《Long Term Effects of Farming System on Soil Water Content and Dry Soil Layer in Deep Loess Proifle of Loess Tableland in China》.pdfVIP

Journal of Integrative Agriculture 2014, 13(6): 1382-1392 June 2014 RESEARCH ARTICLE Long Term Effects of Farming System on Soil Water Content and Dry Soil Layer in Deep Loess Profile of Loess Tableland in China CHENG Li-ping1, 2, 3 and LIU Wen-zhao1 1 State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, P.R.China 2 College of Resource and Environment Science, Pingdingshan University, Pingdingshan 467000, P.R.China 3 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R.China Abstract Soil water is strongly affected by land use/cover in the Loess Plateau in China. Water stored in thick loessal soils is one of the most important resources regulating vegetation growth. However, soil water in the deep loess profile, which is critical for maintaining the function of the “soil water pool” is rarely studied because deep profile soil samples are difficult to collect. In this study, four experimental plots were established in 2005 to represent different farming systems on the Changwu Tableland: fallow land, fertilized cropland, unfertilized cropland, and continuous alfalfa. The soil water content in the 15-m-deep loess profiles was monitored continuously from 2007 to 2012 with the neutron probe technique. The results showed that temporal variations in soil water profiles differed among the four farming systems. Under fallow land, the soil water content increased gradually over time, first in the surface layers and later in the deep soil layers. In contrast, the soil water content decreased gradually under continuous alfalfa. The distributions of soil water in deep soil layers under both fertilized and unfertilized cropland were relatively stable over