Soil-water conservation effects of slope land use pattern changes

Objective of this study was to understand the soil-water conservation effects of slope land use pattern changes on the Loess Plateau. Korshinsk peashrub, plowland (mung bean) and alfalfa land were selected to develop mixed land use patterns by spatial arrangement. Through two years (2007－2008) field observations, the effects of land use patterns on soil moisture, soil bulk density and runoff-sediment yield were studied in plot scale. Kriging interpolation calculation showed that soil surface moisture and bulk density in mixed land-use pattern plots (including korshinsk peashrub-mung bean-alfalfa plot; alfalfa- mung bean- korshinsk peashrub plot; korshinsk peashrub- alfalfa- mung bean plot; mung bean- alfalfa- korshinsk peashrub plot) had apparent characteristics of plaque mosaic pattern, which were uniform with land-use structures and easy to form self-regulation system for runoff-erosion controlling. These land use patterns appeared good effect on absorbing the runoff and trapped sediments, compared to single plowland usage. Korshinsk peashrub-mung bean-alfalfa plot had the smallest annual erosion modulus, and the erosion reduction rate in the two years research reached to 98% and 94%, respectively. Creating a mosaic pattern by land use arrangement was one of the important measures in controlling soil erosion.