Fresh water supplied are often limited in mainland China, reducing agricultural productivity. However the use of straw mulch is the main management technique for agronomic water saving. This paper investigates the movement of soil water under straw mulch compared to a non-mulch test plot. Results demonstrated that straw mulch effected soil water movement primarily during drought periods and throughout shallow soil (i.e. depths of less than 200cm). The soil moisture and soil water potential at the mulch test plot in drought period are both higher than that of contrast test plot, and along with increasing soil depth, the straw mulch effect weakens. When evaporation is dominated by surface evaporation, straw mulch will effectively restrict the evaporation of soil water; when evaporation dominated by vegetation transpiration, the straw mulch promotes the transpiration of vegetation. In drought periods, straw mulch is not effective for deep soil water infiltration, but is advantageous for soil water utilization of mid- and shallow-soils (0-120cm), however the infiltration speed rate of straw mulch point during high water period is higher than that of contrast plot. This paper highlights the importantance of good management practices of agricultural land in order to limit soil water loesses, which is essential when water is such a limited resource.

A much improved understanding of how farmyard manure application may affect carbonate rock dissolution is needed in order to predict possible feedbacks between the rock carbon cycle and the global climate system. Two carbonate mineral rock tablets; dolomite and limestone were buried at six depths between 0 and 110 cm in a soil typical of the subtropical karst area in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province. The extent of tablet dissolution, soil CO2, soil pH, soil water content, soil mineral and chemical composition, and chemical composition of soil water were tested in order to assess the degree of dissolution under manure application over the course of one year. The results show that manure addition decreases the dissolution rate of carbonate rocks; limestone and dolomite by between 11.7%-116.9% and 25.0%-65.69% respectively, with the dissolution rate of limestone consistently exceeding that of dolomite under the same conditions. Our data indicates that the rate of pedogenesis of the dolomite and limestone rocks is decreased as much as 35.77% and 59.41% respectively, as a result of manure application. Moreover, the results suggest that manure application accelerated the generation of soil CO2, with soil CO2 concentration increasing on average by 93.94%, and the CO2 flux increasing by 67.64% compared with the control profile. Finally, the data also indicates that manure decreases CO2 uptake by dissolution of carbonate rocks by 25.50%-39.45% on a Guiyang city scale. The counteraction of the CO2 sink contributed by karst water due to farmyard manure utilization in general karst area (both dolomite and limestone) however was 59.41%-62.72%, indicating the application of manure successfully reduces both dissolution and CO2 release to the atmosphere.

Groundwater is a valuable resource in many areas, and commonly plays a key role in economic development. Therefore, groundwater circulation rates at different depths are key issues for groundwater development and management in the Ordos Plateau. In this study, a particle tracking method was used to quantify circulation rates in the Ordos plateau. The results show that groundwater mainly circulates in shallow groundwater systems up to 400m depth. The results of this study can be used to develop effective programs for groundwater management and development.