Response of runoff and soil erosion to erosive rainstorm events and vegetation restoration on abandoned slope farmland in the Loess Plateau region, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 584 ◽  
pp. 124694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Yue ◽  
Jiao Juying ◽  
Tang Bingzhe ◽  
Cao Binting ◽  
Li Hang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Plateau Region ◽  
Slope Farmland

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.

The impacts of urbanization on soil erosion in the Loess Plateau region

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Hu ◽  
Gan Zhi-mao ◽  
Yan Jun-ping
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Plateau Region

scholarly journals Quantifying the Effects of Vegetation Restorations on the Soil Erosion Export and Nutrient Loss on the Loess Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Zhao ◽  
Xiaoming Feng ◽  
Lei Deng ◽  
Yanzheng Yang ◽  
Zhong Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Grain For Green Project

The transport of eroded soil to rivers changes the nutrient cycles of river ecosystems and has significant impacts on the regional eco-environment and human health. The Loess Plateau, a leading vegetation restoration region in China and the world, has experienced severe soil erosion and nutrient loss, however, the extent to which vegetation restoration prevents soil erosion export (to rivers) and it caused nutrient loss is unknown. To evaluate the effects of the first stage of the Grain for Green Project (GFGP) on the Loess Plateau (started in 1999 and ended in 2013), we analyzed the vegetation change trends and quantified the effects of GFGP on soil erosion export (to rivers) and it caused nutrient loss by considering soil erosion processes. The results were as follows: (1) in the first half of study period (from 1982 to 1998), the vegetation cover changed little, but after the implementation of the first stage of the GFGP (from 1999 to 2013), the vegetation cover of 75.0% of the study area showed a significant increase; (2) The proportion of eroded areas decreased from 41.8 to 26.7% as a result of the GFGP, and the erosion intensity lessened in most regions; the implementation significantly reduce the soil nutrient loss; (3) at the county level, soil erosion export could be avoided significantly by the increasing of vegetation greenness in the study area (R = −0.49). These results illustrate the relationships among changes in vegetation cover, soil erosion and nutrient export, which could provide a reference for local government for making ecology-relative policies.

scholarly journals Vegetation Restoration Alleviated the Soil Surface Organic Carbon Redistribution in the Hillslope Scale on the Loess Plateau, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yipeng Liang ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Tonggang Zha ◽  
Xiaoxia Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Loess Slope ◽  
Carbon Redistribution

The redistribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in response to soil erosion along the loess slope, China, plays an important role in understanding the mechanisms that underlie SOC’s spatial distribution and turnover. Consequently, SOC redistribution is key to understanding the global carbon cycle. Vegetation restoration has been identified as an effective method to alleviate soil erosion on the Loess Plateau; however, little research has addressed vegetation restoration’s effect on the SOC redistribution processes, particularly SOC’s spatial distribution and stability. This study quantified the SOC stock and pool distribution on slopes along geomorphic gradients in naturally regenerating forests (NF) and an artificial black locust plantation (BP) and used a corn field as a control (CK). The following results were obtained: 1) vegetation restoration, particularly NF, slowed the migration of SOC and reduced the heterogeneity of its distribution effectively. The topsoil SOC ratios of the sedimentary area to the stable area were 109%, 143%, and 210% for NF, BP, and CK, respectively; 2) during migration, vegetation restoration decreased the loss of labile organic carbon by alleviating the loss of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and easily oxidized organic carbon (EOC). The DOC/SOC in the BP and NF increased significantly and was 13.14 and 17.57 times higher, respectively, than that in the CK (p < 0.05), while the EOC/SOC in the BP and NF was slightly higher than that in the CK. A relevant schematic diagram of SOC cycle patterns and redistribution along the loess slope was drawn under vegetation restoration. The results suggest that vegetation restoration in the loess slope, NF in particular, is an effective means to alleviate the redistribution and spatial heterogeneity of SOC and reduce soil erosion.

