Water Conservation, Soil Erosion and Land Use

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.

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GIS modelling for locating the risk zone of soil erosionin a deciduous forest

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/71/2012-jfs ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 87-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

M. Nasiri

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Deciduous Forest ◽

Pairwise Comparison ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Conservation Areas ◽

Erosion Risk ◽

Highest Weight

The maps of altitude, geology, vegetation cover and land use were prepared and classified as the main criteria to locate soil and water conservation programs. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determine the relative priorities of these criteria by pairwise comparison. All the thematic maps were then integrated using the overlay process in Geographical Information System (GIS) and the final map of soil erosion risk was produced. Results indicated that vegetation cover was given the highest weight (0.494). The geology was assigned the second highest weight (0.313), as the main cause of initiation of the erosion of erodible lands. Land-use change has a local influence on soil erosion, so it was assigned the third weight (0.151). Altitude is a low-impact variable for predicting the water and soil conservation areas.  

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

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133307081290 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 389-403 ◽

Cited By ~ 236

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.

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Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Its Impact on Soil Erosion in Stung Sangkae Catchment of Cambodia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13169276 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 9276

Author(s):

Nareth Nut ◽

Machito Mihara ◽

Jaehak Jeong ◽

Bunthan Ngo ◽

Gilbert Sigua ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Cover ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Control Measures ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Mekong River Commission ◽

The Impact

Agricultural expansion and urban development without proper soil erosion control measures have become major environmental problems in Cambodia. Due to a high population growth rate and increased economic activities, land use and land cover (LULC) changes will cause environmental disturbances, particularly soil erosion. This research aimed to estimate total amounts of soil loss using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. LULC maps of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) 2002 and Mekong River Commission (MRC) 2015 were used to evaluate the impact of LULC on soil erosion loss in Stung Sangkae catchment. LULC dynamics for the study periods in Stung Sangkae catchment showed that the catchment experienced a rapid conversion of forests to paddy rice fields and other croplands. The results indicated that the average soil loss from the catchment was 3.1 and 7.6 t/ha/y for the 2002 and 2015 periods, respectively. The estimated total soil loss in the 2002 and 2015 periods was 1.9 million t/y and 4.5 million t/y, respectively. The soil erosion was accelerated by steep slopes combined with the high velocity and erosivity of stormwater runoff. The spatial distribution of soil loss showed that the highest value (14.3 to 62.9 t/ha/y) was recorded in the central, southwestern and upland parts of the catchment. It is recommended that priority should be given to erosion hot spot areas, and appropriate soil and water conservation practices should be adopted to restore degraded lands.

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Evaluation of Various DEMs for Quantifying Soil Erosion Under Changing Land Use and Land Cover in the Himalaya

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.782128 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Shakil Ahmad Romshoo ◽

Aazim Yousuf ◽

Sadaff Altaf ◽

Muzamil Amin

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Cover ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Rainfall Erosivity ◽

Kashmir Himalaya ◽

Land System ◽

System Changes ◽

Steep Slopes

Soil erosion is one of the serious environmental threats in the Himalayas, primarily exacerbated by the steep slopes, active tectonics, deforestation, and land system changes. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation was employed to quantify soil erosion from the Vishav watershed in the Kashmir Himalaya, India. Topography and land use/land cover (LULC) are important driving factors for soil erosion. Most often, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is used in erosion models without any evaluation and testing which sometimes leads to erroneous estimates of soil erosion. For the best topographic characterization of the watershed, four publicly available DEMs with almost identical resolution (∼30 m), were evaluated. The DEMs were compared with GPS measurements to determine the most reliable among the tested DEMs for soil erosion estimation. Statistical evaluation of the DEMs with GPS data indicated that the CARTO DEM is better with root mean square error (RMSE) of 18.2 m than the other three tested DEMs viz., Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS). Slope length and slope steepness factors were computed from the DEMs. Crop cover and management factors were generated from the satellite-derived LULC. Moreover, rainfall data of the nearest stations were used to compute rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility factor was derived from the soil texture data generated from 375 soil samples. The simulated erosion estimates from SRTM, ALOS, and CARTO DEMs showed similar spatial patterns contrary to the ASTER estimates which showed somewhat different patterns and magnitude. The mean erosion in the study area has almost doubled from 2.3 × 106 tons in 1981 to 4.6 × 106 tons in 2019 mainly driven by the anthropogenic LULC changes. The increased soil erosion is due to the degradation of forest cover, urbanization, steep slopes, and land system changes observed during the period. In absence of the observations, the simulated soil erosion was validated with the land degradation map of the watershed which showed a good correspondence. It is hoped that the results from this work would inform policymaking on soil and water conservation measures in the data-scarce mountainous Kashmir Himalaya.

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Impact of land-use and land-cover change on soil erosion using the RUSLE model and the geographic information system: a case of Temeji watershed, Western Ethiopia

Journal of Water and Climate Change ◽

10.2166/wcc.2021.131 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mitiku Badasa Moisa ◽

Daniel Assefa Negash ◽

Biratu Bobo Merga ◽

Dessalegn Obsi Gemeda

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Information System ◽

Geographic Information System ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Cover ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Geographic Information ◽

Lulc Change ◽

The Impact

Abstract The impact of land-use land-cover (LULC) change on soil resources is getting global attention. Soil erosion is one of the critical environmental problems worldwide with high severity in developing countries. This study integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model with a geographic information system to estimate the impacts of LULC conversion on the mean annual soil loss in the Temeji watershed. In this study, LULC change of Temeji watershed was assessed from 2000 to 2020 by using 2000 Landsat ETM+ and 2020 Landsat OLI/TIRS images and classified using supervised maximum likelihood classification algorithms. Results indicate that the majority of the LULC in the study area is vulnerable to soil erosion. High soil loss is observed when grassland and forest land were converted into cultivated land with a mean soil loss of 88.8 and 86.9 t/ha/year in 2020. Results revealed that about 6,608.5 ha (42.8%) and 8,391.8 ha (54.4%) were categorized under severe classes in 2000 and 2020, respectively. Accordingly, the soil loss severity class is directly correlated with the over-exploitation of forest resources and grasslands for agricultural purposes. These results can be useful for advocacy to enhance local people and stakeholder's participation toward soil and water conservation practices.

