There are four sizable black soil regions throughout the world, all of which are valuable natural resources. The black soil region in Northeast China is a major foundation for grain production. Serious risks of soil erosion do exist, and they have an immediate impact on both the country’s food security and future ecological security. Many soil and water conservation measures have been put in place to control soil erosion. However, how effective and suitable are these measures? Currently, systematic analyses and assessments are lacking. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and suitability of soil and water conservation measures on hillslopes using the comprehensive index method and the Pressure–State–Response model. The categorization of effectiveness and suitability of these measures were similar for both methods: that is, very effective and suitable measures included no-tillage + straw mulch and ridge belt or contour ridge. The two methods validated one another. Thus, this categorization standard is useful for choosing the best soil and water conservation measures for different soil erosion regions.

Black soil with high fertility is a valuable soil resource, which plays an important role in guaranteeing regional food security and ecological security. Straw return is also a widely recognized way of straw resource utilization. However, it is still not clear which corn straw return method is more suitable for the Chinese black soil region with cold characteristics. The objectives of this study were to classify rainfall patterns (I—light rain with long duration, II—heavy rain with short duration, III—moderate rain with moderate duration; T1 and T2—special rains) and reveal the effects of furrow corn straw mulch—a new straw return—on soil erosion and organic carbon loss. Natural runoff plots (a planned size of 100 m² and dimensions of 20 m × 5 m for each one) with or without the furrow corn straw mulch, which had slope gradients of 3°, 6° and 9°, were applied for natural rainfalls. Runoff and sediment samples were collected after each erosive rainfall to measure runoff, sediment, and organic carbon concentration. The results showed that when comparing treatments with the furrow corn straw mulch to control treatments, runoff coefficients, sediment concentration, and mean ratios of organic carbon loss in sediment to total carbon loss decreased by 48.0–97.7%, 45.6–99.7%, and 4.7–12.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the ratios of 0.25 mm sediment generally decreased. The mean organic carbon concentration both in runoff and sediment decreased in the following order: II > III > I > T1 > T2. Rainfall pattern II induced greater ratios of organic carbon loss. Therefore, the furrow corn straw mulch measure, which effectively decreased soil erosion and regulated organic carbon loss from the black soil, is suitable for the farmlands in the black soil regions.