Agroforestry and its Application in Amelioration of Saline Soils in Eastern

China Coastal Region

Zhang Jianfeng1* Xing Shangjun1 Li Jiyue2 F. Makeschin3 Song Yumin1
1
Shandong Academy of Forestry, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
2
Colleage of Resources and Environment, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
3
Institute of Soil Science, Dresden University of Technology, D-01735 Tharandt, Germany

ABSTRACT Some environmental problems, especially soil salinity hinder the regional sustainable development of eastern China
coastal region. Salinity mainly comes from tide weave, seawater flooding and seawater intrusion. Over exploitation of groundwater,
which is the result of unfitful land use systems, leads to seawater intrusion and salt concentration increase. Agroforestry systems can
enrich soil fertility and prevent soil salinization, furthermore help maintain biodiversity and enhance productivity. For the intergrated
multiple ecosystems the most critical issue is to select optimum tree species and rationally arrange these plants. The basics of this
multiple ecosystem is that different plants will occupy variable ecological niches within an area, both in space and in soil depth.
Shelterbelts and trees intercropping with agricultural crops are major types of the multiple ecosystem. Shelterbelts can reduce wind
speed and consequently lessen evaporation and erosion of the soil, increase pasture growth by up to 60% on exposed sites, increase
crop yields by up to 25%. Besides intercropping with jujube, other agroforestry multiple ecosystem such as forestry plus agriculture,
forestry plus agriculture plus fishery, and forestry plus animal husbandry are the most appropriate ways to utilise land resource in this
region.

KEY WORDS agroforestry, saline soil, amelioration

[This research is a part of the German-Chinese Project of Agroforestry in Coastal Region, supported by the BMBF]

Eastern China coastal region here includes Liaoning, controlling soil erosion, and creating wildlife habitat
Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian (Qureshi et al. 1998). The benefits of agroforestry add
Province. Thanks to the geographyical location and up to a substantial improvement of the economic and
climatic conditions, in this region economy is resource sustainability of agriculture (Zhong 1996,
relatively developed compared with the other areas in 1998).
China. However on the other hand population density
1 Salinity sources and salinization process
is quite high, e.g. in Zhejiang Province there are 480
in the region
people per km2, while it is averagely 74 in the whole
country. With population growth and soci-economic TABLE 1 NaCl distribution with tide weave in lands
development, the problem of environmental Measurement Distance NaCl content in NaCl content in pine
degradation is getting serious, such as pollution, noise, spot to sea /m water /(gmL1) needle /(mgg1)
salinization, and drought (Zhang 2001). Of which 1 100 0.182 5.76
salinization is a critical issue in terms of expanding 2 300 0.097 3.17
population and limited land in the region (Makeschin 3 500 0.074 1.69
et al. 2001, Zhang and Li 2002). 4 700 0.038 1.71
Agroforestry is an important strategy to cope with 5 900 0.039 0.42
salinization (Zhong 1998). The benefits created by
Saline soils discussed here cover coastal solonchak,
agroforestry practices are significant in the viewpoint
beach solonchak and coastal salinized meadow.
of economic and environmental. Agroforestry can
Salinity in coastal soils comes mainly from 3 sources:
increase farm profitability in several ways: 1) the total
1) seawater directly goes to land with tide, and salts
output per unit area of tree/crop/livestock
permeate the ground; 2) salts move from sea to soil
combinations is more than any single component
with wind especially typhoon and seep into the ground,
alone (Marcar et al. 1999); 2) crops and livestock
one example is given in Table 1 to describe the effect
protected from the damaging effects of wind are more
(Li and Xing 1994); 3) seawater intruds owing to
productive (Zhang 1997a). Agroforestry helps to
ground water is over exploited and ground watertable
conserve and protect natural resources by, for example,
*
Author for correspondence. Email: zhangjianfeng66@hotmail.com Forestry Studies in China, 6(2): 2733