Abstract
In order to evaluate the soil erosion rate for different land uses and make recommendations on land-use alternatives for erosion control in hilly and mountain areas on a Purplish soil (Regosols in FAO taxonomy), experimental data were obtained from three continuously monitored sites located at Yanting, Nanbu and Pengxi of Sichuan province. The data showed that the rank of erosion rate is farmland > unfenced grassland > fenced grassland > forestland. The erosion rate of farmland was more than 3 times higher than that of forestland and fenced grassland, indicating that restricting human activity is crucial for over-erosion. The erodibility was higher at the initial period of rainy season for all the three types of land use. The erosion rates of fenced grassland and mature afforestation land were not proportional to rainfall intensity because these land uses changed impact energy of the rainfall. This research showed that restricting human activity, intensifying the management of initial period of rainy season, and increasing the cover rate of land surface are the three major measures for soil erosion prevention. It is recommended that farmers should cease cultivation on farmland at the top of hills and steep slope land return those lands back to grassland or forestland.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blaikie, P. 1985. The political economy of soil erosion in developing countries. Longman, London, pp.188
Bowman, R.A., Reeder, J.D. and Schuman, G.E. 1990. Evaluation of selected soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters as indicators of soil productivity. In: Stewart, J.W.B. (Ed.) Soil quality in semiarid agriculture Vol. 2. Turner-Warwick Communications, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, pp. 64–70
Brown, L.R., and Wolf, E.C.. 1984. Soil erosion: Quiet crisis in the world economy. World Watch Paper 60. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, pp. 499
CHENG, M.H., 2002. Present situation of soil erosion with different land use in south Fujian, Fujian Journal of Agricultural Science (in Chinese). 17: 78–80
Collins, A.L., Walling, D.E., Sichingabula, H.M. and Leeks, C.J.L. 2001. Using 137Cs measurements to quantify soil erosion and redistribution rates for areas under different land use in the Upper Kaleya River basin, southern Zambia. Geoderma. 104: 299–323
Dregne, H.E. 1992. Erosion and soil productivity in Asia. J. Soil and Water Cons 47: 8–13
Dunjó, G., Pardini, G. and Gispert, M.. 2004. The role of land use -land cover on runoff generation and sediment yield at a microplot scale, in a small Mediterranean catchment. Journal of Arid Environments 57 (2): 239–256
Erskine, W. D., Mahmoudzadeh, A. and Myersd, C.. 2002. Land use effects on sediment yields and soil loss rates in small basins of Triassic sandstone near Sydney, NSW, Australia. Catena 49: 271–287
Garcia-Ruiz, J. M., Lasanta, T., Martl, C., Gonzles, C., White, S., Ortigosa, L. and Ruiz Flaiio, P., 1995. Changes in Runoff and Erosion as a Consequence of Land-Use Changes in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Phys. Chem. Earth 20: 301–307
Hill, R. D. and Peart, M. R., 1999. Land use, runoff, erosion and their control: a review for southern China. Hydrological processes. 12:2029–2042
HUNG, C.C. and O’Connell, M. 2000. Recent land-use and soil-erosion history within a small catchment in Connemara, western Ireland: evidence from lake sediments and documentary Sources. Catena. 41: 293–335
Institute of Soil Science, Academia Sinica. 1978. The analysis methods of soil physical and chemical properties (in Chinese). Shanghai Science Press, Shanghai, pp: 46–48.
JoseÁ, A., MartõÂnez-Casasnovas and IneÂs SaÂnchez-Bosch. 2000. Impact assessment of changes in land use/conservation practices on soil erosion in the PenedeÁs-Anoia vineyard region (NE Spain). Soil & Tillage Research 57: 101–106
Jürgens, C. and Fander, M., 1993. Soil erosion assessment by means of LANDSAT-TM and ancillary digital data in relation to water quality. Soil Technology 6: 215–223
LIU, G. C.; and LIU, S.Z. 1998. A study on modifying and effectiveness of erosion modulus. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (in Chinese) 4 (6): 80–83
LIU, G. C., Lindstrom, M.J., ZHANG, X.W., LI, Y. and ZHANG, J.H. 2001. Conservation management effects on soil erosion reduction in the Sichuan Basin, China. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 56(2): 144–146
LI, Z. M., 1991. Purple Soils in China (in Chinese). Science Press, Beijing. pp: 10–20, 319–335
Lynn Carpenter, F., Sergio Palacios Mayorga, Eduardo Gonzalez Quintero and Michelle Schroeder. 2001. Land-use and erosion of a Costa Rican Ultisol affect soil chemistry, mycorrhizal fungi and early regeneration. Forest Ecology and Management 144: 1–17
Parr, J.F., Stewart, B.A., Hornick, S. B. and Singh, R.P., 1990. Improving the sustainability of dry land farming system: A global perspective. Advances in Soil Science 13:1–8
Vannie’rea, B., Bossueta, G., Walter-Simonneta, A., Gauthiera, E., Barrala, P., Petith, C., Buatierc, M., Pardini, G., Gispert, M. and Dunjo’, G., 2003. Runoff erosion and nutrient depletion in five Mediterranean soils of NE Spain under different land use. The Science of the Total Environment 309: 213–224
WANG, X. Y., LI, L. Q., YANG, M. Y. and TIAN, J. L. 2003. Spatial Distribution of Soil Erosion on Different Utilization Soils in Yangou Watershed by Using 137Cs Tracer. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (in Chinese) 17: 74–77
ZHANG, X. W., CHEN, S. and LI, T. Y., 1990. Principle of studies on seasonal no-tillage ridge cropping system. Chinese Bulletin of Soil and Agro-chemistry (in Chinese) 5(1&2): 286–293
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, G., Zhang, J., Tian, G. et al. The effects of land uses on purplish soil erosion in hilly area of Sichuan Province, China. J. Mt. Sci. 2, 68–75 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-005-0068-3
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-005-0068-3