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

1 IntroductionThe Loess Plateau region covers an area of 62.4(104 km2 and lies in the center of northern China. Urbanization and economic development have been quickened in recent decades. Both the number of towns established and scale of cities have increased. Although the pace of urbanization has been accelerated, the eco-environmental control in urban areas still lags behind relatively. Moreover, the construction and development of cities damaged the already vulnerable eco-environment to …     

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

The accelerated urbanization has resulted in new soil erosion in the Loess Plateau region since the 1980s. A concept of urban erosion and its impacts on environment are discussed. The experimental studies and field investigations show that those loose silt and earth piles formed by urban construction can be eroded seriously: Under stormy rain, the amount of sediment from steep man-dumped slope is 10.8–12.2 times that of from uncovered slope land; the result of experiments with the wind tunnel also shows that the damage to the surface structure of dry loess can cause serious soil erosion by wind in some cities of the region. Even if in the urban built-up area, there are many loose sandy soil, mud and silt, which are washed into rivers by city’s ground flow in the rainy season. So, anthropogenically induced soil erosion has made soil erosion more serious around the urban areas. And the urban eroded environment has several characteristics such as fragility, complexity, seasonality and quick variability. Urban areas witness a quick economic growth and have more construction projects than rural areas, which brings more intensive changes of environments during a short period of time or adds some new elements to the erosion system. Therefore erosion has experienced more intensive impact by human activities. So, the possible impact of urbanization on erosion environment must be taken into consideration when designing or planning to exploit natural resources or to develop urban areas in the Loess Plateau.     

基于土壤侵蚀控制度的黄土高原水土流失治理潜力研究

以整个黄土高原为研究对象,首先将水土保持措施容量定义为某一区域能容纳的最大适宜水土保持措施量。根据梯田、林地和草地的适宜布设区域,在地理信息系统（GIS）软件的支持下,确定了黄土高原的水土保持措施容量。使用修正通用土壤流失方程（RUSLE）,计算了最小可能土壤侵蚀模数和2010年现状土壤侵蚀模数,并将水土保持措施容量下的最小可能土壤侵蚀模数与现状土壤侵蚀模数之比定义为土壤侵蚀控制度。随后使用土壤侵蚀控制度,对黄土高原水土流失治理潜力进行了研究。结果显示：黄土高原2010年现状土壤侵蚀模数为3355 t·km^-2·a^-1,最小可能土壤侵蚀模数为1921 t·km^-2·a^-1,土壤侵蚀控制度为0.57,属于中等水平。相比于现状条件,在水土保持措施容量条件下,微度侵蚀区比例从50.48%提高至57.71%,林草覆盖率从56.74%增加至69.15%,梯田所占比例由4.36%增加到19.03%,人均粮食产量可从418 kg·a^-1提高至459 kg·a^-1。研究成果对于黄土高原生态文明建设具有一定的指导意义。     

Soil erosion and management on the Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is well known to the world for its intense soil erosion. The root cause for river sedimentation of Yellow River (Huanghe) and its resultant "hanging river" in certain section is soil and water loss on the Loess Plateau. The Loess Plateau has a long cultivation history, hence population growth, vegetation degeneration and plugging constitute the chief reason for serious soil and water loss on Loess Plateau. This paper analyses several successful cases and failures in soil conservation, presents practical soil conservation technique and related benefit analysis, and discusses some effective methods adopted in China in soil erosion control, research directions and future perspectives on Loess Plateau.     

