Abstract:
Abstract: High weathered soils in arid and semi-arid area are characterized by low soil fertility and high erosion potential. This paper evaluated the influences of nano-carbon on soil erosion and water loss on the sloping land (15°) of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Simulated rainfall experiments were performed on a natural, fallow loessial slope in the Shenmu Erosion and Environment Research Station, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which locates in the Liudaogou watershed, Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province. Five application rates (i.e., 0, 0.1%, 0.5%, 0.7%, and 1.0%) of nano-carbon were selected during the simulated rainfall experiments (rainfall intensity of 60 mm/h); and 4 vegetation species (i.e., caragana, alfafa, bean, and maize) were planted on the slope to evaluate the vegetation effect on soil and water conservation with the bare as the control. A constant-intensity rainfall method was adopted under natural conditions. Field plots were established on the slope that had been fallow for 5 years. The rainfall simulator came from the independent design of Xi'an University of Technology. Under the 60 mm/h rainfall intensity, the simulated rainfall experiments were carried out for 50 times in the 25 different pretreated plots in order to estimate soil erosion and water loss for all the treatments. The main results were as follows: the initial runoff time was delayed with the increase of nano-carbon contents. Compared to the control treatment without nano-carbon application in bare land, the initial runoff time in alfalfa plot was delayed by 287.1%, which was the most obvious. Furthermore, with the increase of nano-carbon contents, the runoff in each treatment decreased obviously. The nano-carbon alfalfa coverage also had the most obvious effect in the reducing runoff, and the runoff was reduced by 66.47%; for other vegetation species, the reduction was between 31.5% and 33.6%. Moreover, the nano-carbon had a significant effect on soil loss controlling. The nano-carbon in alfalfa land showed the best effect for soil loss controlling, which was followed by caragana. Soybean land showed the highest soil loss. For the bare land (control) and alfalfa coverage, when the nano-carbon content was 1%, the lowest sediment yield was obtained; while for caragana, soybean and maize coverage, when the nano-carbon content was 0.5%, the sediment yield was the lowest. Based on the correlation analysis between nano-carbon and runoff and sediment yield, it could be concluded that nano-carbon has a significant impact on the experimental results. In the evaluation of soil and water loss control effect, the 0.5% nano-carbon had the obvious effect, which was similar with the 0.7% and 1.0% nano-carbon content, so considering the price, 0.5% nano-carbon content was appropriate on soil and water loss control in loess area. The results provide a guide for controlling soil water and nutrient loss on the sloping land.