Plant litter can either cover on soil surface or be incorporated into top‐soil layer in natural ecosystems. Their effects on infiltration and soil erosion are likely quite different. This study was performed to compare the effects of litter covering on soil surface and being incorporated into top‐soil layer on infiltration and soil erosion under simulated rainfall. Four litter types (needle‐leaf, broad‐leaf, brush, and herb) were collected from fields and applied to cover on soil surface or to be incorporated into top‐soil layer (5 cm) at the same rate (0.2 kg/m²). The simulated rainfalls (40 and 80 mm/hr) were run at two slope angles (10° and 20°). The results showed that the mean infiltration rate of litter covering treatment was 1.4 times as great as that of litter incorporated. Litter covering enhanced infiltration via protecting surface from soil sealing. Whereas, litter incorporation affected infiltration by its water repellency. Soil erosion of litter incorporated treatment was 5.4 times as large as that of litter covered treatment, which was attributed to the changes in surface litter coverage and soil erosion resistance. Litter type affected soil erosion through the variations in litter coverage and litter morphology. For litter covering treatment, litter coverage can explain the major variance of soil loss on the slopes. Whereas, for litter incorporated treatment, both the influences of litter coverage and litter length on soil erosion resistance were considered necessary to well explain the variance of soil loss. The results also showed that the benefits of litter to control soil erosion declined with rainfall intensity and slope gradient for both covering and incorporated treatments. The results of this study are helpful to understand the mechanisms of litter influencing hydrological and erosion processes on hillslopes.

中文翻译：

---

模拟降雨下凋落物覆盖和掺入对入渗和土壤侵蚀的影响比较

植物凋落物既可以覆盖土壤表面，也可以掺入自然生态系统的表层土壤中。它们对渗透和土壤侵蚀的影响可能完全不同。进行这项研究是为了比较模拟降雨条件下凋落物覆盖在土壤表面以及掺入表层土壤层对入渗和土壤侵蚀的影响。从田间收集了四种凋落物类型（针叶，阔叶，刷子和草药），并以相同的速率（0.2 kg / m）施用于土壤表层覆盖或掺入表土层（5 cm）中。²）。模拟降雨（40和80 mm / hr）以两个倾斜角（10°和20°）运行。结果表明，垫料覆盖处理的平均渗透率是掺入垫料的1.4倍。垃圾覆盖物通过保护表面免受土壤密封而增强了渗透性。垃圾的混入通过其疏水性影响渗透。凋落物掺入处理的土壤侵蚀是凋落物覆盖处理的5.4倍，这归因于表面凋落物覆盖率和土壤侵蚀阻力的变化。凋落物类型通过凋落物覆盖率和凋落物形态的变化影响土壤侵蚀。对于垃圾覆盖处理，垃圾覆盖可以解释坡度上土壤流失的主要变化。而对于垃圾分类处理，为了更好地解释水土流失的变化，必须考虑凋落物覆盖率和凋落物长度对土壤侵蚀的影响。结果还表明，对于覆盖和结合处理，凋落物控制土壤侵蚀的益处随着降雨强度和坡度的增加而下降。这项研究的结果有助于了解垃圾影响山坡水文和侵蚀过程的机制。