Landform planation index extracted from DEMs: A case study in ordos platform of China

Planation surface, a surface that is almost flat, is a kind of low-relief landforms. Planation surface is the consequence of the denudation and planation processes under a tectonic stable condition. The quantitative expression of the characteristics of planation surface plays a key role in reconstructing and describing the evolutionary process of landforms. In this study, Landform Planation Index (LPI), a new terrain derivative, was proposed to quantify the characteristics of planation surface. The LPIs were calculated based on the summit surfaces formed according to the clustering results of peaks. Ten typical areas in the Ordos Platform located in the central part of the Loess Plateau of China are chosen as the test areas for investigating their planation characteristics with the LPI. The experimental results indicate that the LPI can be effectively used to quantify the characteristics of planation surfaces. In addition, the LPI can be further used to depict the patterns of spatial differentiation in the Ordos Platform. Although the present Ordos Platform area is full of the high-density gullies, its planation characteristics is found to be well preserved. Furthermore, the characteristics of the planation surfaces can also reflect the original morphology of the Ordos Platform before the loess dusts deposition process evolved in this area. The statistical results of the LPI show that there is a gradually increasing tendency along with the increasing of slope gradient of summit surface. It indicates that the characteristics of planation surfaces vary among test areas with different landforms. These findings help to deepen the understanding of planation characteristics of the loess landform and its underlying paleotopography. Results of this study can be also served as an important theoretical reference value for revealing the evolutionary process of loess landform.