Functional Rehabilitation of the "Soil Reservoir" in Degraded Soils to Control Floods in the Yangtze River Watershed

The reasons for the Yangtze River flood calamity in 1998 are briefly introduced. The authors believe that using a "soil reservoir" concept is an important means to help control flooding of the Yangtze River. A "soil reservoir" has a large potential storage capacity and its water can be rapidly "discharged" into the underground water in a timely fashion. The eroded, infertile soils of the Yangtze River Watershed are currently an obstacle to efficient operation of the "soil reservoir". The storage capacity of this "soil reservoir" has been severely hampered due to intensive soil erosion and the formation of soil crusts. Therefore, possible measures to control floods in the Yangtze River Watershed include: rehabilitating the vegetation to preserve soil and water on the eroded infertile soils, enhancing infiltration of the different soil types, and utilizing the large "soil reservoir" of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.