Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2022, Vol. 14 Issue (3): 325-340    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-022-0007-y
Research article     
Effects of vegetation near-soil-surface factors on runoff and sediment reduction in typical grasslands on the Loess Plateau, China
LI Panpan1, WANG Bing1,2, YANG Yanfen1,2,*(), LIU Guobin1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
2State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
Download: HTML     PDF(1810KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  

Vegetation near-soil-surface factors can protect topsoil from erosion, however, their contributions to the reduction of soil erosion, especially under natural rainfall events, have not been systematically recognized. This study was performed to quantify the effects of near-soil-surface factors on runoff and sediment under natural rainfall events on grasslands dominated by Bothriochloa ischaemum (Linn.) Keng (BI grassland) and Artemisia gmelinii Thunb. (AG grassland) in two typical watersheds on the Loess Plateau, China in 2018. By successive removal of the plant canopy, litter, biological soil crusts (BSCs) and plant roots, we established five treatments including plant roots, plant roots+BSCs, plant roots+BSCs+litter, intact grassland and bare land in each grassland type. In total, twenty runoff plots (5 m×3 m) with similar slopes and aspects were constructed in the two types of grasslands. Results showed that plant canopy, litter and roots reduced runoff, while BSCs, which swelled in the presence of water, increased runoff. In contrast, all of these factors reduced sediment yield. In addition, the reductions in runoff and sediment yield increased with I30 (maximum 30-min rainfall intensity) for each vegetation near-soil-surface factor except for BSCs. Among these factors, plant canopy had the largest contribution to runoff reduction, accounting for 48.8% and 39.9% in the BI and AG grasslands, respectively. The contributions of these vegetation near-soil-surface factors to sediment yield reduction were similar (21.3%-29.9%) in the two types of grasslands except for BSCs in the AG grassland (10.3%). The total reduction in runoff in the BI grassland (70.8%) was greater than that in the AG grassland (53.1%), while the reduction in sediment yield was almost the same in both grasslands (97.4% and 96.7%). In conclusion, according to the effects of different vegetation near-soil-surface factors on runoff and sediment production, our results may provide more complete insight and scientific basis into the effects of various vegetation related factors in controlling soil erosion.

Key words： vegetation near-soil-surface factor      grassland      arid and semi-arid      soil erosion      Loess Plateau     
Received: 21 November 2021      Published: 31 March 2022
Corresponding Authors: YANG Yanfen     E-mail: yfyang@ms.iswc.ac.cn
Service
E-mail this article
Add to my bookshelf
Add to citation manager
E-mail Alert
RSS
Articles by authors
LI Panpan
WANG Bing
YANG Yanfen
LIU Guobin
Cite this article:

LI Panpan, WANG Bing, YANG Yanfen, LIU Guobin. Effects of vegetation near-soil-surface factors on runoff and sediment reduction in typical grasslands on the Loess Plateau, China. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(3): 325-340.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-022-0007-y     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2022/V14/I3/325

Fig. 1 (a), distribution of two experimental plots; (b), BI grassland is the grassland with B. ischaemum as the dominant species; (c), AG grassland is the grassland with A. gmelinii as the dominant species. A schematic diagram of T1-T4 treatments is shown in Figure S1. The treatments named T0, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 indicate bare land, plant roots, plant roots+BSCs, plant roots+BSCs+litter, intact grassland and dead roots, respectively, and the T5 is not analyzed in the study. BSCs, biological soil crusts.
Fig. 2 Reduction of runoff amount and sediment yield of different near-soil-surface factors at each rainfall event in the BI grassland (a, c) and AG grassland (b, d). F1, F2, F3 and F4 refer to plant canopy, litter, BSCs and plant roots, respectively.
