岩石滞留结构(RDS),如检查坝,石笼,通常使用一个岩石水坝来减轻旱地短暂河道的侵蚀影响。RDS增加了当地的水渗透和洪泛区的连通性,减少泥沙输送,并促进植被的生长和建立。除了增加整体植被覆盖外,RDS还可以缓冲在多年极端变化的降水中植被生长和崩溃的循环,有助于保持稳定的掩护。尽管被土地管理者广泛雇用,科学文献中报道的成功各不相同,特别是关于RDS对植被和土壤肥力的影响。我们在亚利桑那州东南部进行了为期10年的现场实验,美国,与当地土地从业人员合作设计,以衡量RDS的本地通道内效应。超过10年,在用RDS处理的渠道中,草本植被(forbs和grasses)的覆盖率从11%增加到22%,但未处理的对照通道没有显着增加。随着时间的推移,处理过的通道中的灌木覆盖率明显小于对照通道。我们分析了RDS之间的复杂关系,植被覆盖,使用结构方程模型(SEM)和土壤肥力,仅代表第十年的条件。SEM显示RDS不直接影响土壤肥力,以土壤总氮测量,土壤总碳,土壤有机质,微生物丰富度,和潜在的养分循环能力。值得注意的是,SEM没有产生与时间监测相同的趋势,可能是因为我们的结构方程模型无法捕获随时间的变化。这种差异凸显了长期,经常监测地上和地下条件,以管理规模评估治疗成功。总的来说,在干旱和半干旱地区的短暂通道中安装岩石滞留结构是一种低成本,增加河道泥沙淤积的可行途径,forb,和草覆盖;稳定灌木覆盖;并防止旱地退化。
Rock detention structures (RDS) such as check dams, gabions, and one rock dams are commonly used to mitigate erosion impacts in dryland ephemeral stream channels. RDS increase local water infiltration and floodplain connectivity, reduce sediment transport, and enhance vegetation growth and establishment. In addition to increasing overall vegetation cover, RDS may also buffer against a cycle of vegetation growth and collapse during years of extremely variable precipitation, helping to maintain stable cover. Although widely employed by land managers, success as reported in scientific literature varies, especially with regard to RDS effects on vegetation and soil fertility. We present the results of a 10-year field experiment in southeastern Arizona, USA, designed in collaboration with local land practitioners to measure local in-channel effects of RDS. Over 10 years, cover of herbaceous vegetation (forbs and grasses) doubled from 11 % to 22 % in channels treated with RDS, but did not significantly increase in untreated control channels. Shrub cover in treated channels was significantly less variable than in control channels over time. We analyzed the complex relationships between RDS, vegetation cover, and soil fertility using structural equation modeling (SEM), which represented conditions of the tenth year alone. SEM revealed that RDS did not directly affect soil fertility, as measured by total soil nitrogen, total soil carbon, soil organic matter, microbial richness, and potential nutrient cycling capacity. Notably, SEM did not yield the same trends as temporal monitoring, possibly because our structural equation models could not capture change over time. This discrepancy highlights the need for long-term, frequent monitoring of aboveground and belowground conditions to evaluate treatment success on a management scale. Overall, installing rock detention structures in ephemeral channels in arid and semiarid regions is a low-cost, feasible way to increase channel sediment aggradation, forb, and grass cover; stabilize shrub cover; and combat dryland degradation.