There is increased awareness of the environmental impacts of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses through wind erosion, especially in areas heavily affected by dust storm erosion. This paper reviews the recent literature concerning dust storm-related soil erosion and its impact on soil C and N losses in northern China. The purpose of our study is to provide an overview of the area of erosion-affected soils and to estimate the magnitude of soil C and N losses from farmland affected by dust storm erosion.According to the second national soil erosion remote-sensing survey in 2000, the area affected by wind erosion was 1.91 million km2, accounting for 20% of the total land area in China. This area is expanding quickly as the incidence of heavy dust storms has greatly increased over the last five decades, mainly as a result of the intensification of soil cultivation. The economic and ecological damage caused by wind erosion is considerable. Heavily affected areas show a loss of nutrients and organic carbon in soils and the heavily degraded soils are much less productive. Compared with the non-degraded soil, the C and N contents in degraded soils have declined by 66% and 73%, respectively. The estimated annual losses per cm toplayer of soil C and N by dust storm erosion in northern China range from 53 to 1044 kg ha− 1 and 5 to 90 kg ha− 1, respectively. Field studies suggest that soil losses by wind erosion can be reduced by up to 79% when farmers shift from conventional soil tillage methods to no-till. Thus shifting to no-till or reduced tillage systems is an effective practice for protecting soil and soil nutrients. Our study indicates that soil conservation measures along with improved soil fertility management measures should be promoted in dry-land farming areas of northern China. As erosion is a major mechanism of nutrient withdrawal in these areas, we plead for the development of accurate methods for its assessment and for the incorporation of erosion, as a nutrient output term, in nutrient budget studies. 相似文献
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary nitrate on methane emission and rumen fermentation parameters in Nellore × Guzera (Bos indicus) beef cattle fed a sugarcane based diet. The experiment was conducted with 16 steers weighing 283 ± 49 kg (mean ± SD), 6 rumen cannulated and 10 intact steers, in a cross-over design. The animals were blocked according to BW and presence or absence of rumen cannula and randomly allocated to either the nitrate diet (22 g nitrate/kg DM) or the control diet made isonitrogenous by the addition of urea. The diets consisted of freshly chopped sugarcane and concentrate (60:40 on DM basis), fed as a mixed ration. A 16-d adaptation period was used to allow the rumen microbes to adapt to dietary nitrate. Methane emission was measured using the sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique. Dry matter intake (P = 0.09) tended to be less when nitrate was present in the diet compared with the control, 6.60 and 7.05 kg/d DMI, respectively. The daily methane production was reduced (P < 0.01) by 32% when steers were fed the nitrate diet (85 g/d) compared with the urea diet (125 g/d). Methane emission per kilogram DMI was 27% less (P < 0.01) on the nitrate diet (13.3 g methane/kg DMI) than on the control diet (18.2 g methane/kg DMI). Methane losses as a fraction of gross energy intake (GEI) were less (P < 0.01) on the nitrate diet (4.2% of GEI) than on the control diet (5.9% of GEI). Nitrate mitigated enteric methane production by 87% of the theoretical potential. The rumen fluid ammonia-nitrogen (NH(3)-N()) concentration was significantly greater (P < 0.05) for the nitrate diet. The total concentration of VFA was not affected (P = 0.61) by nitrate in the diet, while the proportion of acetic acid tended to be greater (P = 0.09), propionic acid less (P = 0.06) and acetate/propionate ratio tended to be greater (P = 0.06) for the nitrate diet. Dietary nitrate reduced enteric methane emission in beef cattle fed sugarcane based diet. 相似文献
Uprooting by weed harrowing and the potential of the uprooting process for selective weed control at early crop growth stages was studied. Effects of working depth, seed depth, soil moisture content and working speed on uprooting of Lolium perenne L., Lepidium sativum L. and Chenopodium quinoa Willd. were investigated in laboratory harrowing experiments on a sandy soil. Harrowing uprooted on average 51% of the emerging plants and 21% of the plants in the seedling stage. Seventy per cent of all uprooted plants were completely covered by soil. An increase in working depth from 10 mm to 30 mm doubled the average fraction of uprooted plants. Uprooting was also promoted by higher soil moisture contents and higher working speeds. Average uprooting selectivity (=fraction of uprooted emerging plants/fraction of uprooted seedlings of the same species) varied between 2.0 (deep tillage and high speed) and 5.6 (dry soil). If tines could keep a distance of more than 3 mm from the crop and weed plants, the average selectivity of all treatments would improve from 2.4 to 5.5 and the average fraction of uprooted seedlings would decrease from 21% to 8%. This study indicates that uprooting may be a more important weed control mechanism than commonly believed. If working depth and the path of the harrow tines in relation to crop rows could be accurately controlled, uprooting could be a relatively selective weed control mechanism at early crop growth stages. 相似文献
