Productivity Impact of Soil Erosion on the Loess Plateau—A Modeling Approach

2000 ◽  
pp. 281-294
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Modeling Approach

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.

Assessing sediment connectivity and soil erosion by water in a representative catchment on the Loess Plateau, China

CATENA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 104284
Author(s):  
Guangju Zhao ◽  
Peng Gao ◽  
Peng Tian ◽  
Wenyi Sun ◽  
Jinfei Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Sediment Connectivity ◽  
Soil Erosion By Water

scholarly journals The effects of three micro-catchment practices on erosion and runoff dynamics for a typical soil slope on the Loess Plateau of China

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liquan Sun ◽  
Shufang Wu ◽  
Robert Lee Hill ◽  
Huili Guo ◽  
Hao Feng
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Linear Functions ◽  
Fish Scale ◽  
Transition Flow ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Stream Power ◽  
Cumulative Rainfall ◽  
Reduction Effect

Three micro-catchment measures that are named fish-scale pits (FSPs), artificial digging (AD), and contour plowing (CP) for soil erosion prevention are widely used in the Loess Plateau. To clarify the effectiveness of these measures in intercepting runoff and reducing erosion and the mechanism of water flow movement, intermittent simulated rainfall events was carried out in the 15° slopes with FSPs, AD, CP, and control slope (CK). The results demonstrated the following. (1) For cumulative rainfall <83 mm, three measures effectively intercepted runoff and reduced sediment compared with the CK. The runoff and sediment reduction effect of three measures gradually disappeared when cumulative rainfall increased to 83, 99, and 108 mm, and the sediment generation of the three measures successively exceeded that of the CK and was more than two times higher. (2) Laminar or transition flow occurred for the CK, and the flow pattern changed from subcritical to supercritical at 101 mm of cumulative rainfall. For three measures, the flow patterns became turbulent within a short time but remained subcritical. (3) A correlation analysis showed that the soil detachment rate, hydraulic shear stress, and stream power in the micro-catchment measures can be described using linear functions, which reduced the rill erodibility and enhanced the soil’s resistance to concentrated flow erosion. This research has important guiding significance on the rational and effective implementation of micro-catchment practices to prevent severe soil erosion and increase water storage for crop production on the Loess Plateau of China.

scholarly journals Effects of Stubble Management on Soil Fertility and Crop Yield of Rainfed Area in Western Loess Plateau, China

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Huang ◽  
Z. Z. Luo ◽  
L. L. Li ◽  
R. Z. Zhang ◽  
G. D. Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil N ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Stubble Retention ◽  
Severe Erosion ◽  
Agriculture Sustainability ◽  
Sloping Land ◽  
Western Loess Plateau

The combination of continuous cereal cropping, tillage and stubble removal reduces soil fertility and increases soil erosion on sloping land. The objective of the present study was to assessment soil fertility changes under stubble removal and stubble retention in the Loess Plateau where soil is prone to severe erosion. It was indicated that soil N increased a lot for and two stubble retention treatments had the higher N balance at the end of two rotations. Soil K balance performed that soil K was in deficient for all treatments and two stubble retention treatments had lower deficit K. The treatments with stubble retention produced higher grain yields than the stubble removal treatments. It was concluded that stubble retention should be conducted to increase crops productivity, improve soil fertility as well as agriculture sustainability in the Loess plateau, China.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document