Vegetation Control in the Long-Term Self-Stabilization of the Liangzhou Oasis of the Upper Shiyang River Watershed of West-Central Gansu, Northwest China

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles P-A. Bourque ◽  
Quazi K. Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Vegetation Control ◽  
West Central ◽  
The Qilian Mountains

Abstract This paper explores the relationship between vegetation in the Liangzhou Oasis in the Upper Shiyang River watershed (USRW) of west-central Gansu, China, and within-watershed precipitation, soil water storage, and oasis self-support. Oases along the base of the Qilian Mountains receive a significant portion of their water supply (over 90%) from surface and subsurface flow originating from the Qilian Mountains. Investigation of vegetation control on oasis water conditions in the USRW is based on an application of a process model of soil water hydrology. The model is used to simulate long-term soil water content (SWC) in the Liangzhou Oasis as a function of (i) monthly composites of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images of land surface and mean air temperature, (ii) spatiotemporal calculations of monthly precipitation and relative humidity generated with the assistance of genetic algorithms (GAs), and (iii) a 80-m-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the area. Modeled removal of vegetation is shown to affect within-watershed precipitation and soil water storage by reducing the exchange of water vapor from the land surface to the air, increasing the air’s lifting condensation level by promoting drier air conditions, and causing the high-intensity precipitation band in the Qilian Mountains to weaken and to be displaced upward, leading to an overall reduction of water to the Liangzhou Oasis.

scholarly journals Soil water repellency influences maize yield by changing soil water availability under long-term tillage management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengping Li ◽  
Guopeng Liang ◽  
Xueping Wu ◽  
Jinjing Lu ◽  
Erwan Plougonven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Water Repellency ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Water Availability ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Water Sorptivity

Abstract. Drought is increasingly common due to frequent occurrences of extreme weather events, which further increases soil water repellency (SWR) and influences grain yield. Conservation agriculture is playing a vital role in attaining high food security and it could also increase SWR. However, the relationship between SWR and grain yield under conservation agriculture is still not fully understood. We studied the impact of SWR in 0–5 cm, 5–10 cm, and 10–20 cm layers during three growth periods on grain yield from a soil water availability perspective using a long-term field experiment. In particular, we assessed the effect of SWR on soil water content under two rainfall events with different rainfall intensities. Three treatments were conducted: conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no-tillage (NT). The results showed that the water repellency index (RI) of NT and RT treatments in 0–20 cm layers was increased by 12.9 %–39.9 % and 5.7 %–18.2 % compared to CT treatment during the three growth periods, respectively. The effect of the RI on soil water content became more obvious with the decrease in soil moisture following rainfall, which was also influenced by rainfall intensity. The RI played a prominent role in increasing soil water storage during the three growth periods compared to the soil total porosity, penetration resistance, mean weight diameter, and organic carbon content. Furthermore, although the increment in the RI under NT treatment increased the soil water storage, grain yield was not influenced by RI (p > 0.05) because the grain yield under NT treatment was mainly driven by penetration resistance and least limiting water range (LLWR). The higher water sorptivity increased LLWR and water use efficiency, which further increased the grain yield under RT treatment. Overall, SWR, which was characterized by water sorptivity and RI, had the potential to influence grain yield by changing soil water availability (e.g. LLWR and soil water storage) and RT treatment was the most effective tillage management compared to CT and NT treatments in improving grain yield.

Crop production and soil water storage in long-term winter wheat–fallow tillage experiments

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 19-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew J. Lyon ◽  
Walter W. Stroup ◽  
Randall E. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Storage

scholarly journals The effect of cover crop and crop rotation on soil water storage and on sorghum yield

1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demóstenes Marcos Pedrosa de Azevedo ◽  
Juan Landivar ◽  
Robson Macedo Vieira ◽  
Daryl Moseley
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Important Means ◽  
Sorghum Grain ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Sorghum Bicolor L

Crop rotation and cover crop can be important means for enhancing crop yield in rainfed areas such as the lower Coastal Bend Region of Texas, USA. A trial was conducted in 1995 as part of a long-term cropping experiment (7 years) to investigate the effect of oat (Avena sativa L.) cover and rotation on soil water storage and yield of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). The trial design was a RCB in a split-plot arrangement with four replicates. Rotation sequences were the main plots and oat cover crop the subplots. Cover crop reduced sorghum grain yield. This effect was attributed to a reduced concentration of available soil N and less soil water storage under this treatment. By delaying cover termination, the residue with a high C/N acted as an N sink through competition and/or immobilization instead of an N source to sorghum plants. Crop rotation had a significantly positive effect on sorghum yield and this effect was attributed to a significantly larger amount of N concentration under these rotation sequences.