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Research on Effects of Land Use/Cover Change on Soil Erosion

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.433-440.1038 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 433-440 ◽

pp. 1038-1043 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Lian Qi Zhu ◽

Wen Bo Zhu

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Mountainous Areas ◽

Erosion Mechanism ◽

Experimental Station ◽

Long Period ◽

Mountain Grassland ◽

Effects Of Land Use ◽

Soil And Water

This paper studied the impacts of land use/cover change on soil erosion in Fujian mountainous areas on the basis of analysis on long period inspection and experimental materials in Jianou Niu Kenglong Experimental Station and the Provincial Soil and Water Conservation Station, researched soil erosion mechanism of mountain grassland ecosystem, and different soil erosion modulus under different land use and land cover types. Through analysis, we have got the results that the coefficient of runoff has minus linear relation with grassland coverage, and the modulus of soil erosion has index relation with grassland coverage.

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The Impacts of Land-Use Change Patterns on Soil Erosion in the Xixian Basin, China

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.737.762 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 737 ◽

pp. 762-765 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yuan Yuan Han ◽

Tao Cai

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Time Series ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Sediment Yield ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Swat Model ◽

Huaihe River ◽

Soil And Water

To investigate the impacts of land-use patterns on the sediment yield characteristics in the upper Huaihe River, Xixian hydrological controlling station was selected as the case study site. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to simulate land-use change effects on sediment yield by the use of three-phase (1980s, 1990s and 2000s) land-use maps, soil type map (1:200000) and 1987 to 2008 daily time series of rainfall from the upper Huaihe River basin. On the basis of the simulated time series of daily sediment concentration, land-use change effects on spatio-temporal change patterns of soil erosion modulus. The results revealed that under the same condition of soil texture and terrain slope the advantage for sediment yield was descended by woodland, paddy field and farmland. The outputs of the paper could provide references for soil and water conservation and river health protection in the upper stream of Huaihe River.

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Farming expansion and land degradation in Western Bahia, Brazil

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/s1676-06032009000300005 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 61-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Mateus Batistella ◽

Gustavo Souza Valladares

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Natural Vegetation ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Temporal And Spatial Distribution

Land degradation by soil erosion has called attention in tropical developing countries, particularly when natural vegetation is converted to farmland. Thus, the occupation of Brazilian savannas in Western Bahia is a matter of growing environmental concern. There are approximately 10 million hectares affected by this relatively recent land-use dynamics, but little is known about the temporal and spatial distribution of the process. To better understand such transformations, this paper addresses three related topics: land use/land cover (LULC) in 1985 and 2000; LULC dynamics between 1985 and 2000; and risk of land degradation by soil erosion as a function of farming expansion. The study area is located in Northeastern Brazil, between the coordinates 11º S and 46º 30' W and 14º S and 43º 30' W. All classes of natural vegetation cover decreased their areas during the period of study. Savanna (cerrado) lost 21.0% of its original area. Modern farming and irrigated areas increased 154.4 and 526.0%, respectively. Farming expansion reached 1,675,233 ha. Moderate risk of land degradation by soil erosion increased from 28.0 to 36.8% of the landscape mosaic between 1985 and 2000. The spatial and temporal dynamics observed reproduces development and land degradation examples of other savanna lands in Brazil. The integrity of native vegetation cover and the dissemination of soil and water conservation practices should be considered. This research contributes with an understanding of landscape transformations as a baseline for strategic environmental and land-use planning within the region.

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Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Soil Erosion Using Rusle Model And Gis: A Case of Temeji Watershed, Western Ethiopia

10.21203/rs.3.rs-100340/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mitiku Badasa Moisa ◽

Daniel Assefa Negash ◽

Biratu Bobo Merga ◽

Dessalegn Obsi Gemeda

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Cover ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Cultivated Land ◽

Rusle Model ◽

Erosion Risk ◽

The Impact

Abstract BackgroundThe impact of Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) conversion on soil resources is getting global attention. Soil erosion is one the critical environmental problems worldwide with high severity in developing countries due to land degradation. This study integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model with a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to estimate the impacts of LU/LC conversion on the mean annual soil loss in Temeji watershed. In this study, LU/LC change of Temeji watershed were assessed from 2000 to 2020 by using 2000 Landsat ETM+ and 2020 Landsat OLI/TIRS images and classified using supervised maximum likelihood classification algorithms. ResultsResults indicates that majority of the LU/LC in the study area is vulnerable to soil erosion. Our findings show that cultivated land had the highest average soil loss rate in Temeji watershed. High soil loss is observed when grass and forest land were converted into cultivated land with mean soil loss of 88.8t/ha/yr and 86.9t/ha/yr in 2020. Results revealed that about 6608.5ha (42.8%) and 8391.8ha (54.4%) were categorized under severe classes in 2000 and 2020, respectively.ConclusionsThe results can definitely support policy makers and environmental managers in implementation of soil and water conservation practices and erosion risk prevention and mitigation strategies in Temeji watershed.

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