scholarly journals Hydrological Analysis of Loess Plateau Highland Control Schemes in Dongzhi Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidi Huo ◽  
Jianbing Peng ◽  
Yuxiang Cheng ◽  
Pingping Luo ◽  
Zhixin Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Control Schemes ◽  
The Impact

Gully Consolidation and Highland Protection (GCHP) Project is a major soil and water conservation and land remediation project implemented in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). As the connection between the mechanisms of erosion and practical applications for addressing it is not clear, the implementation of engineering measures to combat the problem has been insufficient to date. This study used field investigation and descriptive statistics, together with hydrological analysis modeling to gain an understanding of the impact of the Loess Plateau Highland Control Schemes on the evolution of the Dongzhi Plateau as the largest, most well-preserved, and the thickest loess deposit region in China. A remote sensing image was introduced to hydrological modeling to prove the analysis results of the Dongzhi Plateau. According to these investigations and analysis, four major schemes of gully head retrogressive erosion control were summarized and a comprehensive theory and technology based on a watershed were proposed. After hydrological analysis, the Dongzhi Plateau was divided into 1225 watersheds. It was found that GCHP should be implemented in the catchment area based on hydrological analysis to solve the problem of retrogressive erosion, and it is recommended that a scientific and rational drainage system should be designed based on the roads and pipe networks in the whole watershed area. Findings from this paper provide insights into the evolution of CLP and it can give a good suggestion on the future implementation of GHCP.

scholarly journals A Bibliometric Analysis of Soil and Water Conservation in the Loess Tableland-Gully Region of China

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaping Wang ◽  
Wenzhao Liu ◽  
Gang Li ◽  
Weiming Yan ◽  
Guangyao Gao
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Soil And Water Conservation ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Ecological Remediation ◽  
Soil And Water

The tableland-gully region is one of the main topographic-ecological units in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), and the soil in this region suffers from serious water erosion. In recent years, much work has been conducted to control soil erosion in this area. This paper summarized the development of soil and water conservation researches in the CLP from the bibliometric perspective based on the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The quantity of SCI literatures has increased rapidly since 2007, with an average annual growth rate of 21.4%, and the quantity of CNKI literatures in the last decade accounted for 62% of the past 30 years. The development trends showed that early SCI research was related to loess geology in the context of ecological remediation, while the CNKI literature focused on agricultural production under comprehensive management. Over time, the research themes of the two databases gradually became unified, i.e., the management of sloping farmland and the improvement of agricultural productivity. Subsequently, the themes gradually extended to the disposition of comprehensive control measures for soil erosion and the environmental effect of agro-fruit ecosystems. The highly cited papers mainly focused on soil reservoir reconstruction, soil erosion factors, and environmental effects of vegetation restoration. Two aspects need further study, including (i) the effect of soil erosion control under different ecological remediation patterns; and, (ii) the ecosystem maintenance mechanism and regulation approaches that are based on the sustainable utilization of soil and water resources in the tableland-gully region of the Loess Plateau.

scholarly journals Structural Connectivity of Sediment Affected by Check Dams in Loess Hilly-Gully Region, China

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 2644
Author(s):  
Leichao Bai ◽  
Juying Jiao ◽  
Nan Wang ◽  
Yulan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Optimization Methods ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Check Dam ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Check Dams ◽  
Discharge Canal ◽  
The Impact

Check dams play an irreplaceable role in soil and water conservation in the Chinese Loess Plateau region. However, there are few analyses on the connection between check dams and the downstream channel and the impact on structural connectivity and sediment interception efficiency. Based on a field survey, this study classified the connection mode between check dams and the downstream channel, and the actual control area percentage by discharge canal in dam land was used to quantitatively evaluate the degree of the structural connectivity of sediment between the check dam and the downstream channel. The analysis results show that the connection mode can be divided into eleven categories with different structural connectivity. The different connection modes and its combination mode of check dams and downstream channels in dam systems have a large difference, and the structural connectivity of the dam system is less than or equal to that of the sum of single check dams in a watershed. The degree of structural connectivity of a dam system will be greatly reduced if there is a main control check dam with no discharge canal in the lower reaches of the watershed. Compared with a single check dam, the structural connectivity of a dam system is reduced by 0–42.38%, with an average of 11.18%. According to the difference in connection mode and structural connectivity of check dams and dam systems in the four typical small watersheds, the optimization methods for connection mode in series, parallel and hybrid dam systems were proposed. The research results can provide a reference for the impact of a check dam on the sediment connectivity and the sediment interception efficiency in a watershed and can also guide the layout of a dam system and the arrangement of drainage facilities.