Near-soil-surface
factor		 Runoff Sediment yield
BI grassland AG grassland BI grassland AG grassland
Plant canopy (%) 48.8a 39.9a 21.3a 29.5a
Plant litter (%) 13.5b 23.9a 24.3a 29.9a
BSCs (%) -6.4c -16.1c 24.2a 10.3b
Plant roots (%) 14.8b 5.3b 27.7a 27.0a
Table 1 Average contribution of each near-soil-surface factor to runoff and sediment yield reduction
Fig. 3 Correlation analysis of rainfall characteristics with runoff and sediment yield under different near-soil-surface factors. P, precipitation; t, rainfall duration; IA, average rainfall intensity; I30, maximum 30-min rainfall intensity; E, rainfall kinetic energy; R, rainfall erosivity. RR_C and SR_C indicate runoff and sediment yield reduction caused by plant coverage; RR_L and SR_L indicate runoff and sediment yield reduction caused by litter; RR_B and SR_B indicate runoff and sediment yield reduction caused by BSCs (biological soil crusts); and RR_R and SR_R indicate runoff and sediment yield reduction caused by plant roots. **, P<0.01 level;*, P<0.05 level.
Fig. 4 Variations in runoff and sediment yield reduction with I30 (maximum 30-min rainfall intensity) under different near-soil-surface factors in the BI grassland and the AG grassland. (a, e), plant canopy; (b, f), litter; (c, g), BSCs (biological soil crusts); (d, h), plant roots.
Fig. 5 Contributions of grassland to runoff reduction (a) and sediment yield reduction (b)
Sample plot site Soil layer (cm) Soil organic carbon (g/kg) Total nitrogen
(g/kg)		 NO3--N
(mg/kg)		 NH4+-N
(mg/kg)		 Bulk density
(g/cm3)
BI
grassland		 0-10 6.33 0.39 3.16 3.98 1.22
10-20 3.09 0.21 0.79 2.71 1.41
20-30 2.68 0.18 0.77 4.79 1.46
30-40 2.50 0.16 0.58 2.59 1.44
AG
grassland		 0-10 7.67 0.41 0.55 3.64 1.16
10-20 4.19 0.29 0.82 2.67 1.19
20-30 3.17 0.18 0.66 3.18 1.33
30-40 2.76 0.17 0.63 3.44 1.31
Sample plot site Soil layer (cm) Soil water-stable aggregate (%)
>5.00 mm 2.00-5.00 mm 1.00-2.00 mm 0.50-1.00 mm 0.25-0.50 mm <0.25 mm
BI grassland 0-20 33.96 8.47 6.83 6.60 5.05 39.09
AG grassland 0-20 21.35 6.94 4.19 4.00 2.94 60.58
Table S1 Basic soil information of sample plots
Sample site Rainfall date Rainfall
(mm)		 Rainfall duration
(min)		 I30
(mm/h)		 Rainfall kinetic
energy (MJ/hm2)		 Rainfall erosivity
(MJ•mm/(hm2•h))
BI
grassland		 31 Jul 5.6 684 7.3 1.0 7.3
9 Aug 3.6 263 4.8 0.5 2.5
11 Aug 3.0 113 5.6 0.6 3.2
18 Aug 9.8 147 12.0 2.0 23.9
22 Aug 41.0 1383 11.6 6.3 73.1
31 Aug 15.8 890 5.8 2.2 12.7
2 Sep 16.0 351 10.6 2.7 28.5
14 Sep 15.8 542 11.6 2.5 28.6
19 Sep 13.2 3181 2.5 1.4 3.4
AG
grassland		 9 Aug 4.4 227 6.8 0.9 6.3
11 Aug 7.8 122 6.8 1.7 11.2
22 Aug 15.6 363 9.6 2.9 27.5
31 Aug 26.4 779 11.6 5.1 59.5
2 Sep 20.4 283 11.6 4.1 47.5
14 Sep 9.6 498 5.0 1.7 8.2
Table S2 Characteristics of rainfall events
Treatment Date Runoff
(mm)		 Sediment
(g/m2)		 Date Runoff
(mm)		 Sediment
(g/m2)		 Date Runoff
(mm)		 Sediment
(g/m2)
T0 31 Jul 0.1 6.1 18 Aug 5.3 1138.8 2 Sep 1.4 38.8
T1 0.1 1.8 3.2 416.0 1.0 13.4
T2 0.1 0.6 2.8 89.8 0.7 2.9
T3 0.1 0.6 1.3 15.4 0.3 0.5
T4 0.0 0.1 0.3 3.9 0.1 0.2
T0 9 Aug 0.0 0.4 22 Aug 5.1 359.4 14 Sep 2.7 102.8
T1 0.0 0.2 3.3 118.3 1.4 25.8
T2 0.0 0.1 3.3 22.2 1.3 8.8
T3 0.0 0.0 1.3 3.2 0.6 1.2
T4 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.3
T0 11 Aug 0.0 1.1 31 Aug 0.3 9.1 19 Sep 0.0 0.1
T1 0.0 0.3 0.2 2.4 0.0 0.0
T2 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.0
T3 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0
T4 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0
