Abstract
This study explores the role of a traditional tillage method, i.e., compensatory hoeing, for sustainable agro-ecosystem management in the hilly areas of the Chongqing municipality, south-western China. To validate the effects of compensatory tillage on the terraced slopes, the tillage method of noncompensatory hoeing was conducted on a linear slope. To acquire information about 137Cs inventories and soil texture, soil samples were collected by a core sampler with a 6.8-cm diameter at 5.0-m intervals along the toposequence and the linear slope in the dry season (March) of 2007. Meanwhile, a tillage erosion model was used for evaluating the spatial pattern of tillage erosion. The 137Cs data showed that on the terraced slope, soil was lost from the upper slope, and soil deposition occurred at the toe slope positions on each terrace. As a result, abrupt changes in the 137Cs inventories of soil were found over short distances between two sides of terrace boundaries. Results obtained from the tillage erosion model and the 137Cs data indicate that soil redistribution mainly results from tillage erosion in the terraced landscape. Consecutive non-compensatory tillage caused soil redistribution on the linear slope, resulting in thin soil profile disappearing at the top and soil accumulating at the bottom positions of the linear slope. This result further validates that compensatory tillage could avoid the complete erosion of the thin soil layer at the summit position. Therefore, this traditional tillage method, i.e., compensatory tillage, has maintained the soil quality at the summit of the slope in the past decades.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dercon G, Govers G, Poesen J, et al. (2007) Animal-powered tillage erosion assessment in the southern Andes region of Ecuador. Geomorphology 87(1–2): 4–15.
Dupin B, de Rouw A, Phantahvong KB, et al. (2009) Assessment of tillage erosion rates on steep slopes in northern Laos. Soil and Tillage Research 103(1): 119–126.
FAO (1988) Soil Map of the World. Revised legend. World Soil Resources Report 60, Rome.
Govers G, Lobb DA, Quine TA (1999) Preface — Tillage erosion and translocation: emergence of a new paradigm in soil erosion research. Soil and Tillage Research 51(3–4): 167–174.
He XB, Xu YB, Zhang XB (2007) Traditional farming system for soil conservation on slope farmland in southwestern China. Soil and Tillage Research 94(1): 193–200.
Heckrath G, Djurhuus J, Quine TA, et al. (2005) Tillage erosion and its effect on soil properties and crop yield in Denmark. Journal of Environmental Quality 34(1): 312–324.
Lei XZ, Cao SY, Dai HL, et al. (2003) Study on the benefits of sediment reduction and water resources regulation by ‘Changzhi Project’ in the Sichuan Basin. Journal of Sediment Research (1): 52–58.
Li S, Lobb DA, Lindstrom MJ (2004) Measurement of tillage translocation and modeling tillage erosion in southwest Manitoba, Canada. Land and Water Management: Decision Tools and Practices (1–2): 829–839.
Li S, Lobb DA, Lindstrom MJ (2007) Tillage translocation and tillage erosion in cereal-based production in Manitoba, Canada. Soil and Tillage Research 94(1): 164–182.
Li S, Lobb DA, Lindstrom MJ, et al. (2008) Patterns of water and tillage erosion on topographically complex landscapes in the North American Great Plains. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 63(1): 37–46.
Liu GS (1996) Soil Physical and Chemical Analysis and Description of Soil Profiles. Beijing. Chinese Standard Press, pp 31–37.
Lobb DA, Kachanoski RG (1999) Modelling tillage erosion in the topographically complex landscapes of southwestern Ontario, Canada. Soil and Tillage Research 51(3–4): 261–277.
Ni SJ, Zhang JH (2007) Variation of chemical properties as affected by soil erosion on hillslopes and terraces. European Journal of Soil Science 58(6): 1285–1292.
Nyssen J, Poesen J, Haile M, et al. (2000) Tillage erosion on slopes with soil conservation structures in the Ethiopian highlands. Soil and Tillage Research 57(3): 115–127.
Quine TA, Walling DE, Chakela QK, et al. (1999) Rates and patterns of tillage and water erosion on terraces and contour strips: evidence from caesium-137 measurements. Catena 36(1–2): 115–142.
Quine TA, Zhang Y (2004) Re-defining tillage erosion: quantifying intensity-direction relationships for complex terrain.2. Revised mouldboard erosion model. Soil Use and Management 20(2): 124–132.
Schumacher TE, Lindstrom MJ, Schumacher JA, et al. (1999) Modeling spatial variation in productivity due to tillage and water erosion. Soil and Tillage Research 51(3–4): 331–339.
Su ZA, Zhang JH, Nie XJ (2010) Effect of Soil Erosion on Soil Properties and Crop Yields on Slopes in the Sichuan Basin, China. Pedosphere 20(6): 736–746.
Turkelboom F, Poesen J, Ohler I, et al. (1999) Reassessment of tillage erosion rates by manual tillage on steep slopes in northern Thailand. Soil Tillage Res 51(3–4): 245–259.
Van Oost K, Cerdan O, Quine TA (2009) Accelerated sediment fluxes by water and tillage erosion on European agricultural land. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 34(12): 1625–1634.
Van Oost K, Govers G, de Alba S, et al. (2006) Tillage erosion: a review of controlling factors and implications for soil quality. Progress in Physical Geography 30(4): 443–466.
Walling DE (2004) Using environmental radionuclides to trace sediment mobilisation and delivery in river basins as an aid to catchment management. Proceedings of the ninth international symposium on river sedimentation, vols 1–4, 121–135.
Walling DE (2005) Tracing suspended sediment sources in catchments and river systems. Science of the Total Environment 344(1–3): 159–184.
Wei GX, Wang YB, Wang YL (2008) Using Cs-137 to quantify the redistribution of soil organic carbon and total N affected by intensive soil erosion in the headwaters of the Yangtze River, China. Applied Radiation and Isotopes 66(12): 2007–2012.
Zhang JH, Frielinghaus M, Tian G, et al. (2004a) Ridge and contour tillage effects on soil erosion from steep hillstopes-in the Sichuan Basin, China. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 59(6): 277–284.
Zhang JH, Lobb DA, Li Y, et al. (2004b) Assessment of tillage translocation and tillage erosion by hoeing on the steep land in hilly areas of Sichuan, China. Soil and Tillage Research 75(2): 99–107.
Zhang JH, Nie XJ, Su ZA (2008) Soil profile properties in relation to soil redistribution by intense tillage on a steep hillslope. Soil Science Society of America Journal 72(6): 1767–1773.
Zhang JH, Quine TA, Ni SJ, et al. (2006) Stocks and dynamics of SOC in relation to soil redistribution by water and tillage erosion. Global Change Biology 12(10): 1834–1841.
Zhang JH, Su ZA, Nie XJ (2009) An investigation of soil translocation and erosion by conservation hoeing tillage on steep lands using a magnetic tracer. Soil and Tillage Research 105(2): 177–183.
Zhang X, Quine TA, Walling DE (1998) Soil erosion rates on sloping cultivated land on the Loess Plateau near Ansai, Shaanxi Province, China: An investigation using Cs-137 and rill measurements. Hydrological Processes 12(1): 171–189.
Zhang XB, Zhang YY, Wen AB, et al. (2003) Assessment of soil losses on cultivated land by using the Cs-137 technique in the Upper Yangtze River Basin of China. Soil and Tillage Research 69(1–2): 99–106.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Su, Z., Zhang, J., Xiong, D. et al. Assessment of soil erosion by compensatory hoeing tillage in a purple soil. J. Mt. Sci. 9, 59–66 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-012-2205-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-012-2205-0