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Quantifying soil erosion effects on soil productivity in the dry-hot valley, southwestern China

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Abstract

The dry-hot valley region (DHV) in southwestern China is one of the most ecologically fragile zones in China with intensive soil erosion. Few studies have focused on the effects of soil erosion on soil productivity in this region. The objectives of this study were to quantify the effects of soil erosion on soil productivity using the ‘soil erosion class’ method. The degree of soil erosion was investigated at 44 monitoring sites in typical DHV catchments, and soil physicochemical properties, and corn yield at each site were monitored. The results showed that soil productivity was significantly affected by soil erosion in the DHV. As the degree of soil erosion progressed from ‘slight’ to ‘moderate’ to ‘severe,’ organic matter content decreased 15.29, 18.00, and 27.37 %, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen—0.06, 6.03, and 9.45 %, and available potassium content—7.07, 41.79, and 43.32 %, respectively. Compared with the ‘no’ erosion site, the decreases in the mean corn seed yields were 1.56 % for ‘slight,’ 29.18 % for ‘moderate,’ and 35.03 % for ‘severe’ erosion. These results indicated that once the erosion reached ‘moderate’ levels, significant reductions in soil productivity were present. The declining slope of corn seed yields was 0.13 Mg ha−1 cm−1 of topsoil loss. The estimated mean for the absolute corn loss was 0.01 Mg ha−1 year−1 in the DHV. These results increased the understanding of the mechanism of soil degradation processes in the DHV and will be instrumental in developing a strategy for ecological restoration.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation Project of China (Grant Numbers: 41561063, 41101267 and 41401614), Non-profit Industry Research Project of Chinese Ministry of Water Resources (Grant Number: 201501045), and the Department of Water Resources of Yunnan Province: Water Science and Technology Project (Grant Number: SLKI-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Trans-Boundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming, 10095, China

    Xingwu Duan & Li Rong

  2. China institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China

    Bing Liu

  3. Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming, China

    Zhijia Gu & Detai Feng

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  1. Xingwu Duan
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Correspondence to Xingwu Duan.

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Duan, X., Liu, B., Gu, Z. et al. Quantifying soil erosion effects on soil productivity in the dry-hot valley, southwestern China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 1164 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5986-6

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