Environmental changes in Yellow River Delta with terrace construction and agricultural cropping

PeerJ

article

Dongxiao He¹  Jianmin Chu²  Hongxiao Yang¹ 

[1] Qingdao Agricultural University;Research Institute of Forestry;Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation, National Forestry and Grassland Administration;Research Center for Coastal Forestry of National Forestry and Grassland Administration

关键词: Delta;    Saline land;    Land use;    Soil fertility;    Sustainable agriculture;    Land degradation;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12469

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background Crude flats in delta areas are often saline–alkaline and unsuitable for agricultural cropping. In the 1990s, people residing in the Yellow River delta constructed terraces on the flats for agricultural development. Herein, we investigated environmental changes resulting from this agricultural development and evaluated whether the current land use is effective and sustainable. Methods We sampled soil and weeds from croplands, terrace slopes, and crude flats within the delta terrace landscape. The measured soil properties included soil salinity, pH, total N, total P, and organic matter in different lands and soil layers: 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm. The surveyed weed characteristics were the biomass of roots and rhizomes, species composition, life form, cover and height. These indices were statistically verified by different land types and soil layers. Results Soil salinity in the terrace crop lands was found to have reduced to <4 g·kg−16 g·kg−120 cm, they reduced unavoidably. Plant underground organs were relatively scarcer in the croplands than in the other lands. Weeds grew well on the terrace slopes but were insufficient in the croplands. Overall, terrace construction is effective for developing coastal saline flats for agricultural use, but the traditional land use in the Yellow River delta has caused chronic soil degradation that is against a sustainable productive industry.

【 授权许可】

CC BY