2):390–406. https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2017.026
Liu QJ, Shi ZH, Yu XX, Zhang HY (2014) Influence of microtopography, ridge geometry and rainfall intensity on soil erosion induced by contouring failure. Soil till Res 136:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2013.09.006
Liu G, Dabney Seth M, Yoder Daniel C, Wells Robert R, Vieira Dalmo AN (2019) Modeling land management effects on the size distribution of eroded sediment. Soil Tillage Res 192:121–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.04.012
López-Vicente M, Quijano L, Gaspar L, Palazón L, Navas A (2015) Severe soil erosion during a three-day exceptional rainfall event: combining modelling and field data for a fallow cereal field. Hydrol Process 29:2358–2372. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10370
Luo J, Zheng ZC, Li TX, He SQ, Tarolli P (2023) Impact of tillage-induced microtopography on hydrological-sediment connectivity and its hydrodynamic understanding. Catena 228:107168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2023.107168
Martínez-Mena M, Carrillo-López E, Boix-Fayos C, Almagro M, García Franco N, Díaz-Pereira E, Montoya I, de Vente J (2020) Long-term effectiveness of sustainable land management practices to control runoff, soil erosion, and nutrient loss and the role of rainfall intensity in Mediterranean rainfed agroecosystems. Catena 187:104352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104352
Marzen M, Iserloh T, de Lima JLMP, Fister W, Ries JB (2017) Impact of severe rain storms on soil erosion: experimental evaluation of wind-driven rain and its implications for natural hazard management. Sci Total Environ 590–591:502–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.190
Meng Q, Fu B, Tang X (2008) Effects of land use on phosphorus loss in the hilly area of the Loess Plateau. China Environ Monit Assess 139(1–3):195–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9826-8
Nearing MA, Xie Y, Liu BY, Ye Y (2017) Natural and anthropogenic rates of soil erosion. ISWCR 5(2):77–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2017.04.001
Ongley ED, Zhang X, Yu T (2010) Current status of agricultural and rural nonpoint source pollution assessment in China. Environ Pollut 158:1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2009.10.047
Ramos MC, Lizaga I, Gaspar L, Quijano L, Navas A (2019) Effects of rainfall intensity and slope on sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous losses in soils with different use and soil hydrological properties. Agr Water Manage 226:105789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105789
Ramos MC, Lizaga I, Gaspar L, Navas A (2022) The impacts of exceptional rainfall on phosphorus mobilisation in a mountain agroforestry catchment (NE, Spain). Catena 216:106407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106407
Ruiz-Colmenero M, Bienes R, Eldridge DJ, Marques MJ (2013) Vegetation cover reduces erosion and enhances soil organic carbon in a vineyard in the central Spain. CATENA 104:153–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2012.11.007
Seneviratne SI, Zhang X, Adnan M, Badi W, Dereczynski C, Di LA, Ghosh S, Iskandar I, Kossin J, Lewis S, Otto F, Pinto I, Satoh M, Vicente-Serrano SM, Wehner M, Zhou B (2021) Weather and climate extreme events in a changing climate. Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp 1513–1766
Shigaki F, Sharpley A, Prochnow LI (2007) Rainfall intensity and phosphorus source effects on phosphorus transport in surface runoff from soil trays. Sci Total Environ 373(1):334–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2006.10.048
Shortle JS, Ribaudo M, Horan RD, Blandford D (2012) Reforming agricultural nonpoint pollution policy in an increasingly budget-constrained environment. Environ Sci Technol 46(3):1316–1325. https://doi.org/10.1021/es2020499
Smith KA, Jackson DR, Pepper TJ (2001) Nutrient losses by surface run-off following the application of organic manures to arable land 1. Nitrogen Environ Pollut 112:41–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(00)00097-X
Stevens CJ, Quinton JN, Bailey AP, Deasy C, Silgram M, Jackson DR (2009) The effects of minimal tillage, contour cultivation and in-field vegetative barriers on soil erosion and phosphorus loss. Soil Tillage Res 106(1):145–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2009.04.009
Traore K, Birhanu ZB (2019) Soil erosion control and moisture conservation using contour ridge tillage in Bougouni and Koutiala, Southern Mali. J Environ Prot 10(10):1333–1360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2009.04.009