The effect of long-term fertilization on soil water storage and water deficit in the Black Soil Zone in northeast China

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenxiu Zou ◽  
Bingcheng Si ◽  
Xiaozeng Han ◽  
Heng Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Deficit ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Black Soil ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Deficit ◽  
Soil Zone

Zou, W., Si, B., Han, X. and Jiang, H. 2012. The effect of long-term fertilization on soil water storage and water deficit in the Black Soil Zone in northeast China. Can. J. Soil Sci. 92: 439–448. The Black Soil Zone in northeast China is one of the most important areas of agricultural production in China and plays a crucial role in food supply. However, further improvement in crop yield hinges on effective management of soil water. There is a poor understanding of how different fertilization methods affect crop water use efficiency. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of different fertilization methods on soil water storage and deficit in Black soils. A long-term experiment was conducted at the National Field Research Station of Agro-ecosystems, at Hailun County, Heilongjiang province in northeastern China from 1999 to 2008. Three fertilizer treatments including no fertilizer (CK), inorganic fertilizer (NP) and inorganic fertilizer plus organic material (NPM) were tested. The results showed that soil water storage decreased in the order CK, NP, and NPM during the growing season and the differences in soil water storage in the active root zone (0–70 cm) and below the active root zone (70–130 cm) and soil water deficit were statistically significant among the three treatments. Due to the uneven temporal distribution of rainfall and crop water uptake, soil water content was very dynamic in all three treatments: The low soil water storage and resulting soil water deficit (defined as the monthly difference between potential evapotranspiration and soil available water storage) within the 0- to 70-cm soil profile were found in both June and July. Further, soil receiving NPM was more likely to have a soil water deficit, but less likely to have excessive water. A lower risk of excess water may result in deeper root penetration and increased water use at greater depth, and thus the water deficit under the NPM treatment may not be the limiting factor for crop production. Therefore, NPM seems a viable management practice for improving crop yields in the Black Soil Zone in northeast China, possibly due to higher soil organic carbon and nutrient supply and lower probability of excess water.

scholarly journals Ubiquitous Fractal Scaling and Filtering Behavior of Hydrologic Fluxes and Storages from A Mountain Headwater Catchment

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 613
Author(s):  
Ravindra Dwivedi ◽  
John F. Knowles ◽  
Christopher Eastoe ◽  
Rebecca Minor ◽  
Nathan Abramson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Actual Evapotranspiration ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Fractal Scaling ◽  
Wetting Properties ◽  
Soil Wetting

We used the weighted wavelet method to perform spectral analysis of observed long-term precipitation, streamflow, actual evapotranspiration, and soil water storage at a sub-humid mountain catchment near Tucson, Arizona, USA. Fractal scaling in precipitation and the daily change in soil water storage occurred up to a period of 14 days and corresponded to the typical duration of relatively wet and dry intervals. In contrast, fractal scaling could be observed up to a period of 0.5 years in streamflow and actual evapotranspiration. By considering long-term observations of hydrologic fluxes and storages, we show that, in contrast to previous findings, the phase relationships between water balance components changed with component period and were not perfectly in or out of phase at all periods. Self-averaging behavior was apparent, but the temporal scales over which this behavior was applicable differed among the various water balance components. Conservative tracer analysis showed that this catchment acted as a fractal filter by transforming white noise in the precipitation input signal to a 1/f flicker in the streamflow output signal by means of both spatial and temporal subsurface advection and dispersion processes and soil wetting properties. This study provides an improved understanding of hydrological filtering behavior in mountain critical zones that are critical sources of water and ecosystem services throughout the world.

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