Table S3 Variations in runoff and sediment yield in the BI grassland under rainfall events
Treatment Date Runoff
(mm)		 Sediment
(g/m2)		 Date Runoff
(mm)		 Sediment
(g/m2)
T0 9 Aug 0.0 0.6 31 Aug 7.0 476.8
T1 0.0 0.1 5.5 202.3
T2 0.0 0.1 5.7 104.8
T3 0.0 0.0 3.3 30.1
T4 0.0 0.0 2.1 15.8
T0 11 Aug 0.0 0.5 2 Sep 2.3 46.0
T1 0.0 0.3 2.9 21.8
T2 0.0 0.3 2.7 19.2
T3 0.0 0.1 1.6 4.6
T4 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.0
T0 22 Aug 0.6 23.9 14 Sep 0.0 0.1
T1 0.4 9.9 0.0 0.1
T2 0.7 4.9 0.0 0.1
T3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.1
T4 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0
Table S4 Variations in runoff and sediment yield in the AG grassland under rainfall events
Fig. S1 Schematic diagram of vegetation near-soil-surface factors involved in different treatments (T1-T4). BSCs, biological soil crusts.
Fig. S2 Recorded rainfall events in the BI and AG grasslands during rainy season. BI grassland is the grassland with B. ischaemum as the dominant species, and AG grassland is the grassland with A. gmelinii as the dominant species. Non-effective rainfall events indicate that no runoff or sediment is generated. Effective rainfall events indicate that runoff and sediment are generated.
[1]   Biesemans J, Meirvenne M, Gabriels D. 2000. Extending the RUSLE with the Monte Carlo error propagation technique to predict long-term average off-site sediment accumulation. Journal of Soil & Water Conservation, 55(1): 35-42.
[2]   Chen H, Zhang X P, Abla M, et al. 2018. Effects of vegetation and rainfall types on surface runoff and soil erosion on steep slopes on the Loess Plateau, China. CATENA, 170: 141-149.
doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2018.06.006
[3]   Coppola A, Basile A, Wang X, et al. 2011. Hydrological behaviour of microbiotic crusts on sand dunes: Example from NW China comparing infiltration in crusted and crust-removed soil. Soil & Tillage Research, 117: 34-43.
[4]   de Baets S, Poesen J, Knapen A, et al. 2007. Impact of root architecture on the erosion-reducing potential of roots during concentrated flow. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32(9): 1323-1345.
doi: 10.1002/(ISSN)1096-9837
[5]   de Baets S, Poesen J, Meersmans J, et al. 2011. Cover crops and their erosion-reducing effects during concentrated flow erosion. CATENA, 85(3): 237-244.
doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2011.01.009
[6]   Du H D, Jiao J Y, Jia Y F, et al. 2013. Phytogenic mounds of four typical shoot architecture species at different slope gradients on the Loess Plateau of China. Geomorphology, 193: 57-64.
doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.04.002
[7]   Facelli J M, Pickett S T. 1991. Plant litter-its dynamics and effects on plant community structure. Botanical Review, 57: 1-32.
doi: 10.1007/BF02858763
[8]   Feng Q, Zhao W W. 2014. The study on cover-management factor in USLE and RUSLE: a review. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 34(16): 4461-4472. (in Chinese)
[9]   Gyssels G, Poesen J, Bochet E, et al. 2005. Impact of plant roots on the resistance of soils to erosion by water: a review. Progress in Physical Geography-Earth and Environment, 29(2): 189-217.
doi: 10.1191/0309133305pp443ra
[10]   Kheirfam H, Roohi M. 2020. Accelerating the formation of biological soil crusts in the newly dried-up lakebeds using the inoculation-based technique. Science of the Total Environment, 706: 136036, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136036.