Soil erosion and management on the Loess Plateau

1 Introduction The Loess Plateau situated in northern China covers the drainage basins in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It starts from the western piedmont of Taihang Mountains in the east, reaches the eastern slope of the Wushao and Riyue mountains, connects the northern part of the Qinling Mountains in the south and borders the Great Wall in the north, covering an area of about 380,000 km2 (Figure 1). The region is overlain extensively by Quaternary loess in great thickness, …     

Capacity of soil loss control in the Loess Plateau based on soil erosion control degree

The capacity of soil and water conservation measures, defined as the maximum quantity of suitable soil and water conservation measures contained in a region, were determined for the Loess Plateau based on zones suitable for establishing terraced fields, forestland and grassland with the support of geographic information system (GIS) software. The minimum possible soil erosion modulus and actual soil erosion modulus in 2010 were calculated using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE), and the ratio of the minimum possible soil erosion modulus under the capacity of soil and water conservation measures to the actual soil erosion modulus was defined as the soil erosion control degree. The control potential of soil erosion and water loss in the Loess Plateau was studied using this concept. Results showed that the actual soil erosion modulus was 3355 t?km^-2?a^-1, the minimum possible soil erosion modulus was 1921 t?km^-2?a^-1, and the soil erosion control degree was 0.57 (medium level) in the Loess Plateau in 2010. In terms of zoning, the control degree was relatively high in the river valley-plain area, soil-rocky mountainous area, and windy-sandy area, but relatively low in the soil-rocky hilly-forested area, hilly-gully area and plateau-gully area. The rate of erosion areas with a soil erosion modulus of less than 1000 t?km^-2?a^-1 increased from 50.48% to 57.71%, forest and grass coverage rose from 56.74% to 69.15%, rate of terraced fields increased from 4.36% to 19.03%, and per capita grain available rose from 418 kg?a^-1 to 459 kg?a^-1 under the capacity of soil and water conservation measures compared with actual conditions. These research results are of some guiding significance for soil and water loss control in the Loess Plateau.     

Hydrological responses and soil erosion potential of abandoned cropland in the Loess Plateau, China

Recent changes in hydrological processes and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau, China, are immediate responses to cropland abandonment for revegetation, which lead to a long-term decrease in runoff generation and soil erosion. However, detailed hydrological responses and soil erosion changes have not been clearly evaluated. In this study, two issues were focused on the plot scale. The first issue relates to changes in vegetation cover and soil properties during the early stages of revegetation. Given the occurrence of soil compaction, it was hypothesized that runoff increased during this period and the soil erosion did not significantly decline, even though vegetation increased. The second issue is the effect of scale on runoff and soil erosion. Three plot groups of three vegetation types and two restoration stages were established for comparative experiments. The results from these experiments confirmed that the soil compaction occurred during revegetation in this region. Greater runoff was produced in plot group that experienced both a longer restoration time and with higher vegetation cover (such as Groups 2 and 3 in this study) than that with a shorter restoration time and lower vegetation cover (Group 1). In addition, the total soil loss rates of all plot groups were rather low and did not significantly differ from each other. This indicates that a reduction in runoff generation and soil erosion, as a result of revegetation, was limited in the early stages of restoration following the cropland abandonment. With increasing plot area, the runoff coefficient decreased for the plot group with a longer revegetation time (Groups 2 and 3), but gently increased for the one with a shorter restoration time (Group 1). In Groups 2 and 3, soil loss rate decreased when plot area enlarged. In Group 1, it decreased before a plot area threshold of 18 m² was exceeded. However, the increase occurred when plot area crossed the threshold value. In conclusion, the high vegetation cover alone did not lead to reduction in the runoff coefficient during the early stages of revegetation. When evaluating hydrological and soil erosion responses to revegetation, the soil compaction processes should be considered. Additionally, the effect of scale on runoff and soil erosion was found to be dependent on restoration extent, and thus on restoration time.     

