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Effect of wheat straw incorporation on soil detachment capacity on sloping farmland in the agricultural region of the Loess Plateau, China

  • Sediments, Sec 3 • Hillslope and River Basin Sediment Dynamics • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Wheat straw is typically incorporated into topsoil by local farmers on sloping farmland. The changes in soil properties after straw incorporation might significantly influence soil detachment capacity driven by concentrated flow (Dc). This study was conducted to investigate the effect of wheat straw incorporation on Dc on sloping farmland in the agricultural region of the Loess Plateau.

Materials and methods

Soil samples (diameter 9.8 cm, height 5 cm) were collected from five plots (four with wheat straw incorporation and one with bare soil), and were scoured under 15 different flow shear stresses (five flow discharges × three slope gradients) in a hydraulic flume (4.0 m in length, 0.2 m in width) to determine Dc. The soil properties, including soil moisture content (SMC), soil bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), organic matter content (OM), mean weight diameter (MWD), soil cohesion (Coh), and penetration resistance (PR) were measured to explain the variations in Dc with wheat straw incorporation.

Results and discussion

Wheat straw incorporation significantly increased TP, OM, MWD, Coh, and PR, however, the SMC and BD fluctuated over straw incorporation with no distinctive trend. The measured Dc was significantly affected by wheat straw incorporation. Compared with bare soil, the Dc with wheat straw incorporation decreased by 25.03–42.68%. The OM, MWD, Coh, and PR were the main factors affecting Dc, particularly MWD and Coh. The Dc decreased with Coh as a power function and with MWD as an exponential function. A model was developed to estimate the variation in Dc with wheat straw incorporation based on stream power, Coh, and MWD (R2 = 0.95; NSE = 0.95; p < 0.01).

Conclusions

The present results revealed that wheat straw incorporation significantly decreased Dc by increasing OM, MWD, Coh, and PR and provided a reference for reducing soil erosion in typical agricultural areas of the Loess Plateau.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers. Their constructive comments and suggestions significantly enhanced the manuscript’s quality. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41977065, 42107362, 42007061).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Chong Yao

  2. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, 3 Taicheng Road, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Qingwei Zhang, Jiajia Mo, Puxing Zhang, Hao Wang & Faqi Wu

Authors
  1. Chong Yao
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  2. Qingwei Zhang
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  3. Jiajia Mo
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  4. Puxing Zhang
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  5. Hao Wang
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  6. Faqi Wu
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Contributions

Chong Yao: Writing—original draft. Qingwei Zhang: Writing—review & editing. Faqi Wu: Conceptualization. Hao Wang: Methodology. Jiajia Mo and Puxing Zhang: Investigation.

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Correspondence to Faqi Wu.

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Highlights

• Differences of soil detachment capacity with wheat straw incorporation obtained.

• Variations in soil detachment capacity affected by hydrodynamics, soil properties.

• Wheat straw incorporation decreased soil detachment capacity and enhanced the soil stability.

• Stream power, MWD, and soil cohesion were used to predict soil detachment capacity.

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Yao, C., Zhang, Q., Mo, J. et al. Effect of wheat straw incorporation on soil detachment capacity on sloping farmland in the agricultural region of the Loess Plateau, China. J Soils Sediments 22, 2105–2116 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03224-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03224-w

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