Assessing the effects of land use and topography on soil erosion on the Loess Plateau in China

CATENA ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 151-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenyi Sun ◽  
Quanqin Shao ◽  
Jiyuan Liu ◽  
Jun Zhai
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

scholarly journals Effects of land use on soil erosion and nitrogen loss in the hilly area of the Loess Plateau, China

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Fu ◽  
Q. H. Meng ◽  
Y. Qiu ◽  
W. W. Zhao ◽  
Q. J. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Hilly Area ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

Effects of land-use management on soil erosion: A case study in a typical watershed of the hilly and gully region on the Loess Plateau of China

CATENA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 206 ◽  
pp. 105551
Author(s):  
Qiang Xu ◽  
Wanlin Chen ◽  
Kuanyao Zhao ◽  
Xiaopeng Zhou ◽  
Pengchuan Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Land Use Management ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

scholarly journals Effects of Vegetation Restoration on Soil Erosion on the Loess Plateau: A Case Study in the Ansai Watershed

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6266
Author(s):  
Hui Wei ◽  
Wenwu Zhao ◽  
Han Wang
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Local Soil ◽  
Erosion Environment

Large-scale vegetation restoration greatly changed the soil erosion environment in the Loess Plateau since the implementation of the “Grain for Green Project” (GGP) in 1999. Evaluating the effects of vegetation restoration on soil erosion is significant to local soil and water conservation and vegetation construction. Taking the Ansai Watershed as the case area, this study calculated the soil erosion modulus from 2000 to 2015 under the initial and current scenarios of vegetation restoration, using the Chinese Soil Loess Equation (CSLE), based on rainfall and soil data, remote sensing images and socio-economic data. The effect of vegetation restoration on soil erosion was evaluated by comparing the average annual soil erosion modulus under two scenarios among 16 years. The results showed: (1) vegetation restoration significantly changed the local land use, characterized by the conversion of farmland to grassland, arboreal land, and shrub land. From 2000 to 2015, the area of arboreal land, shrub land, and grassland increased from 19.46 km2, 19.43 km2, and 719.49 km2 to 99.26 km2, 75.97 km2, and 1084.24 km2; while the farmland area decreased from 547.90 km2 to 34.35 km2; (2) the average annual soil erosion modulus from 2000 to 2015 under the initial and current scenarios of vegetation restoration was 114.44 t/(hm²·a) and 78.42 t/(hm²·a), respectively, with an average annual reduction of 4.81 × 106 t of soil erosion amount thanks to the vegetation restoration; (3) the dominant soil erosion intensity changed from “severe and light erosion” to “moderate and light erosion”, vegetation restoration greatly improved the soil erosion environment in the study area; (4) areas with increased erosion and decreased erosion were alternately distributed, accounting for 48% and 52% of the total land area, and mainly distributed in the northwest and southeast of the watershed, respectively. Irrational land use changes in local areas (such as the conversion of farmland and grassland into construction land, etc.) and the ineffective implementation of vegetation restoration are the main reasons leading to the existence of areas with increased erosion.

Soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau in China: review and perspective

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liding Chen ◽  
Wei Wei ◽  
Bojie Fu ◽  
Yihe Lü
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
Soil And Water Conservation ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
The Past ◽  
Soil And Water ◽  
Made In

The Loess Plateau, China, has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. About 2000 years ago, larger areas were used for grain production and soil erosion was thus becoming severe with increase in human activity. Severe soil and water loss led to widespread land degradation. During the past decades, great efforts were made in vegetation restoration to reduce soil erosion. However, the efficiency of vegetation restoration was not as satisfactory as expected due to water shortage. China initiated another state-funded scheme, the `Grain-for-Green' project in 1999, on the Loess Plateau to reduce soil erosion and improve land quality. However, the control of soil erosion effectively by land-use modification raised problems. In this paper, the lessons and experiences regarding soil and water conservation in the Loess Plateau in the past decades are analysed first. Urgent problems are then elaborated, such as the contradiction between land resource and human population, shortage of water both in amount and tempospatial distribution for vegetation growth, weak awareness of the problems of soil conservation by local officials, and poor public participation in soil and water conservation. Finally, suggestions regarding soil and water conservation in the Loess Plateau are given. In order to control soil erosion and improve vegetation, a scientific and detailed land-use plan for the Loess Plateau has to be made, in the first instance, and then planning for wise use of water resources should be undertaken to control mass movement effectively and to improve land productivity. Methods of improving public awareness of environmental conservation and public involvement in vegetation rehabilitation are also important.

Effects of land‐use regimes on carbon sequestration in the Loess Plateau, northern China

2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xudong Li ◽  
Hua Fu ◽  
Xiaodong Li ◽  
Ding Guo ◽  
Xiaoyu Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Northern China ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

scholarly journals The effects of land-use combinations on soil erosion: a case study in the Loess Plateau of China

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 793-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo-Jie Fu ◽  
Ya-Feng Wang ◽  
Yi-He Lu ◽  
Chan-Sheng He ◽  
Li-Ding Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Mature Forest ◽  
Young Forest

Land use is one of the key factors affecting soil erosion in the Loess Plateau of China. This paper examines soil erosion under different land uses and land-use combinations using 137 Cs tracing in the Yangjuangou Catchment, a tributary of the Yan River in the Loess Plateau of Northern Shaanxi Province. The results show that the order of 137Cs activity in different land uses decreases sequentially from mature forest to grass to young forest to orchard to terrace crop, indicating that the mature forests had the lowest erosion rates while the terraced cropland produced the highest erosion amount. The majority of 137Cs is distributed in the top 0—10 cm of the soil layer. The 137Cs activity in mature forest and grass soil is significantly higher than in other land uses. Three land-use combinations on the hillslope were selected to study the relationship between land-use combination and soil erosion. The mixtures of ‘grass (6 years old) + mature forest (25 years old) + grass (25 years old)’ and ‘grass (6 years old) + young forest (6 years old) + mature forest (25 years old) + grass (25 years old)’ are better for soil erosion control, lowering soil erosion amount by 42% compared with a land-use combination of ‘grass (6 years old) and shrub (6 years old)’. The results provide an important basis for optimizing land-use combinations to control soil erosion on slopes and may also result in important ecological benefits.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document