As soil erosion is a major threat for global food security, soil and water conservation (SWC) structures are essential in degraded lands of the tropics facing water scarcity. However, some fundamental questions regarding the impact of SWC measures on soil aggregate stability, organic carbon (SOC) pools within bulk soils and aggregates, and biological activities remain unexplored. A 11-year study was conducted, involving a combination of tree (Emblica officinalis) + grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) + legume (Stylosanthes seabrana), comparing in-situ soil water storage measures, staggered contour trenches (SWC1), continuous contour trenches (SWC2), stone mulch (SWC3), and vegetative barriers (SWC4), to a control (SWC0). We calculated three novel indices: biological activity index (BAI), oxidative stability (OXS), and normalized soil stability index (NSSI). SWC1 and SWC2 reduced soil erosion by ~63% and 51% compared to SWC0. Labile C concentration improved by ~47, 31, and 15% for SWC1, SWC2, and SWC4 compared to SWC0. SWC1 and SWC2 had 50 and 33% greater recalcitrant C than SWC0, respectively, in the top layer. Considerably higher amount of aggregate associated C was observed with SWC1 and SWC2 than with SWC0. NSSI values of SWC1 and SWC2 were ~1.92- and 1.87-fold higher than that of SWC0 in the upper layer. BAI was improved by 1.34–2.65 times under SWC conditions compared to the control. For macroaggregates, OXS of C for SWC1 and SWC2 were ~12% higher than that for SWC0 at the surface. Overall, fruit and pasture yield under SWC1 were ~51 and 82% higher than SWC0, respectively. System water productivity was ~61% higher for SWC1 compared with SWC0. Therefore, staggered contour trenching or continuous contour trenching could be recommended for improving soil structural stability and SOC storage and for reducing soil erosion in degraded lands of semi-arid, dry, tropical regions.

由于水土流失是对全球粮食安全的主要威胁，因此在面临缺水的热带地区退化土地上，水土保持（SWC）结构至关重要。但是，关于SWC措施对土壤团聚体稳定性，散装土壤和团聚体中的有机碳（SOC）库以及生物活性的影响，仍存在一些基本问题。进行了一项为期11年的研究，涉及树木（Emblica officinalis）  +草（Cenchrus ciliaris）  +豆科植物（Stylosanthes seabrana）的组合，比较原位土壤储水措施，交错轮廓沟（SWC1），连续轮廓沟（SWC2），石料覆盖物（SWC3）和营养屏障（SWC4）与对照（SWC0）。我们计算了三个新指标：生物活性指数（BAI），氧化稳定性（OXS）和归一化土壤稳定性指数（NSSI）。与SWC0相比，SWC1和SWC2减少了约63％和51％的土壤侵蚀。与SWC0相比，SWC1，SWC2和SWC4的不稳定C浓度分别提高了约47％，31％和15％。在顶层，SWC1和SWC2的顽固性C分别比SWC0高50％和33％。与SWC0相比，SWC1和SWC2观察到大量的聚集缔合C。SWC1和SWC2的NSSI值比上层的SWC0高1.92倍和1.87倍。BAI提高了1.34–2。在SWC条件下，是对照的65倍。对于大型聚集体，SWC1和SWC2的C的OXS比表面的SWC0高约12％。总体而言，SWC1下的水果和牧草产量分别比SWC0高约51％和82％。与SWC0相比，SWC1的系统水生产率高约61％。因此，建议采用交错轮廓挖沟或连续轮廓挖沟，以改善土壤结构的稳定性和SOC的存储量，并减少半干旱，干旱，热带地区退化土地的土壤侵蚀。