陕北黄土高原水蚀沟谷多维度侵蚀特征量化研究

沟谷地是黄土高原地貌形态特征变化最明显的区域,其发育对整个黄土高原地貌发育具有重要的控制性作用。论文基于5 m分辨率的DEM数据,在陕北黄土高原遴选包含15种地貌类型的42个样区,以沟谷密度、水平逼近度与切割深度作为纵向、横向与垂向3个维度的代表因子,分析了沟谷的多维发育进程、特征、空间分异及影响因素。研究结果显示：陕北黄土高原南北方向上沟谷发育呈现由溯源侵蚀主导转向横向溯源侵蚀主导、溯源下切侵蚀主导到横向溯源侵蚀主导,54.8%的样区各维度对整体发育进程的影响程度相近,且86.4%处于陕北黄土高原中部地区,即中部地区多维度发育均衡,南北两端以溯源侵蚀与横向侵蚀为主。结合面积—高程积分分析发现沟谷发育可划分为3个阶段：发育初期以溯源侵蚀为主,带动下切侵蚀伴有横向侵蚀;发育中期以溯源侵蚀为主,伴有持续性横向侵蚀与较强下切侵蚀;发育晚期以横向侵蚀为主,伴有一定程度的溯源侵蚀与轻微下切侵蚀。黄土厚度对沟谷系统垂向下切侵蚀的影响最大(Cv=0.164),土地利用类型对沟谷系统横向侵蚀的影响较大(Cv=0.0681),林地对于维护各个维度的抗侵蚀能力最强,生长茂密的草地和灌木林及作物次之,生长稀疏的牧草和作物较差。     

An early Holocene erosion phase on the loess tablelands in the southern Loess Plateau of China

A Holocene loess profile to the west of Xi'an China was studied multi-disciplinarily to investigate the relationships between soil erosion and monsoonal climatic change. The proxy data obtained from this aeolian loess and palaeosol sequence indicate large-scale variations of climate in the southern Loess Plateau since the last glaciation. A rainwash bed, indicative of a wetter climate, excessive runoff and erosion on the loess tablelands, was identified relating to the early Holocene before the onset of the “climatic optimum”. This is synchronous with the early Holocene physiographic erosional stage identified in the valleys in North China. It means that severe erosion took place when the region was undergoing climatic amelioration during the early Holocene. The evidence presented in this paper shows that the erosion occurred as a regional response to a monsoonal climatic shift in the southern Loess Plateau. During the last glaciation, prior to the erosion phase, the land surface on the tablelands had been largely stable except for the rapid accumulation of aeolian dust and the resultant increase in its elevation. Relatively slow dust accumulation and intensive bio-pedogenesis responding to the Holocene “climatic optimum” followed the erosion phase. The loess tablelands were most vulnerable to erosion during the large-scale monsoonal climatic shift from dry-cold glacial to humid-warm post-glacial conditions in the southern Loess Plateau.     

Erosion environment in the sediment-rich area on the Loess Plateau

Based on the investigation and analysis of characteristics of precipitation, natural environment, socio-economic factors and soil erosion, this paper indicates that the precipitation is the main driving force for the soil erosion in the sediment-rich area, its variability determines the characteristics of soil and water loss; the natural conditions such as the drainage systems, geological and topographic features, the composition of soil and land surface materials, vegetation and climate determine the seriousness of soil and water loss; irrational socio-economic activities of human beings usually accelerated soil and water loss; meanwhile, the low preservation rate and inferiority of soil and water conservation measures made it impossible to make rapid progress on soil and water loss control. Furthermore, the characteristics of erosion environment endowed this area with more sediment that is the main reason for the flooding disasters by the Yellow River. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on the enhancement of soil and water conservation. The soil loss prediction models will provide scientific basis for the planning of soil and water conservation, the designing of soil and water conservation measures and the valuation of effects of soil and water loss control. According to the analysis of the previous studies on soil loss prediction, and the water-sediment variation features, it is thought that study on soil loss prediction under various rainfall conditions and soil-water conservation measures should be carried out.     

Erosion environment in the sediment-rich area on the Loess Plateau

Based on the investigation and analysis of characteristics of precipitation, natural environment, socio-economic factors and soil erosion, this paper indicates that the precipitation is the main driving force for the soil erosion in the sediment-rich area, its variability determines the characteristics of soil and water loss; the natural conditions such as the drainage systems, geological and topographic features, the composition of soil and land surface materials, vegetation and climate determine the seriousness of soil and water loss; irrational socio-economic activities of human beings usually accelerated soil and water loss; meanwhile, the low preservation rate and inferiority of soil and water conservation measures made it impossible to make rapid progress on soil and water loss control. Furthermore, the characteristics of erosion environment endowed this area with more sediment that is the main reason for the flooding disasters by the Yellow River. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on the enhancement of soil and water conservation. The soil loss prediction models will provide scientific basis for the planning of soil and water conservation, the designing of soil and water conservation measures and the valuation of effects of soil and water loss control. According to the analysis of the previous studies on soil loss prediction, and the water-sediment variation features, it is thought that study on soil loss prediction under various rainfall conditions and soil-water conservation measures should be carried out.     

