Red Soil Watershed Sustainable Use Of Integrated Technology Applications

Red soil, an important soil type in china, distributes widely in South of the Changjiang river, whose area is about 2 million square kilometers, accounting for 21% of the national territory area. The red soil area is the important production base of grain crops and cash crops in our country for its advantageous climate conditions, such as abundant sunlights,rainfalls,annual accumulative temperatures and plentiful biological resources. According to the rough estimate, there is still about one-fifth to one-forth of the wild red soil to be exploited. Thus, it is the main reserve resource of the arable area in our country now. However, because of unreasonable reclamation or even ultra-intensively ravening management, the whole ecosystem and environment in these areas has been severely damaged, water and soil erosion is serious and soil degenerates. Therefor, it is a big problem relating with agricultural sustainable development in South China that how to exploit non-utilized or not fully utilized red soil resources effectively and reasonably.On the base of refering to massive literatures, this article reviewed the achievements of red soil resources exploitation and small watershed treatment in our country , analysed the problems existing in red soil resources exploiting , and summarized a set of integrated technology taking small watershed as the unit for red soil sustainable exploitation, in combination with the second-period red soil developing project in Zhejiang province. The paper's main content is as follows:(1) The red soil distributing in subtropic and tropic area of our country has great exploitation potential for its advantageous climate and biological resources. Red soil exploitation should start with small watershed treatment, make scientific planning in view of conprehensive exploitation and sustainable agricultural development, and persist in taking the economic benefits as the center, the ecological benefits the foundation, and the social benefits the goal. The leading planting variety should be determined according to the characteristics of the small watershed, combining with the superior varieties in each place, the local conditions and the crops' suitability, aiming to compound agriculture including farming, forestry and stockbreeding.(2) The sustainable integrated technology model for small watershed exploitation is proposed. Multi-layer exploitation was applied in small watershed from the top to bottom. Peak of the mountain, the protection layer, was closed off to facilitate afforestation and store water; middle of the mountain, the exploitation and reclamation layer, was reclaimed to develop cash forests and fruit trees in the equal altitude; the bottom low lands, the adjustment and reclamation layer, was improved into stably high-yielding ones, supporting projects were carried out such as soil and water conservation, soil cultivation, stockbreeding cultivation, water conservancy and traffics at the same time. The mountains, rivers, farmlands, forests, roads, houses and rural energy resources were utilized comprehensively to establish agro-industry enterprise and form an industrial chain including production, processing and sale. It can enhance the commercialization degree of products, accelerate the agricultural industrialization, increase the economic benefits of red soil area development, and finally achieve the goal of sustainable development.(3) The mechanism of investment and management was established and consummated to promote the popularization of integrated technology for red soil development. The market mechanism can resolve the quality and benefit problems in red soil development fundamentally and accelerate land circulation. Multiple modes for exploitation and management such as specialized household contracting, joint-stock developing, moderate scale management were practiced, and the relations among duty, rights and benefits were illuminated , which aroused the farmers' enthusiasm about red soil developing. In the aspect of establishing investment mechanism, project management and pre-final account system was executedin light of industrial idea.(4)The results of small watersheds area developing and treating inZhejiang province was observed. After conprehensive exploitation, the agricultural conprehensive production ability of 29 small river basins and 13000 hm~2 low red soil area was greatly promoted. The wasteland descent to 0. 5% from 38. 3% after developing, the cultivated land increased by 3060.6 hm~2 and per capita cultivated land 0.03 hm~2, the proportion of cash crop planting area to crop planting area increased to 51. 1% from 16. 1%, the forest coverage rates increased to 47. 7% from 21%, 5080 hm~2 soil and water erosion areas were controlled, and the paddy field drought resisting ability increased to 60 days from 30 days. Also, the soil fertility was improved markedly since developing, the organic matter content increased by 0.6%, and the available potassium, phosphorus and boron increased by 11.8ppm, 8ppm and 0.32ppm separately. The second-period red soil developing project in Zhejiang province had obtained good economic efficiency, the total output value of small watershed area increased by 147%, and the financial reward rate(FRR) was 18. 6%.