Partition-coordinated control of soil and water loss for chestnut forests in the Yanshan Mountain Region, China

Soil erosion from chestnut forests is one of the most important factors causing land degradation in the Yanshan Mountain Region. A 2-year field study was done to compare the effects on erosion of a control plot (CP), a repaired and maintained horizontal ditch built with an engineering baffle every 6 m (MP 1), and a repaired and maintained horizontal ditch built with an engineering baffle every 8 m (MP 2). The results showed that the slope runoff of chestnut forests was influenced by rainfall characteristic factors. No single rainfall characteristic factor showed dominance for hill slope runoff. The runoff reduction effect of the partition-coordinated erosion control measures (MP 1 and MP 2) was substantial for chestnut forests under high rainfall intensity conditions. However, the runoff reduction efficiency was higher under the conditions of heavy rainfall and low average rainfall intensity than for storms with higher intensity and lower total rainfall. The reduction effect of the partition-coordinated erosion control measures on the runoff and sediment yield of chestnut forest slopes was MP 2 > MP 1 > CP. The runoff reduction rate and erosion reduction rate of MP 2 reached 61.70% and 97.41%, respectively, and that for MP 1 was 54.15% and 85.31%, respectively. Therefore, after a comprehensive comparison, MP 2 was determined to be more effective for soil erosion control for a sloping chestnut forest.