Remote-sensing data reveals the response of soil erosion intensity to land use change in Loess Plateau,China

Developing an effective approach to rapidly assess the effects of restoration projects on soil erosion intensity and their extensive spatial and temporal dynamics is important for regional ecosystem management and the development of soil conservation strategies in the future. This study applied a model that was developed at the pixel scale using water soil erosion indicators (land use, vegetation coverage and slope) to assess the soil erosion intensity in the Loess Plateau, China. Landsat TM/ETM+ images in 2000, 2005 and 2010 were used to produce land use maps based on the object-oriented classification method. The MODIS product MOD13Q1 was adopted to derive the vegetation coverage maps. The slope gradient maps were calculated based on data from the digital elevation model. The area of water soil-eroded land was classified into six grades by integrating slope gradients, land use and vegetation coverage. Results show that the Grain-To-Green Project in the Loess Plateau worked based on the land use changes from 2000 to 2010 and enhanced vegetation restoration and ecological conservation. These projects effectively prevented soil erosion. During this period, lands with moderate, severe, more severe and extremely severe soil erosion intensities significantly decreased and changed into less severe levels, respectively. Lands with slight and light soil erosion intensities increased. However, the total soil-eroded area in the Loess Plateau was reduced. The contributions of the seven provinces to the total soil-eroded area in the Loess Plateau and the composition of the soil erosion intensity level in each province are different. Lands with severe, more severe and extremely severe soil erosion intensities are mainly distributed in Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. These areas, although relatively small, must be prioritised and preferentially treated.     

黄土高原侵蚀期研究

黄土高原在沉积的同时也存在着侵蚀,主要是流水、重力等因素造成的。这种侵蚀会受到气候、构造运动以及人类活动控制。资料显示,黄土高原存在3种基本的侵蚀期,一是气候侵蚀期,二是构造侵蚀期,三是人为因素侵蚀期。此外还有气候与构造共同作用产生的侵蚀期和构造与人类共同作用产生的侵蚀期。温湿期风尘堆积少,降水量增多,流水动力增强,是黄土高原理论上的侵蚀期。构造抬升引起侵蚀基准面下降,进而导致黄土高原加快侵蚀,出现构造侵蚀期。人类活动破坏了黄土高原的植被和土层结构,导致黄土高原侵蚀加剧,从而出现了人类因素引起的现代侵蚀加速期。在黄土发育的冷干期,由于植被稀疏,侵蚀量大于温湿期,但堆积量远大于侵蚀量。要改变现代侵蚀状况,就应当加强黄土高原生态环境治理。     

Soil erosion and its response to the changes of precipitation and vegetation cover on the Loess Plateau

Soil erosion is a major threat to our terrestrial ecosystems and an important global environmental problem. The Loess Plateau in China is one of the regions that suffered more severe soil erosion and undergoing climate warming and drying in the past decades. The vegetation restoration named Grain-to-Green Program has now been operating for more than 10 years. It is necessary to assess the variation of soil erosion and the response of precipita- tion and vegetation restoration to soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. In the study, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation （RUSLE） was applied to evaluate annual soil loss caused by water erosion. The results showed as follows. The soil erosion on the Loess Plateau between 2000 and 2010 averaged for 15.2 t hm-2 a 1 and was characterized as light for the value less than 25 t hm-2 a-1. The severe soil erosion higher than 25 t hm-2 a-~ was mainly distributed in the gully and hilly regions in the central, southwestern, and some scattered areas of earth-rocky mountainous areas on the Loess Plateau. The soil erosion on the Loess Plateau showed a deceasing trend in recent decade and reduced more at rates more than 1 t hm 2 a 1 in the areas suffering severe soil loss. Benefited from the improved vegetation cover and ecological construction, the soil erosion on the Loess Plateau was significantly declined, es- pecially in the east of Yulin, most parts of Yah＇an prefectures in Shaanxi Province, and the west of Luliang and Linfen prefectures in Shanxi Province in the hilly and gully regions. The variation of vegetation cover responding to soil erosion in these areas showed the relatively higher contribution than the precipitation. However, most areas in Qingyang and Dingxi pre- fectures in Gansu Province and Guyuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were predomi- nantly related to precipitation.     

