Microtopography effects on pedogenesis in the mudstone-derived soils of the hilly mountainous regions.

Topography is a critical factor that determines the characteristics of regional soil formation. Small-scale topographic changes are referred to microtopographies. In hilly mountainous regions, the redistribution of water and soil materials caused by microtopography is the main factor affecting the spatial heterogeneity of soil and the utilization of land resources.

Nitrate fate and decadal shift impacted by land use change in a rural karst basin as revealed by dual nitrate isotopes.

Nitrate pollution in oxygenated karst aquifers is common due to nitrification and anthropogenic inputs. However, the shift of nitrogen sources influenced by enhanced rural tourism activities and land use changes are not well understood. In this study, hydrochemistry and dual nitrate isotopes of water samples from a rural karst basin in Chongqing, southwestern China were employed to investigate the nitrate fate and its decadal change during the periods from 2007-2008 and 2017-2019.

Changes in the profile properties and chemical weathering characteristics of cultivated soils affected by anthropic activities.

The study of the pedogenic process in response to natural evolution, gradual anthropogenic shifts and engineering upheavals is of great significance for understanding, utilizing and transforming nature in the future. Although scholars have considered anthropic activities to be an important factor affecting pedogenesis, research on how and how much anthropic activities influence the soil-forming process is scant. This paper was conducted to analyse pedogenic characteristics dominated by anthropic activities.

Implementation Process of General Land-Use Planning and Its Adjustment-A Case Study of Rongchang District in Chongqing, China.

General land-use planning has a critical role and a guiding significance for economic and regional social development. To increase the ability of planning to cope with regional economic changes in an orderly manner and to defend the legal status of the planning guidance role, this article takes Rongchang District as a case study. This study combines GIS spatial analysis to select speed indicators, the center of gravity offset theory, and the spatial fit model and analyses the implementation process and the adjustment situation of planning from the perspectives of 'quantity', 'time', and 'space'.

Determining the Shear Strength and Permeability of Soils for Engineering of New Paddy Field Construction in a Hilly Mountainous Region of Southwestern China.

As a constructed wetland ecosystem, paddy field plays an irreplaceable role in flood storage and detention, groundwater replenishment, environmental protection, and ecological balance maintenance. New paddy field construction can give full play to the production and ecological functions of paddy field and can adjust the development structure of the agricultural industry effectively. The soil properties of shear strength and permeability, which provide a theoretical basis for engineering design, construction, and post-operation, are important indexes in the site selection of new paddy field.

Relationships between the lithology of purple rocks and the pedogenesis of purple soils in the Sichuan Basin, China.

Classified as Regosols in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Taxonomy, purple soils formed from purple rocks and are mainly distributed in the Sichuan Basin of southwestern China. A number of studies have focused on the soil water, nutrients, texture and erosion of purple soils. This study was conducted to understand the lithological features of the related purple rocks and their effects on the pedogenesis of purple soils in the Sichuan Basin.

Estimation of Soil Erosion to Define the Slope Length of Newly Reconstructed Gentle-Slope Lands in Hilly Mountainous Regions.

Farming plot construction engineering in hilly areas plays an important role in the mechanization, large-scale production and industrialization of agriculture. The method is undertaken to improve water and soil conservation, enhance soil fertility and extend machinery agriculture. However, the positive effects of engineering require years to mature.

Reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss on sloping land under crop-mulberry management system.

Sloping croplands could result in soil erosion, which leads to non-point source pollution of the aquatic system in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Mulberry, a commonly grown cash plant in the region, is traditionally planted in contour hedgerows as an effective management practice to control soil erosion and non-point source pollution. In this field study, surface runoff and soil N and P loss on sloping land under crop-mulberry management were investigated.

[Composition and stability of soil aggregates in hedgerow-crop slope land].

Based on a long-term experiment of using hedgerow to control soil and water loss, this paper studied the composition and stability of soil aggregates in a hedgerow-crop slope land. Compared with those under routine contour cropping, the contents of > 0.25 mm soil mechanical-stable and water-stable aggregates under the complex mode hedgerow-crop increased significantly by 13.

[Prediction of total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in purple soil using hyperspectral data].

Hyper-spectral remote sensing is one of the effective means for prediction of soil nutrients. Taking Wangjiagou small watershed of Three Gorges Reservoir Area as researching zone, based on the soil physicochemical properties, reflective spectrum analysis and measurement, were built predictive models for total phosphorous and total phosphorus concentrations in purple soil. Meanwhile, 33 soil samples from paddy soil were used to validate the prediction models for soil nutrients in purple soil.

[Distribution characteristics of soil humus fractions stable carbon isotope natural abundance (delta 13C) in paddy field under long-term ridge culture].