Udawatta RP, Motavalli PP, Garrett HE (2004) Phosphorus loss and runoff characteristics in three adjacent agricultural watersheds with claypan soils. J Environ Qual 33:1709–1719. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2004.1709
United States Enviromental Protection Agency (USEPA) (1986) Quality criteria for water, EPA-440/5-86-001. Office of Water Regulations and Standards Washington, DC20460. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-10/documents/quality-criteria-water-1986.pdf
USDA-ARS (2008) User’s reference guide, revised universal soil loss equation version 2. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/64080510/RUSLE/RUSLE2_User_Ref_Guide.pdf
Wang GQ, Wu BB, Zhang L, Jiang H, Xu ZX (2014) Role of soil erodibility in affecting available nitrogen and phosphorus losses under simulated rainfall. J Hydrol 514:180–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.028
Wang ZJ, Jiao JY, Rayburg S, Wang QL, Su Y (2016) Soil erosion resistance of “Grain for Green” vegetation types under extreme rainfall conditions on the Loess Plateau, China. Catena 141:109–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.02.025
Wang T, Xiao WF, Huang ZL, Zeng LX (2022) Interflow pattern govern nitrogen loss from tea orchard slopes in response to rainfall pattern in Three Gorges Reservoir Area. Agr Water Manage 269:107684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107684
Wei W, Chen L, Fu B, Huang Z, Wu D, Gui L (2007) The effect of land uses and rainfall regimes on runoff and soil erosion in the semi-arid loess hilly area, China. J Hydrol 335:247–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.11.016
Wu YZ, Zhang YK, An J, Liu QJ, Lang Y (2018) Sap flow of black locust in response to environmental factors in two soils developed from different parent materials in the lithoid mountainous area of North China. Trees 32:675–688. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1663-6
Xia L, Hoermann G, Ma L, Yang L (2013) Reducing nitrogen and phosphorus losses from arable slope land with contour hedgerows and perennial alfalfa mulching in Three Gorges Area, China. Catena 110:86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2013.05.009
Xiao H, Liu G, Zhang Q, Zheng FL, Zhang XC, Liu PL, Zhang JQ, Hu FN, Abd-Elbasit MAM (2018) Quantifying contributions of slaking and mechanical breakdown of soil aggregates to splash erosion for different soils from the Loess plateau of China. Soil Tillage Res 178:150–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.12.026
Xing WM, Yang PL, Ren SM, Ao C, Li X, Gao WH (2016) Slope length effects on processes of total nitrogen loss under simulated rainfall. CATENA 139:73–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2015.12.008
Xu X, Tan Y, Yang G (2013) Environmental impact assessments of the Three Gorges Project in China: issues and interventions. Earth Rev 124:115–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.05.007
Xu GC, Cheng YT, Li P, Li ZB, Zhang J, Wang T (2015) Effects of natural rainfall on soil and nutrient erosion on sloping cropland in a small watershed of the Dan River, China. Quatern Int 380–381:327–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.02.010
Xu XM, Zheng FL, Wilson GV, He C, Lu J, Bian F (2018) Comparison of runoff and soil loss in different tillage systems in the Mollisol region of Northeast China. Soil Till Res 177:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.10.005
Zhang SH, Hou XN, Wu CS, Zhang C (2020) Impacts of climate and planting structure changes on watershed runoff and nitrogen and phosphorus loss. Sci Total Environ 706:134489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134489
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41977067); the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (ZR2021MD045, ZR2021MD003, ZR2020MD102).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
JA: conceptualization, sample collection, methodology, writing—review and editing. LW: writing—original draft preparation and editing, supervision. YW: sample collection, formal analysis. HS: formal analysis, writing—review and editing. XD: sample collection.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The manuscript does not involve human participants.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. All authors have approved the manuscript.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
An, J., Wang, L., Wu, Y. et al. Response of nutrient loss to natural erosive rainfall events under typical tillage practices of contour ridge system in the rocky mountain areas of Northern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 85446–85465 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28333-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28333-y