Improvement of intra-row mechanical weed control is important to reduce the reliance on herbicides in arable crops and vegetables. Covering weeds by soil is an important weed control mechanism of weed harrows. A shallow post-emergence harrow cultivation controls weeds but also damages the crop to some extent. This paper explores how plants get covered by soil and how a plant’s resistance against being covered is related to its height, flexibility and shape of leaves. Seedlings of two contrasting species were sown in bins filled with a sandy soil and harrowed by a small model harrow in the laboratory. Covering selectivity (percentage covered ryegrass/percentage covered garden cress) could be influenced by soil moisture content, working depth and working speed. Differences in covering were related to spatial patterns of plant downward bending and soil surface level upheaval. These patterns are associated with soil failure patterns near tines and soil flow patterns, connected with different effects of plant height and plant flexibility. This study indicates that relationships between weed control and crop covering may not only depend on weed and crop characteristics but also on soil conditions and implement settings. As less than 10% of the covered plants were buried deeper than 15 mm, covering would mainly cause growth reduction and little killing. Limited burial depth may be an important cause for limited weed control effectiveness of harrowing. 相似文献
Dryland regions in northern China account for over 50% of the nation's total area, where farming development is constrained by adverse weather, topography and water resource conditions, low fertility soils, and poor soil management. Conservation tillage research and application in dryland regions of northern China has been developed since the 1970s. Demonstration and extension of conservation tillage practices is actively stimulated by the Chinese government since 2002, following the recognition of the increased rate of degradation of the environment due to erosion and water shortage in North China. This paper reviews the research conducted on conservation tillage in dryland regions of northern China, and discusses the problems faced with the introduction and application of conservation tillage practices.Most of the studies reported have shown positive results of soil and water conservation tillage practices. These practices generally involve a reduction in the number and intensity of operations compared to conventional tillage, with direct sowing or no-till as the strongest reduction. Crop yields and water use efficiency have increased (with up to 35%) following the implementation of reduced tillage practices. Under no-till, crop yields are equivalent to or higher than those from conventional tillage methods, especially in dry years. However, during wet years yields tend to be lower (10–15%) with no-till. Other benefits are an increased fallow water storage and reductions in water losses by evaporation. In order to fully exploit the advantages of conservation tillage, systems have to be adapted to regional characteristics. Farmers’ adoption of conservation tillage is still limited. 相似文献
The structure of the soil in the arable layer is controlled by tillage, soil biota activities and weathering, whereas the structure below this layer is mainly the result of the activities of soil biota. Organic farmers tend to minimise the depth of the main tillage operation to encourage soil biota to create a soil structure with continuous biopores and a well crumbled topsoil. The best main tillage operation for preventive weed control, especially important in organic farming, is mouldboard ploughing. The shallow ploughing experiments described in this paper were conducted to ascertain the minimum ploughing depth for an ecologically accountable, sustainable tillage system with good weed control, good land qualities (in terms of workable days, aeration and soil moisture conditions) and finally with good yields. The “ecoplough” used for shallow ploughing was developed by Rumptstad Industries to meet the requirements of relatively shallow ploughing with good soil inversion for weed control. The plough has seven or eight bottoms for ploughing depths of 0.12–0.20 m, a working width of 2.1 m and a working speed of 1.7 m s−1. Its width is such that the tractor with wide low-pressure tyres runs on top of the land.