scholarly journals Effects of vegetation cover and slope on soil erosion in the Eastern Chinese Loess Plateau under different rainfall regimes

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11226
Author(s):  
Congjian Sun ◽  
Huixin Hou ◽  
Wei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Slope Gradient ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Erosion Processes

Soil erosion is a critical environmental problem of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). The effects of vegetation cover on soil erosion reduction under different rainfall types are not well understood especially in the eastern Chinese Loess Plateau (ECLP). In this study, we monitored runoff and sediment yield at the Fengjiagou water and soil conservation station with five types of vegetation cover (arbor trees (ARC), shrubs (SHC), arable (ABC), natural vegetation (NVC), and artificial grass (APC)) and three slope gradients (10°, 15°, and 20°) in the ECLP. Based on long-term monitoring data, five rainfall types were classified by the maximum 30 min rainfall intensity (I30). We also quantitatively revealed the interactive effects of different types precipitation, vegetation cover and slope gradients on regional soil erosion. The results showed that (1) The RII (13 times) and RIII (eight times) type are the most threatening erosive rainfall in this region. (2) The ARC and SHC type were most beneficial for soil and water conservation in the ECLP; The APC and ABC are not conductive to the prevention of regional soil erosion. (3) Runoff and sediment yields increased with the slope gradient. The farmland is vulnerable to soil erosion when the slope gradient exceeds 10°. The results of this study can improve the understanding of regional soil erosion processes on the ECLP and provide useful information for managing regional water and land resources.

scholarly journals Application of a modified distributed-dynamic erosion and sediment yield model in a typical watershed of hilly and gully region, Chinese Loess Plateau

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wu ◽  
Xia Liu ◽  
Xiaoyi Ma
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Soil And Water Conservation ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Rainfall Erosivity ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Soil And Water

Abstract. Soil erosion not only results in the destruction of land resources and the decline of soil fertility, but also makes river channel sedimentation. In order to explore spatiotemporal evolution of erosion and sediment yield before and after returning farmland in a typical watershed of hilly and gully region, Chinese Loess Plateau, a distributed, dynamic model of sediment yield based on the Chinese Soil Loss equation (CSLE) was established and modified to assess effects of hydrological factors and human activities on soil erosion and sediment yield from 1995 to 2013. Results indicate that: 1) the modified model has characteristics of simple algorithm, high accuracy, wide practicability and easy expansion, and can be applied to forecast erosion and sediment yield of the hilly and gully region, Chinese Loess Plateau; 2) soil erosion gradations are closely related to spatial distributions of rainfall erosivity and land use patterns, the current soil and water conservation projects are not very ideal for high rainfall intensity; 3) the average sediment transport modulus before and after model modification in recent 5 years (in addition to 2013) is 4574.62 Mg/km2 and 1696.1 Mg/km2 respectively, it has decreased by about 35.4 % and 78.2 % compared with the early governance (1995–1998). However, in July 2013 the once-in-a-century storm is the most important factor causing the emergence of maximum value. Results may provide effective and scientific basis for soil and water conservation and ecological management of the hilly and gully region, Chinese Loess Plateau.

scholarly journals Quantification of Loess Landforms from Three-Dimensional Landscape Pattern Perspective by Using DEMs

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 693
Author(s):  
Hong Wei ◽  
Sijin Li ◽  
Chenrui Li ◽  
Fei Zhao ◽  
Liyang Xiong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Landscape Pattern ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Surface Erosion ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Landscape Pattern Indices ◽  
Loess Landform

