Research article Extensive management of field margins enhances their potential for off-site soil erosion mitigation Hamada E. Ali a, b, * , Bj € orn Reineking a, c, d a Biogeographical Modelling, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universit€ atsstraße 30, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany b Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt c Irstea, UR EMGR, 2 rue de la Papeterie-BP 76, F-38402 St-Martin-d'H eres, France d Univ. Grenoble Alpes, F-38402 Grenoble, France article info Article history: Received 7 April 2015 Received in revised form 10 December 2015 Accepted 23 December 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Soil erosion Field margins Sediment retention Management Slope Agricultural landscape abstract Soil erosion is a widespread problem in agricultural landscapes, particularly in regions with strong rainfall events. Vegetated field margins can mitigate negative impacts of soil erosion off-site by trapping eroded material. Here we analyse how local management affects the trapping capacity of field margins in a monsoon region of South Korea, contrasting intensively and extensively managed field margins on both steep and shallow slopes. Prior to the beginning of monsoon season, we equipped a total of 12 sites representing three replicates for each of four different types of field margins (“intensive managed flat”, “intensive managed steep”, “extensive managed flat” and “extensive managed steep”) with Astroturf mats. The mats (n ¼ 15/site) were placed before, within and after the field margin. Sediment was collected after each rain event until the end of the monsoon season. The effect of management and slope on sediment trapping was analysed using linear mixed effects models, using as response variable either the sediment collected within the field margin or the difference in sediment collected after and before the field margin. There was no difference in the amount of sediment reaching the different field margin types. In contrast, extensively managed field margins showed a large reduction in collected sediment before and after the field margins. This effect was pronounced in steep field margins, and increased with the size of rainfall events. We conclude that a field margin management promoting a dense vegetation cover is a key to mitigating negative off-site effects of soil erosion in monsoon regions, particularly in field margins with steep slopes. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Soil erosion is a widespread problem in agricultural landscapes, especially in areas subjected to intensive rainfall events. Soil erosion has been intensifying in recent years (Pimentel et al., 1995), and causes potentially severe reductions in productivity (Eswaran et al., 2001). Due to the summer monsoon, East Asian countries such as South Korea receive large amounts of rainfall during a comparatively short time period, which impacts both the agricul- ture and economy (Chen et al., 1988). These rains along with human activities cause water erosion that, in addition to production losses, produces severe problems in agricultural landscapes, e.g. sedi- mentation downstream of fields in flood plains and water bodies, which as a result affects water quality (Van Oost et al., 2007; Xu et al., 2013). Water erosion is responsible for degradation of a to- tal 441 M ha or 59% of the total degraded soil in Asia (Oldeman, 1994). Preventing and controlling soil erosion can principally be ach- ieved by reducing the erosive impact of rainfall and by maintaining soil infiltration rates, which consequently will prevent surface flow. This can be done using several methods; e.g. within the field via crop rotation and tillage practices (Raclot and Albergel, 2006; Wang et al., 2010); by improving soil stability which will help in soil erosion control in the longer term (Barth es and Roose, 2002), or between fields by using vegetated field margins (Wei et al., 2014; Zheng, 2006). * Corresponding author. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt. E-mail address: helsayedali@gmail.com (H.E. Ali). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.12.031 0301-4797/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Environmental Management 169 (2016) 202e209