Effect of Soil Aggregate on Preferential Path in Gully Systemof Dry-hot Valley

• Published in: Shui tu bao chi xue bao Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 304 - 315
• Main Authors: LI Zhuyu, LI Zhicheng, XU Guiqian, DUAN Xu, ZHANG Guanghe, ZHAO Yangyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: Editorial Department of Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 01.04.2024
• Subjects: aggregate structure; dry-hot valley; gully system; preferential pathways
• ISSN: 1009-2242
• DOI: 10.13870/j.cnki.stbcxb.2024.02.012

[Objective] To investigate the impact of soil aggregate structure on the formation of preferential pathways in the gully system of the dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River to enhance our understanding of soil moisture and solute transport in the gully system. [Methods] We selected different sections (i.e., catchment area, gully head, gully bed, and gully bottom) of both active and stable gullies in the dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River as our research subjects. We used staining tracers and morphometric image analysis techniques to extract the preferential pathways from the soil level profile. RDA (Redundancy Analysis), gray correlation, and coupled coordination were used to explore the relationship between soil aggregate structure and preferential pathways. [Results] (1) The stability of soil aggregates in stable gullies were higher than those in active gullies. Except for specific soil layers, the contents of mechanically stable aggregates (>0.25 mm, DR0.25), water-stable aggregates (>0.25 mm, WR0.25) and ave