Vegetation restoration alleviated the soil surface organic carbon redistribution in the hillslope scale on the Loess Plateau, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yipeng Liang ◽  
Tonggang Zha ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Xiaoxia Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Loess Slope ◽  
Carbon Redistribution

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong> </p><p>Redistribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in response to soil erosion along slopes plays an important role in understanding the mechanisms of SOC’s spatial distribution and turnover. Consequently, SOC redistribution has been considered in many conceptual or mathematical models of soil carbon stability and storage. Vegetation restoration has been identified as an effective method to alleviate soil erosion on the Loess Plateau, however, little research has addressed vegetation restoration’s effect on the SOC redistribution processes, particularly SOC’s spatial distribution and stability. This study quantified the SOC stock and pool distribution on slopes along geomorphic gradients in naturally regenerating forests (NF) and an artificial black locust plantation (BP), and used a corn field as a control (CK). The following results were as follows: (1) Vegetation restoration, particularly NF, slowed the migration of SOC and reduced the heterogeneity of its distribution effectively. The topsoil SOC ratios of the sedimentary area to the stable area were 109%, 143%, and 210% for NF, the BP and CK, respectively; (2) Vegetation restoration decreased the loss of labile organic carbon by alleviating the loss of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and easily oxidized organic carbon (EOC). The DOC/SOC in the BP and NF increased significantly, and were 13.14 and 17.57 times higher, respectively, than in the CK (p < 0.05), while the EOC/SOC in the BP and NF was slightly higher than in the CK. (3) A relevant schematic diagram of SOC cycle patterns and redistribution along the Loess slope was drawn under vegetation restoration. These results suggest that vegetation restoration in the Loess slope effectively alleviated the redistribution and spatial heterogeneity of SOC through reducing soil erosion. Thus, the effects of vegetation restoration on SOC redistribution should be pay more attention in regional carbon storage estimation, especially in the Loess gully regions.</p><p>Keywords: Vegetation Restoration, Soil Organic Carbon Redistribution, Loess Slope, Soil Erosion, Soil Organic Carbon Stability</p>

scholarly journals Quantifying the Responses of Evapotranspiration and Its Components to Vegetation Restoration and Climate Change on the Loess Plateau of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2358
Author(s):  
Linjing Qiu ◽  
Yiping Wu ◽  
Zhaoyang Shi ◽  
Yuting Chen ◽  
Fubo Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Ecological Planning ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Canopy Interception ◽  
Community Land Model ◽  
Spatiotemporal Trends

Quantitatively identifying the influences of vegetation restoration (VR) on water resources is crucial to ecological planning. Although vegetation coverage has improved on the Loess Plateau (LP) of China since the implementation of VR policy, the way vegetation dynamics influences regional evapotranspiration (ET) remains controversial. In this study, we first investigate long-term spatiotemporal trends of total ET (TET) components, including ground evaporation (GE) and canopy ET (CET, sum of canopy interception and canopy transpiration) based on the GLEAM-ET dataset. The ET changes are attributed to VR on the LP from 2000 to 2015 and these results are quantitatively evaluated here using the Community Land Model (CLM). Finally, the relative contributions of VR and climate change to ET are identified by combining climate scenarios and VR scenarios. The results show that the positive effect of VR on CET is offset by the negative effect of VR on GE, which results in a weak variation in TET at an annual scale and an increased TET is only shown in summer. Regardless of the representative concentration pathway (RCP4.5 or RCP8.5), differences resulted from the responses of TET to different vegetation conditions ranging from −3.7 to −1.2 mm, while climate change from RCP4.5 to RCP8.5 caused an increase in TET ranging from 0.1 to 65.3 mm. These findings imply that climate change might play a dominant role in ET variability on the LP, and this work emphasizes the importance of comprehensively considering the interactions among climate factors to assess the relative contributions of VR and climate change to ET.

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