A 16-year field experiment was conducted in a ridge culture paddy field in the hilly region of Sichuan Basin, aimed to investigate the distribution characteristics of stable carbon isotope natural abundance (delta 13C) in soil humus fractions. The soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the paddy field under different cultivation modes ranked in the order of wide ridge culture > ridge culture > paddy and upland rotation. In soil humus substances (HS), humin (HU) was the main composition, occupying 21% - 30% of the total SOC.

[Changes of agroecosystem services value under effects of land consolidation].

This paper quantitatively described the changes of agroecosystem functions before (2003) and after (2007) the implementation of Gaolong land consolidation project in Hechuan of Chongqing. Engineering design and shadow price were integrated to quantify the effects of the project on the functions, and cost-benefit analysis was used to further explain the economic meanings of the functions, and to analyze the changes of the agroecosystem services value under effects of the project. Compared with that before the land consolidation, the agroecosystem services value after the land consolidation was somewhat improved, with the largest increment of nutrient cycling function and the smallest change of soil conservation function.

[Effects of conservational tillage on aggregate composition and organic carbon storage in purple paddy soil].

A 13 year experiment was conducted to study the effects of conservational tillage on the aggregate composition and organic carbon storage in purple paddy soil of Sichuan Basin. The results showed that under no-tillage and ridge culture (rice-rape) (NR-RR), no-tillage and plain culture (rice-rape) (NP-RR), no-tillage and ridge culture (rice-green manure) (NR-RGM), tillage and ridge culture (rice-rape) (TR-RR), and tillage and plain culture (rice-rape) (TP-RR), the proportion of macroaggregates in 0-10 cm soil layer was 23%, 69%, 9%, 36%, and 28% higher than that under conventional tillage (CT) (12%), respectively, while in 10-20 cm soil layer, this proportion under conservational tillage was 9%-38% lower than that under CT. The organic carbon storages in the macroaggregates at the depth of 0-10 cm were 13%, 31% and 32% higher under no-tillage and ridge culture (rice-fallow) (NR-RF), NR-RR and NR-RGM than under CT, respectively, while that at the depth of 10-20 cm was 28%-54% lower.

[Responses of regional ecological service value to land use change: A case study of Shapingba County in Chongqing].

Land use has significant effects on the products and services provided by ecosystem, through its interaction with ecosystem processes and services. Taking Shapingba County in Chongqing as an example, and by the Costanza method and ecological sensitivity analysis, this paper analyzed the effects of land use change on ecological service value. The results indicated that from 1992 to 2002, the ecological service value of this County was from dollar 1.

[Effects of land use structure change on regional ecological health--taking Shapingba County as an example].

Land resource is the carrier for the exchange of matter, energy and information flows, while the change velocity and the intensity of land use has strong effects on the ecological processes such as matter circulation, energy flow, and biologic diversity. Land use structure change will alter the type, area, and spatial distribution of ecosystem, and in the meantime, result in the changes of regional ecological health. Employing the principles and methods of landscape ecology, and through endowing relative ecological value to land use type, this paper analyzed the charaeteristics of recent 10 years land use change in Shapingba County of Chongqing, and discussed the effects of land use change on regional ecological health, aimed to provide scientific references for land use planning and sustainable land resource utilization.

Response of CH4 emission of paddy fields to land management practices at a microcosmic cultivation scale in China.

The terrestrial ecosystem may be either a source or a sink of CH4 in rice paddies, depending, to a great extent, on the change of ecosystem types and land use patterns. CH4 emission fluxes from paddy fields under 4 cultivation patterns (conventional plain culture of rice (T1), no-tillage and ridge culture of rice (T2), no-tillage and ridge culture of rice and wheat (T3), and rice-wheat rotation (T4)) were measured with the closed chamber technique in 1996 and 1998 in Chongqing, China. The results showed that differences existed in CH4 emission from paddy fields under these land management practices.

[Effect of tillage system on soil animal, microorganism and enzyme activity in paddy field].

A long-term experiment showed that under ridge-no-tillage, the amount of soil animal in 0 - 20 cm layer was 14700 ind. x m(-2), while under no-tillage and fallow in winter, paddy-upland rotation, and conventional tillage, it was 10450, 7950 and 6275 ind. x m(-2), respectively.

[Factors influencing CH4 emissions from a permanently flooded rice field during rice growing period].

Permanently flooded rice fields are the rice fields which emit the largest amount of CH4 in China. A 6-years (1995-2000) measurement carried out in a permanently flooded rice field in Chongqing, China showed that draining floodwater in winter and planting upland crops, either winter wheat or rape, instead of fallow under flooded conditions not only stopped CH4 emission during the winter season, but also mitigated CH4 emission during following rice growing period. CH4 emission could also be mitigated by ridge-cultivation.