Ecological Condition Features of Terrace Slope Ecosystem in the Purple Hilly Area

Terrace slope, referring to the side slope of terraces and the ridge of paddyfield, is one type of land resources in the Sichuan Basin of China that has favorable sunlight and heat but has a limited amount of water and soil. This paper investigated and evaluated the ecological condition features of the terrace slope ecosystem in the purple hill area by the method of typical investigation. Four typical terrace slope ecosystems derived from Peng Lai Zhen formation were selected and a comprehensive evaluation is provided: 1) the first one terrace slope ecosystem about 11.4 m in height represented a steep terrace slope with more dry and less side leached water supply; 2) the second one about 16.1 m in height represented a gentle terrace slope with side leached water supply and good cypress canopy; 3) the third one about 2.6 m in height represented a side slope of the dry land; 4) the fourth one only 1.8 m in height located at a lower site near the paddyfield. The results showed that the steep terrace slope ecosystem with less side leached water supply possessed the relatively inferior conditions including single plant cover and less soil fertility, especially when it was exploited runoff water losing and soil erosion were the shortcomings. On the other hand, the gentle terrace slope ecosystem, the side slope ecosystem of the paddyfield and the dry land with side leached water supply, possessed the favorable conditions to develop, including good sunlight and heat, plentiful plant cover, a certain amount of water and soil fertility to supply. Many useful techniques such as mulch and contour planting may be selected to improve terrace slope ecosystem conditions. It is worth studying how to comprehensively evaluate the terrace slope ecosystem and introduce new species of cash plant with conservation effects to utilize the terrace slope ecosystem.