Soil erosion on the Loess Plateau of China is effectively controlled due to the implementation of several ecological restoration projects that improve soil properties and reduce soil erodibility. However, few studies ...Soil erosion on the Loess Plateau of China is effectively controlled due to the implementation of several ecological restoration projects that improve soil properties and reduce soil erodibility. However, few studies have examined the effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties and erodibility of gully head in the gully regions of the Loess Plateau. The objectives of this study were to quantify the effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties and erodibility in this region. Specifically, a control site in a slope cropland and 9 sites in 3 restored land-use types （5 sites in grassland, 3 in woodland and 1 in shrubland） in the Nanxiaohegou watershed of a typical gully region on the Loess Plateau were selected, and soil and root samples were collected to assess soil properties and root characteristics. Soil erodibility factor was calculated by the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator method. Our results revealed that vegetation restoration increased soil sand content, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, organic matter content and mean weight diameter of water-stable aggregate but decreased soil silt and clay contents and soil disintegration rate. A significant difference in soil erodibility was observed among different vegetation restoration patterns or land-use types. Compared with cropland, soil erodibility decreased in the restored lands by 3.99% to 21.43%. The restoration patterns of Cleistogenes caespitosa K. and Artemisia sacrorum L. in the grassland showed the lowest soil erodibility and can be considered as the optimal vegetation restoration pattern for improving soil anti-erodibility of the gully heads. Additionally, the negative linear change in soil erodibility for grassland with restoration time was faster than those of woodland and shrubland. Soil erodibility was significantly correlated with soil particle size distribution, soil disintegration rate, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, water-stable aggregate stability, organic matter content and root characteristics （inclu展开更多
Breaching of embankments has recently drawn more and more attention due to its importance in the development of early warning systems for embankment failures,in the evacuation plans of people at risk,in the design met...Breaching of embankments has recently drawn more and more attention due to its importance in the development of early warning systems for embankment failures,in the evacuation plans of people at risk,in the design method of embankments based on a risk-approach,etc. The erosion process observed during embankment breaching tests in the laboratory and the analysis of the results are described in this paper. Five embankments,one constructed with pure sand,four with different sand-silt-clay mixtures were tested. The height of the embankments was 75 cm and the width at the crest was 60 cm. Examination of the data from these tests indicated that headcut erosion played an important role in the process of breach growth in the embankments made of cohesive soil mixtures. Flow shear erosion,fluidization of the headcut slope surface,undermining of the headcut due to impinging jet scour and discrete soil mechanical slope mass failure from the headcut were all observed during these tests. For the embankment constructed with pure sand,the breach erosion process was dominated by shear erosion,which led to a gradual and relatively uniform retreat of the downstream slope. The cohesive proportion in the sand-silt-clay mixtures strongly slowed down the erosion process.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41571275)the Western Action Plan Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KZCX-XB3-13)the Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41790444/D0214)
文摘Soil erosion on the Loess Plateau of China is effectively controlled due to the implementation of several ecological restoration projects that improve soil properties and reduce soil erodibility. However, few studies have examined the effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties and erodibility of gully head in the gully regions of the Loess Plateau. The objectives of this study were to quantify the effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties and erodibility in this region. Specifically, a control site in a slope cropland and 9 sites in 3 restored land-use types （5 sites in grassland, 3 in woodland and 1 in shrubland） in the Nanxiaohegou watershed of a typical gully region on the Loess Plateau were selected, and soil and root samples were collected to assess soil properties and root characteristics. Soil erodibility factor was calculated by the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator method. Our results revealed that vegetation restoration increased soil sand content, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, organic matter content and mean weight diameter of water-stable aggregate but decreased soil silt and clay contents and soil disintegration rate. A significant difference in soil erodibility was observed among different vegetation restoration patterns or land-use types. Compared with cropland, soil erodibility decreased in the restored lands by 3.99% to 21.43%. The restoration patterns of Cleistogenes caespitosa K. and Artemisia sacrorum L. in the grassland showed the lowest soil erodibility and can be considered as the optimal vegetation restoration pattern for improving soil anti-erodibility of the gully heads. Additionally, the negative linear change in soil erodibility for grassland with restoration time was faster than those of woodland and shrubland. Soil erodibility was significantly correlated with soil particle size distribution, soil disintegration rate, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, water-stable aggregate stability, organic matter content and root characteristics （inclu
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program ("973" Program) of China (Grant No.2007CB714106)the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars,Ministry of Hu-man Resources and Social Security of China+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.51009012)the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars,State Education Ministry
文摘Breaching of embankments has recently drawn more and more attention due to its importance in the development of early warning systems for embankment failures,in the evacuation plans of people at risk,in the design method of embankments based on a risk-approach,etc. The erosion process observed during embankment breaching tests in the laboratory and the analysis of the results are described in this paper. Five embankments,one constructed with pure sand,four with different sand-silt-clay mixtures were tested. The height of the embankments was 75 cm and the width at the crest was 60 cm. Examination of the data from these tests indicated that headcut erosion played an important role in the process of breach growth in the embankments made of cohesive soil mixtures. Flow shear erosion,fluidization of the headcut slope surface,undermining of the headcut due to impinging jet scour and discrete soil mechanical slope mass failure from the headcut were all observed during these tests. For the embankment constructed with pure sand,the breach erosion process was dominated by shear erosion,which led to a gradual and relatively uniform retreat of the downstream slope. The cohesive proportion in the sand-silt-clay mixtures strongly slowed down the erosion process.