[11]   Li C J, Pan C Z. 2018. The relative importance of different grass components in controlling runoff and erosion on a hillslope under simulated rainfall. Journal of Hydrology, 558: 90-103.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.01.007
[12]   Lin Y M, Cui P, Ge Y G, et al. 2014. The succession characteristics of soil erosion during different vegetation succession stages in dry-hot river valley of Jinsha River, upper reaches of Yangtze River. Ecological Engineering, 62: 13-26.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.10.020
[13]   Liu F, Zhang G H, Sun L, et al. 2016. Effects of biological soil crusts on soil detachment process by overland flow in the Loess Plateau of China. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(7): 875-883.
doi: 10.1002/esp.v41.7
[14]   Liu J X, Liu G B, Flanagan D C, et al. 2020. Effects of soil-incorporated plant litter morphological characteristics on the soil detachment process in grassland on the Loess Plateau of China. Science of the Total Environment, 705: 134651, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134651.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134651
[15]   Renard K G. 1997. Predicting soil erosion by water: a guide to conservation planning with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). Washington: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 703: 404.
[16]   Sun C L, Chai Z Z, Liu G B, et al. 2017. Changes in species diversity patterns and spatial heterogeneity during the secondary succession of grassland vegetation on the Loess Plateau, China. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8: 1465.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01465
[17]   Sun L, Zhang G H, Liu F, et al. 2016. Effects of incorporated plant litter on soil resistance to flowing water erosion in the Loess Plateau of China. Biosystems Engineering, 147: 238-247.
doi: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2016.04.017
[18]   Wang B, Zhang G H, Zhang X C, et al. 2014. Effects of near soil surface characteristics on soil detachment by overland flow in a natural succession grassland. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 78(2): 589-597.
doi: 10.2136/sssaj2013.09.0392
[19]   Wang B, Zhang G H, Shi Y Y, et al. 2015. Effects of near soil surface characteristics on the soil detachment process in a chronological series of vegetation restoration. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 79(4): 1213-1222.
doi: 10.2136/sssaj2015.03.0120
[20]   Wang B, Zhang G H. 2017. Quantifying the binding and bonding effects of plant roots on soil detachment by overland flow in 10 typical grasslands on the Loess Plateau. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 81(6): 1567-1576.
doi: 10.2136/sssaj2017.07.0249
[21]   Wang B, Zhang G H, Yang Y F, et al. 2018. Response of soil detachment capacity to plant root and soil properties in typical grasslands on the Loess Plateau. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 266: 68-75.
doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2018.07.016
[22]   Wang J H, Li Z B, Yao W Y, et al. 2017. Influence of vegetation on runoff and sediment in wind-water erosion crisscross region in the upper Yellow River of China. Chinese Geographical Science, 27: 569-576.
doi: 10.1007/s11769-016-0829-7
[23]   Wang L J, Zhang G H, Zhu P Z, et al. 2020. Comparison of the effects of litter covering and incorporation on infiltration and soil erosion under simulated rainfall. Hydrological Processes, 34(13): 2911-2922.
doi: 10.1002/hyp.v34.13
[24]   Wen Z, Lees B G, Jiao F, et al. 2010. Stratified vegetation cover index: A new way to assess vegetation impact on soil erosion. CATENA, 83(1): 87-93.
doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2010.07.006
[25]   Zhang B J, Zhang G H, Yang H Y, et al. 2019. Soil resistance to flowing water erosion of seven typical plant communities on steep gully slopes on the Loess Plateau of China. CATENA, 173: 375-383.
doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2018.10.036
[26]   Zhang S T, Zhang J Z, Liu Y, et al. 2018. Effects of farmland vegetation row direction on overland flow hydraulic characteristics. Hydrology Research, 49(6): 1991-2001.
