title: Mulberry trees conserved soil and protected water quality in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China.
abstract: China's Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) was designed to restore perennial plant cover on sloping land in western China, in part to protect the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). In this study, we examined use of white mulberry (Morus alba L.) in the SLCP to protect water quality and conserve soil. We established nine runoff monitoring plots divided among three categories (vegetable farming, fallow control, and mulberry plantation) on a bank of the Liangtan River situated at the western margin of the TGR. The land had been used previously by farmers for growing vegetables. We found that soil loss and surface water runoff were lowest in the mulberry plots and highest in the vegetable plots. We used inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) to assess the concentration of selected heavy metal pollution indicators (Zn, Hg, As, Ni, Pb, Cr, Cd, and Cu) in the monitoring plot soils at the beginning of the experiment in May 2009. The heavy metals were assessed again at the end of the experiment in October 2012, and we found that the concentrations of these pollutants had been reduced in all fallow and mulberry plots, and to the greatest extent in the mulberry plots. We found that levels of Hg, Pb, and Cu increased in the vegetable plots. For these reasons, we conclude that riparian mulberry plantations are useful for reducing rapid runoff of storm water, conserving soil, and sequestering heavy metal pollutants in the TGR region.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716. utrecht@swu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, B3R 2C6.
authors.forename: J H Martin
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Willison
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Xing-Zheng
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Jingchun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Qiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Guohui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Yuanzi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xili
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 400716.
authors.forename: Jiasheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nie
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D031625:Morus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Heavy metal pollution; Morus alba; Mulberry; Sloping Land Conversion Program; Soil conservation; Three Gorges Reservoir