After using the plough for 6 years on Luvisols (>200 gkg−1<2 μm) in the IJsselmeer polders and on Luvisols (120–160 gkg−1<2 μm) in polders near the northern coast of The Netherlands, it was found that compared with conventional ploughing, shallow ploughing required less energy and labour and produced a relatively smooth surface. The latter facilitates the preparation of a seedbed consisting of relatively fine, strong, stable and moist aggregates. Organic matter, soil biota and nutrients were concentrated higher in the profile, influencing the workability of the soil, the growth of weeds and the growth of crops. Most of the yields were similar to yields after conventional ploughing, but weed populations increased when ploughing depth was <0.2 m. It was concluded that for organic farming on “active” soils (soils subject to shrink/swell with >200 g kg−1<2 μm), shallow ploughing seems to be the best reduced tillage system. It has several advantages. The main factor determining the minimum ploughing depth is control of weeds, especially of perennials. 相似文献
Green potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers are rejected by the processing industry. Therefore their amount should be reduced to minimum. The objective of this study was to assess the reduction of greening of new French fry varieties in experiments conducted from 1998 to 2001 on ridge qualities like geometry and the compression and crumbling degree of the loose soil in the ridge.The experiments were mainly carried out on the experimental husbandry farm Westmaas on a Calcaric Fluvisol having a clay content of ca. 200 g kg−1. French fry potato varieties used were Agria and Fambo, whereas Bintje was used as a reference. Row spacings were 0.75 m (30 in.) and 0.90 m (36 in.). Net ridge size was determined by the internal height (distance between the plate and the top of the ridge) and by the width of the top of the ridge combined with planting near the surface of the plate.For the traditional French fry variety Bintje a reduction in greening was achieved by ridges having a gross size of 0.06–0.07 m2. New French fry potato varieties like Agria and Fambo, however, are characterized by higher yields, larger cluster widths and longer tubers than Bintje. These properties favor the greening of tubers and require adjustment of the ridge geometry.Increase of the internal height and of the top width were found to be crucial to reduce greening of tubers to minimum. An increase of the top width of standard 0.75 m ridges from 0.15–0.18 to 0.25 m combined with an internal height of 0.18–0.20 m was realized by the so-called plateau ridges. This ridge type required ca. 0.04 m deeper seedbed than the depth of the seedbed for standard 0.75 m ridges. Without deeper loosening of the seedbed such larger ridges could also be realized by an increase of row spacing to 0.90 m. Net yields of new French fry varieties of plateau and 0.90 m ridges were generally similar or higher than the yields of standard 0.75 m ridges with the same internal height. With 0.90 m ridges over-sizing occurred sometimes.Greening of new varieties of French fry potatoes was reduced to minimum by the new knowledge on ridge geometry: an increase of the internal ridge height to 0.18–0.20 m, a top width to 0.25 m and reduction of cracking by relatively coarse, non-compressed ridges. 相似文献
In the tropical area of Veracruz (Mexico) the decision of when and how to carry out tillage operations is based on qualitative criteria. It often results in excessive and unnecessary work, energy waste, operational delay, soil exposure to water erosion and soil structural damage. Objective criteria are needed in this area for selecting when and how to do cultivation in order to meet crop and conservation requirements. The workable range of typical soils of the area (Haplic Pheaozems) was quantified by assessing in-field implement effects on the soil structure and measuring the specific energy applied by the tractor–implement combination. This was done over a range of soil moisture contents inside and outside the theoretical friable consistency state of the soils, determined by the shrinkage and plastic limits. Empirical relationships between initial moisture content and the technological result of tillage showed that these results for moist loam and clay soils shifted from optimum to poor at soil water potentials that coincides quite well with the plastic limit. However, as soil was drying out, the implement effect changed from optimum to sub-optimum at soil moisture contents well above the shrinkage limit, so the actual field workable range was smaller than the theoretical friable status of the soils. The minimum input of specific energy to obtain optimum results, was close to the soil water potential where results changed to sub-optimum as soils were drying out. To support decisions for tillage planning and operation, valuable information on workable periods can be obtained by making use of quantified workability thresholds. 相似文献