Introduction on Soil Erosion Fighting Test of High-Quality American Forage Grass

摘要

With the rapid and continuous economic growth in China, there is increased demand for improved forage-livestock systems and improved environmental protection including soil erosion control. The Three Gorges Project has increased concern related to soil erosion and sedimentation throughout the Yangtze (Changjiang) River watershed. There is a desire to develop comprehensive sustainable solutions to these problems. Part of these sustainable solutions will involve the planting of grasses and legumes to reduce soil erosion and provide forage for livestock in multiple use systems. In cooperation with Oragon Seed Council (OSC), the Yangtze soil and water conservation bureau, initiated a project aiming at testing production and soil erosion fighting capability of selected US 7 forage species from Oct., 2001. The point of this paper is to illustrate the whole process when testing, as well as discussing the performance comparison of each species. As a conclusion, such forages and legumes as perennial ryegrass and bentgrass were distinguished in greatly improving land cover, high production and better palatability to goats, thus could be adopted in soil conservation practices and forest recovery in steep-sloped farmland. The forage grass planting can tackle the problem of "fertilizer, chaff and fuel", promote the development of livestock farming, poultry and fishery and readjust the industrial set-up. On the other hand, the planting is an economic and efficient water and soil conservation measure to prevent water and soil loss and improve ecological environment. The test plot is located in the area with complicated geomorphology, sparse vegetation, weak ecological environment, loose surface structure, low erosion resistance and serious water and soil loss. The water and soil loss area accounts for 54.3% of the reservoir area, which is listed as one of the key areas of water and soil conservation in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. In order to improve the ecological environment of the Three Gorges reservoir, develop the livestock farming and speed up the of poverty relief, the Water & Soil Bureau of Yiling District (Yichang City, Hubei Province), cooperating with Oregon (America) Grass Seed Society, performed the test for the purpose of finding out the adaptability of high-quality forage grass from America in the reservoir area and the comprehensive effectiveness in water and soil conservation.