Quantitative analysis of the differences and the exploration of the evolution models of different loess landform types are greatly important to the in-depth understanding of the evolution process and mechanism of the loess landforms. In this research, several typical loess landform areas in the Chinese Loess Plateau were selected, and the object-oriented image analysis (OBIA) method was employed to identify the basic loess landform types. Three-dimensional (3D) landscape pattern indices were introduced on this foundation to measure the morphological and structural features of individual loess landform objects in more detail. Compared with the traditional two-dimensional (2D) landscape pattern indices, the indices consider the topographic features, thereby providing more vertical topographic information. Furthermore, the evolution modes between different loess landform types were discussed. Results show that the OBIA method achieved satisfying classification results with an overall accuracy of 88.12%. There are evident differences in quantitative morphological indicators among loess landform types, especially in indicators such as total length of edge, mean patch size, landscape shape index, and edge dimension index. Meanwhile, significant differences are also found in the combination of loess landform types corresponding to different landform development stages. The degree of surface erosion became increasingly significant as loess landforms developed, loess tableland area rapidly reduced or even vanished, and the dominant loess landform types changed to loess ridge and loess hill. Hence, in the reconstruction and management of the Loess Plateau, the loess tableland should be the key protected loess landform type. These preliminary results are helpful to further understand the development process of loess landforms and provide a certain reference for regional soil and water conservation.

scholarly journals Delimitation of the transition zone between active and inactive gully erosion in the Chinese Loess Plateau

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilong Li ◽  
Guoan Tang ◽  
Fayuan Li ◽  
Jianjun Cao
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Gully Erosion ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Definition Of

The interaction of various erosivities is the main factor that causes significant spatial differences in the gully development of the Loess Plateau. In some areas of the western Loess Plateau, the accumulation process is greater than erosion process, most of the gullies are in an inactive state while the loess gullies in the east is eroded with a high degree of active development. From the view of the geographical system boundary, there must be a transition zone with in the process of activity of loess gully erosion. In view of this geographical phenomenon, the definition of the erosion-active and erosion-inactive loess gully is given firstly, and then the objective existence of the transition zone is demonstrated. Based on the field investigation data and corresponding remote sensing images, the characteristic system of active and inactive loess gully is constructed. Combining the data of 1: 1000000 geomorphological map and 1: 10000 standard mapsheet of China, the loess erosionactive and erosion-inactive loess gully are identified by visual interpretation method, and the spatial location and trend of the transition zone are determined. The results show that the boundary is essentially a complex transition zone, and the core part is located in the middle of the Longxi Loess Plateau. The development characteristics of loess gullies in the transition zone and on both sides are also analyzed from the aspects of geology, natural environment and climate.

scholarly journals Delimitation of the transition zone between active and inactive gully erosion in the Chinese Loess Plateau

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilong Li ◽  
Guoan Tang ◽  
Fayuan Li ◽  
Jianjun Cao
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Gully Erosion ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Definition Of

The interaction of various erosivities is the main factor that causes significant spatial differences in the gully development of the Loess Plateau. In some areas of the western Loess Plateau, the accumulation process is greater than erosion process, most of the gullies are in an inactive state while the loess gullies in the east is eroded with a high degree of active development. From the view of the geographical system boundary, there must be a transition zone with in the process of activity of loess gully erosion. In view of this geographical phenomenon, the definition of the erosion-active and erosion-inactive loess gully is given firstly, and then the objective existence of the transition zone is demonstrated. Based on the field investigation data and corresponding remote sensing images, the characteristic system of active and inactive loess gully is constructed. Combining the data of 1: 1000000 geomorphological map and 1: 10000 standard mapsheet of China, the loess erosionactive and erosion-inactive loess gully are identified by visual interpretation method, and the spatial location and trend of the transition zone are determined. The results show that the boundary is essentially a complex transition zone, and the core part is located in the middle of the Longxi Loess Plateau. The development characteristics of loess gullies in the transition zone and on both sides are also analyzed from the aspects of geology, natural environment and climate.

scholarly journals Moderate topsoil erosion rates constrain the magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink and agricultural productivity losses on the Chinese Loess Plateau

