Sugarcane planting patterns control ephemeral gully erosion and associated nutrient losses: Evidence from hillslope observation

Abstract Globally, the hillslope currently supporting sugarcane production is accelerating soil erosion and nutrient losses that degrade agroecosystem services and increase water pollution. However, sugarcane planting patterns (SPP), involving the arrangement of perennial (P) and newly planted (NP) sugarcane along hillslopes, may influence hillslope erosion and nutrient losses due to changes in root density and litter cover. Yet, no study to date has investigated the contribution of SPP to rill/and ephemeral gully (EG) erosion and associated nutrient losses. Thus, we investigated changes in EG erosion and losses of total nitrogen (TN), phosphorus (TP) and soil organic carbon (SOC) in response to SPP and the underlying mechanisms on hillslopes. Five hillslopes with different SPPs (P–P–P, NP–P–P, P–NP–P, NP–NP–P and P–NP) were identified in a sugarcane growing watershed. Annual EG erosion rates ranged from 56.6–96.1 Mg ha−1 yr−1 in the order of P–P–P