Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China

Unsustainable agricultural land use will lead to an increased risk of soil erosion and soil degradation. However, few studies have investigated impacts of changes in root and soil properties on the soil detachment process. Therefore, we investigated the effects of agricultural land use on the relati...

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Main Authors: Lang Peng, Chongjun Tang, Xinyin Zhang, Jian Duan, Luyang Yang, Shiyu Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Forests
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/11/1788
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author Lang Peng
Chongjun Tang
Xinyin Zhang
Jian Duan
Luyang Yang
Shiyu Liu
author_facet Lang Peng
Chongjun Tang
Xinyin Zhang
Jian Duan
Luyang Yang
Shiyu Liu
author_sort Lang Peng
collection DOAJ
description Unsustainable agricultural land use will lead to an increased risk of soil erosion and soil degradation. However, few studies have investigated impacts of changes in root and soil properties on the soil detachment process. Therefore, we investigated the effects of agricultural land use on the relative contribution of root and soil properties to soil detachment capacity. Soil samples were collected from six different land use types and subjected to flow scouring under six shear stresses ranging from 4.98 to 16.37 Pa. Agricultural land use influenced root distribution and soil properties in the soil surface layer. Root length density, root surface area density, and root volume density in orchards with no cover, orchards with grass cover, and farmland were less than those of grassland samples. Different land use types affected soil detachment capacity. Bare land, farmland, and orchards with no cover were more vulnerable to erosion, while forest, orchard with grass cover, and grassland showed little soil detachment. Soil detachment capacity decreased exponentially with increasing soil bulk density, aggregate stability, organic matter, and root mass density. The root mass density and aggregate stability had the greatest contribution to the soil detachment capacity. Agricultural land use increases the risk of soil erosion; a groundcover management strategy, such as planting grass in orchard, could effectively increase the fine root distribution and aggregate stability to control soil erosion.
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spelling doaj.art-d43481da84454b8db8f47b388c7316b22023-11-24T04:43:12ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-10-011311178810.3390/f13111788Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern ChinaLang Peng0Chongjun Tang1Xinyin Zhang2Jian Duan3Luyang Yang4Shiyu Liu5Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang 330029, ChinaJiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang 330029, ChinaJiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang 330029, ChinaJiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang 330029, ChinaJiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang 330029, ChinaCollege of Land Resources and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaUnsustainable agricultural land use will lead to an increased risk of soil erosion and soil degradation. However, few studies have investigated impacts of changes in root and soil properties on the soil detachment process. Therefore, we investigated the effects of agricultural land use on the relative contribution of root and soil properties to soil detachment capacity. Soil samples were collected from six different land use types and subjected to flow scouring under six shear stresses ranging from 4.98 to 16.37 Pa. Agricultural land use influenced root distribution and soil properties in the soil surface layer. Root length density, root surface area density, and root volume density in orchards with no cover, orchards with grass cover, and farmland were less than those of grassland samples. Different land use types affected soil detachment capacity. Bare land, farmland, and orchards with no cover were more vulnerable to erosion, while forest, orchard with grass cover, and grassland showed little soil detachment. Soil detachment capacity decreased exponentially with increasing soil bulk density, aggregate stability, organic matter, and root mass density. The root mass density and aggregate stability had the greatest contribution to the soil detachment capacity. Agricultural land use increases the risk of soil erosion; a groundcover management strategy, such as planting grass in orchard, could effectively increase the fine root distribution and aggregate stability to control soil erosion.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/11/1788soil erosionsoil detachment capacityland use changevegetation rootssoil properties
spellingShingle Lang Peng
Chongjun Tang
Xinyin Zhang
Jian Duan
Luyang Yang
Shiyu Liu
Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China
Forests
soil erosion
soil detachment capacity
land use change
vegetation roots
soil properties
title Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China
title_full Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China
title_fullStr Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China
title_full_unstemmed Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China
title_short Quantifying the Effects of Root and Soil Properties on Soil Detachment Capacity in Agricultural Land Use of Southern China
title_sort quantifying the effects of root and soil properties on soil detachment capacity in agricultural land use of southern china
topic soil erosion
soil detachment capacity
land use change
vegetation roots
soil properties
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/11/1788
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