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4735-4750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianlin Zhao ◽  
Kristof Van Oost ◽  
Longqian Chen ◽  
Gerard Govers
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Maximum Magnitude ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Recent Estimate ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Despite a multitude of studies, overall erosion rates as well as the contribution of different erosion processes on Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) remain uncertain, which hampers a correct assessment of the impact of soil erosion on carbon and nutrient cycling as well as on crop productivity. In this paper we used a novel approach, based on field evidence, to reassess erosion rates on the CLP before and after conservation measures were implemented (1950 vs. 2005). We found that current average topsoil erosion rates are 3 to 9 times lower than earlier estimates suggested. Under 2005 conditions, more sediment was produced by non-topsoil erosion (gully erosion (0.23 ± 0.28 Gt yr−1) and landsliding (0.28 ± 0.23 Gt yr−1) combined) than by topsoil erosion (ca. 0.30 ± 0.08 Gt yr−1). Overall, these erosion processes mobilized ca. 4.77 ± 1.96 Tg yr−1 of soil organic carbon (SOC): the latter number sets the maximum magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink, which is ca. 4 times lower than one other recent estimate suggests. The programs implemented from the 1950s onwards reduced topsoil erosion from 0.51 ± 0.13 to 0.30 ± 0.08 Gt yr−1 while SOC mobilization was reduced from 7.63 ± 3.52 to 4.77 ± 1.96 Tg C yr−1. Conservation efforts and reservoir construction have disrupted the equilibrium that previously existed between sediment and SOC mobilization on the one hand and sediment and SOC export to the Bohai sea on the other hand: nowadays, most eroded sediments and carbon are stored on land. Despite the fact that average topsoil losses on the CLP are still relatively high, a major increase in agricultural productivity has occurred since 1980. Fertilizer application rates nowadays more than compensate for the nutrient losses by (topsoil) erosion: this was likely not the case before the dramatic rise of fertilizer use that started around 1980. Hence, erosion is currently not a direct threat to agricultural productivity on the CLP but the long-term effects of erosion on soil quality remain important.

scholarly journals Moderate topsoil erosion rates constrain the magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink and agricultural productivity losses on the Chinese Loess Plateau

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 14981-15010 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zhao ◽  
K. Van Oost ◽  
L. Chen ◽  
G. Govers
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Gully Erosion ◽  
Chinese Loess Plateau ◽  
Maximum Magnitude ◽  
Conservation Programs ◽  
Chinese Loess ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Despite a multitude of studies, erosion rates as well as the contribution of different processes on Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) remain uncertain. This makes it impossible to correctly assess the impact of conservation programs and the magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink. We used a novel approach, based on field evidence, to reassess erosion rates on the CLP before and after conservation measures were implemented. Our results show that the current average topsoil erosion rate is 3–9 times lower than earlier estimates suggested: most sediments are mobilised by gully erosion and/or landsliding. Under 2005 conditions, the combination of topsoil erosion, gully erosion and landslides mobilised 0.81 ± 0.23 Gt yr−1 of sediments and 4.77 ± 1.96 Tg yr−1 of soil organic carbon (SOC): the latter number sets the maximum magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink, which is ca. 4 times lower than other recent estimates suggest. The sediment fluxes we calculate are consistent with sediment yields measured in the Yellow River. The conservation programs implemented from the 1950s onwards reduced topsoil erosion from 0.51 ± 0.13 to 0.30 ± 0.08 Gt yr−1 while SOC mobilisation was reduced from 7.63 ± 3.52 to 4.77 ± 1.96 Tg C. Prior to 1950, a geomorphological equilibrium existed whereby the amount of sediment and carbon exported to the Bohai sea was similar to the amount of sediment eroded on the CLP, so that the erosion-induced carbon sink nearly equalled the amount of mobilised SOC. Conservation efforts and reservoir construction have disrupted this equilibrium and most eroded sediments and carbon are now stored on land where part of the SOC may decompose, thereby potentially lowering the strength of the erosion-induced carbon sink. Despite the fact that average topsoil losses on the CLP are still relatively high, the current level of topsoil erosion on the CLP is no major threat to the agricultural productivity of the area, mainly because fertilizer application has dramatically increased since 1980. Assessing the human impact on agricultural ecosystems at larger scales requires a careful identification and quantification of the processes involved: by doing so for the CLP we have shown that current perceptions regarding the intensity of soil erosion and its effects (both negative and positive) need to be revised.

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