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Farmers’ Sustainable Strategies for Soil Conservation on Sloping Arable Lands in the Upper Yangtze River Basin, China

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  • Qiang Tang

    (Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environment Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China)

  • Chansheng He

    (Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    Department of Geography, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA)

  • Xiubin He

    (Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Yuhai Bao

    (Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Ronghua Zhong

    (Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Anbang Wen

    (Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China)

Abstract

The Upper Yangtze River Basin comprises a densely-populated agricultural region with mountainous and hilly landforms. Intensive cultivation has been extended onto steep hillslopes, which constitute the principal source area for sediment production. Soil conservation on sloping arable lands is thus of utmost priority for persisting sustainable agricultural production and maintaining sound ecosystem services. Although there have been many soil conservation techniques, either promoted by the government or adopted by local farmers, the practiced area was very limited relative to the total area affected by soil erosion. This paper attempts to introduce four popular soil conservation measures on sloping arable lands in this region to enhance a broader scale of implementation, including hedgerow buffers, level trenches, sloping terraces and limited downslope tillage. These practices, although developed from local farmers’ indigenous knowledge for productive purposes, have well conformed to our contemporary understanding of soil erosion processes on sloping landscape affected by human disturbances, were of sound suitability to regional manual tillage agriculture and more trade-off-efficient on rill prevention, runoff harvest and nutrient management.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiang Tang & Chansheng He & Xiubin He & Yuhai Bao & Ronghua Zhong & Anbang Wen, 2014. "Farmers’ Sustainable Strategies for Soil Conservation on Sloping Arable Lands in the Upper Yangtze River Basin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-12, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:8:p:4795-4806:d:38628
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chung-I Wu & Suhua Shi & Ya-ping Zhang, 2004. "A case for conservation," Nature, Nature, vol. 428(6979), pages 213-214, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Trung Thanh Nguyen & Siegfried Bauer & Ulrike Grote, 2016. "Does Land Tenure Security Promote Manure Use by Farm Households in Vietnam?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Dan Wu & Changxin Zou & Wei Cao & Lulu Liu, 2018. "Analysis of the Ecosystem Soil Conservation Function Based on the Major Function-Oriented Zones across the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, September.
    3. Nikola Tričković & Vukašin Rončević & Nikola Živanović & Tara Grujić & Luka Stefanović & Nikola Jovanović & Miodrag Zlatić, 2023. "Ecological and Economic Effects of Applying the Future Agricultural Production Structure Model (FAPSMS): The Case Study of the Barička River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Zhengsong Lin & Xinyue Ye & Qian Wei & Fan Xin & Zhang Lu & Sonali Kudva & Qiwen Dai, 2017. "Ecosystem Services Value Assessment and Uneven Development of the Qingjiang River Basin in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-17, December.

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