{"title":"Reconstruction of soil erosion rates from exposed roots in southeast China","authors":"Yu Zhang, Keyan Fang, Feifei Zhou, Zhipeng Dong, Yingjun Li, Peng Zhang","doi":"10.1080/10225706.2017.1351380","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Southeast China, characterized by a humid subtropical climate, is dominated by dense evergreen broad-leaved forests with the exception for the Changting area, which is one of the most eroded areas in southern China. Various methods have been employed to investigate regional soil erosion dynamics, yet these studies are limited to short periods and few sites. Dendrogeomorphological methods can alleviate this problem due to the long duration of tree rings and easy implementation for many sites. We present the first tree-ring-based soil erosion study in southeastern China, based on 123 exposed roots from 85 Pinus massoniana trees at six sites in Changting. The distinct reduction of cell lumen area of earlywood tracheids of exposed roots is a good bio-indicator for the first year of exposure due to soil erosion for this hot and humid area. The reconstructed soil erosion rates ranged from 4.26 to 43.50 mm/year with an average of 14.14 ± 8.05 mm/year. Soil erosion rate is the highest at the slopes of 10°–30°. This is in line with previous findings using other methods over the study area. In addition, soil erosion in this area is found to be closely related to vegetation types and summer precipitation.","PeriodicalId":44260,"journal":{"name":"Asian Geographer","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2017-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10225706.2017.1351380","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Geographer","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10225706.2017.1351380","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
ABSTRACT Southeast China, characterized by a humid subtropical climate, is dominated by dense evergreen broad-leaved forests with the exception for the Changting area, which is one of the most eroded areas in southern China. Various methods have been employed to investigate regional soil erosion dynamics, yet these studies are limited to short periods and few sites. Dendrogeomorphological methods can alleviate this problem due to the long duration of tree rings and easy implementation for many sites. We present the first tree-ring-based soil erosion study in southeastern China, based on 123 exposed roots from 85 Pinus massoniana trees at six sites in Changting. The distinct reduction of cell lumen area of earlywood tracheids of exposed roots is a good bio-indicator for the first year of exposure due to soil erosion for this hot and humid area. The reconstructed soil erosion rates ranged from 4.26 to 43.50 mm/year with an average of 14.14 ± 8.05 mm/year. Soil erosion rate is the highest at the slopes of 10°–30°. This is in line with previous findings using other methods over the study area. In addition, soil erosion in this area is found to be closely related to vegetation types and summer precipitation.
期刊介绍:
Asian Geographer disseminates knowledge about geographical problems and issues focusing on Asia and the Pacific Rim. Papers dealing with other regions should have a linkage to Asia and the Pacific Rim. Original and timely articles dealing with any field of physical or human geographical inquiries and methodologies will be considered for publication. We welcome, for example, submissions on people-environment interactions, urban and regional development, transport and large infrastructure, migration, natural disasters and their management, environment and energy issues. While the focus of the journal is placed on original research articles, review papers as well as viewpoints and research notes under the category of “Asian Geography in Brief” are also considered. Review papers should critically and constructively analyse the current state of understanding on geographical and planning topics in Asia. The ‘Asian Geography in Brief’ section welcomes submissions of applied geographical and planning research about Asia. The section aims to showcase (1) the diverse geography and planning of Asia; and (2) the diverse geographical and planning research about Asia. The journal will also publish special issues on particular themes or areas. Book reviews can be included from time to time.