Effects of Soil-and-Water Conservation by Planting Herbals on the Sloping Red Soil Land of an Orchard

Authors ZHANG Chengliang; CHENG Dongbing; LIU Shiyu

Journal Acta agrestia sinica , 2006,4:14

Abstract The experiment, conducted on standard runoff plots of typical sloping fields in the red soil region, consists of 8 treatments to preserve soil and water, such as planting Bahia grass (Paspalum noiatum) on the rim of the terraced field, whole-coverage with Centipede grass (Eremochloa ophiuroide.s) and Vetiver grass (Vetiveria giganioides) , intercropped with peanuts (Arichis hypogaea). Quantitative study on the surface runoff and the amount of soil erosion with different herbal-planting treatments was facilitated by statistical methods. The results indicate that it was an effective approach to raise vegetation coverage , supplemented with engineering countermeasures, for soil and water conservation in the sloping land of red soil region in South China. More particularly, planting of Bahia grass on the rim of the terraced field could decrease surface runoff and control soil erosion by 22. 5 times and 30. 62 times respectively, compared to previous situation with no such measures taken. Since the planting of herbals from 1998 through 2001, the physical and chemical properties of the orchard soil have improved considerably.