Modelling and managing critical zone relationships between soil, water and ecosystem processes across the Loess Plateau

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The primary impact will be the coupled benefits of environmental sustainability and the promotion of economic development and social welfare in the Loess region. This will be achieved through better understanding the relationships between the soil and water processes and agro-ecosystem services, including grain production, net primary production, carbon sequestration, water retention and soil erosion control. This research will provide guidance on practices and managements for sustainable ecosystem services in the fragile region, which will secure food production and save water resources in the arid Loess Plateau. Farmers in the area will receive guidance, enabling them to make informed decisions to adopt optimal agricultural and water management practises, thus increasing income by maintaining or increasing agricultural production. Likewise, environmental agencies and other organisations will have the tools to enable more accurate estimation of water balance, enabling stable management of ecosystems services.

To achieve the benefits, a series of workshops will be run during the project period to transfer our understanding to local people, mainly targeted at low income farmers. Workshops with main stakeholders including local government and environmental agency in year 3 and 4 will be held to introduce our research findings and recommendations.