TITLE:
Soil water resources use limit in the loess plateau of China
AUTHORS:
Ting Ning, Zhongsheng Guo, Mancai Guo, Bing Han
KEYWORDS:
Infiltration Depth; Dried Soil Layer; Wilting Coefficient; Soil Water Resources Use Limit; Initial Stage to Regulate the Relationship between Soil Water and Plant Growth
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.5B,
July
16,
2013
ABSTRACT: Soil water is a key factor limiting plant growth in
water-limited regions. Without limit of soil water used by plants, soil degradation in the form of soil desiccation
is easy to take place in the perennial
forestland and grassland with too higher density or productivity. Soil
water resources use limit (SWRUL) is the lowest control limit of soil water
resources which is used by plants in those regions. It can be defined as soil
water storage within the maximum infiltration depth in which all of soil layers belong to dried soil layers. In
this paper, after detailed discussion
of characteristics of water resources and the relationship between soil
water and plant growth in the Loess Plateau, the definition, quantitative
method, and practical applications of SWRUL
are introduced. Henceforth, we should strengthen the study of SWRUL and
have a better understanding of soil water resources. All those are of great
importance for designing effective restoration project and sustainable
management of soil water resources in water- limited regions in the future.