doi: 10.2166/nh.2018.020
[27]   Zhao Y G, Xu M X. 2013. Runoff and soil loss from revegetated grasslands in the hilly Loess Plateau region, China: Influence of biocrust patches and plant canopies. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 18(4): 387-393.
doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000633
[28]   Zheng H, Chen F, Ouyang Z Y, et al. 2008. Impacts of reforestation approaches on runoff control in the hilly red soil region of Southern China. Journal of Hydrology, 356(1-2): 174-184.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.04.007
[29]   Zhou Z C, Shangguan Z P, Zhao D. 2006. Modeling vegetation coverage and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau Area of China. Ecological Modelling, 198(1-2): 263-268.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.04.019
[1] LI Feng, LI Yaoming, ZHOU Xuewen, YIN Zun, LIU Tie, XIN Qinchuan. Modeling and analyzing supply-demand relationships of water resources in Xinjiang from a perspective of ecosystem services[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(2): 115-138.
[2] LING Xinying, MA Jinzhu, CHEN Peiyuan, LIU Changjie, Juske HORITA. Isotope implications of groundwater recharge, residence time and hydrogeochemical evolution of the Longdong Loess Basin, Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(1): 34-55.
[3] CHEN Shumin, JIN Zhao, ZHANG Jing, YANG Siqi. Soil quality assessment in different dammed-valley farmlands in the hilly-gully mountain areas of the northern Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(8): 777-789.
[4] HUANG Laiming, ZHAO Wen, SHAO Ming'an. Response of plant physiological parameters to soil water availability during prolonged drought is affected by soil texture[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(7): 688-698.
[5] SU Yuan, MA Xiaofei, GONG Yanming, LI Kaihui, HAN Wenxuan, LIU Xuejun. Contrasting effects of nitrogen addition on litter decomposition in forests and grasslands in China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(7): 717-729.
[6] KANG Yongde, HUANG Miansong, HOU Jingming, TONG Yu, PAN Zhanpeng. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic robust numerical model of soil erosion based on slopes and river basins[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(10): 995-1014.
[7] Mahsa MIRDASHTVAN, Mohsen MOHSENI SARAVI. Influence of non-stationarity and auto-correlation of climatic records on spatio-temporal trend and seasonality analysis in a region with prevailing arid and semi-arid climate, Iran[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(6): 964-983.
[8] JIN Xiaoming, YANG Xiaogang, ZHOU Zhen, ZHANG Yingqi, YU Liangbin, ZHANG Jinghua, LIANG Runfang. Ecological stoichiometry and biomass response of Agropyron michnoi Roshev. under simulated N deposition in a sandy grassland, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 741-751.
[9] PEI Yanwu, HUANG Laiming, SHAO Ming'an, ZHANG Yinglong. Responses of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall. in the sandy and loamy soils to water stress[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 791-805.
[10] HE Qian, DAI Xiao'ai, CHEN Shiqi. Assessing the effects of vegetation and precipitation on soil erosion in the Three-River Headwaters Region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 865-886.
[11] LIU Qianjin, MA Liang, ZHANG Hanyu. Applying seepage modeling to improve sediment yield predictions in contour ridge systems[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(4): 676-689.
[12] GONG Yidan, XING Xuguang, WANG Weihua. Factors determining soil water heterogeneity on the Chinese Loess Plateau as based on an empirical mode decomposition method[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(3): 462-472.
[13] QIAO Xianguo, GUO Ke, LI Guoqing, ZHAO Liqing, LI Frank Yonghong, GAO Chenguang. Assessing the collapse risk of Stipa bungeana grassland in China based on its distribution changes[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(2): 303-317.
[14] SONG Yongyong, XUE Dongqian, DAI Lanhai, WANG Pengtao, HUANG Xiaogang, XIA Siyou. Land cover change and eco-environmental quality response of different geomorphic units on the Chinese Loess Plateau[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(1): 29-43.
[15] LUO Zhidong, LIU Erjia, QI Shi, ZHAO Nan, SUN Yun. Flow regime changes in three catchments with different landforms following ecological restoration in the Chinese Loess Plateau[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(1): 44-57.