硬化地面与黄土高原水土流失

在界定硬化地面概念的基础上,进一步将硬化地面分为道路、城镇街区、农家场院三大类。并利用黄土高原400~600mm集流能力试验公式,对甘肃省陇东黄土高原沟壑区不同硬化地面的集流能力、侵蚀量进行分类实例分析研究,发现硬化地面集流能力远大于自然地面,因此城镇、道路、村庄附近的土壤侵蚀尤其严重。在黄土高原地区,不仅与之相关的沟壑的形成和发育,而且相关沟谷和河流的溯源侵蚀之力度大小也要受其影响。随着人口的增加,硬化地面面积越来越大,受其影响水土流失更加严重,这是历史时期黄土高原水土流失日益加剧的重要原因之一。今后黄土高原的水土保持工作,须将防治水土流失与解决水资源紧缺有机结合起来。其最佳解决途径,就是用硬化地面所集中的雨水,作为工农业生产和生活用水,以解决黄土高原水资源之不足。     

The influence of rainfall and land use patterns on soil erosion in multi-scale watersheds: A case study in the hilly and gully area on the Loess Plateau,China

Soil erosion has become a major global environmental problem and is particularly acute on the Loess Plateau (LP), China. It is therefore highly important to control this process in order to improve ecosystems, protect ecological security, and maintain the harmonious relationship between humans and nature. We compared the effects of rainfall and land use (LU) patterns on soil erosion in different LP watersheds in this study in order to augment and improve soil erosion models. As most research on this theme has so far been focused on individual study areas, limited analyses of rainfall and LU patterns on soil erosion within different- scale watersheds has so far been performed, a discrepancy which might influence the simulation accuracies of soil erosion models. We therefore developed rainfall and LU pattern indices in this study using the soil erosion evaluation index as a reference and applied them to predict the extent of this process in different-scale watersheds, an approach which is likely to play a crucial role in enabling the comprehensive management of this phenomenon as well as the optimized design of LU patterns. The areas considered in this study included the Qingjian, Fenchuan, Yanhe, and Dali river watersheds. Results showed that the rainfall erosivity factor (R) tended to increase in these areas from 2006 to 2012, while the vegetation cover and management factor (C) tended to decrease. Results showed that as watershed area increased, the effect of rainfall pattern on soil erosion gradually decreased while patterns in LU trended in the opposite direction, as the relative proportion of woodland decreased and the different forms of steep slope vegetation cover became more homogenous. As watershed area increased, loose soil and craggy terrain properties led to additional gravitational erosion and enhanced the effects of both soil and topography.     

黄土高原地区人口收缩格局与驱动力分析

基于2005年和2015年人口数据,运用收缩指数、地统计分析和地理探测器等方法,研究不同地理尺度下黄土高原地区人口收缩现象与地域分异格局,揭示黄土高原地区人口收缩驱动力差异及机理.结果 表明:(1)黄土高原地区县级与地级行政单元下人口收缩比例均较高,单一地理尺度识别人口收缩存在偏差.(2)黄土高原地区的人口收缩现象在区...     

Evaluating the soil quality of newly created farmland in the hilly and gully region on the Loess Plateau,China

Journal of Geographical Sciences - In order to better understand the quality of newly created farmland (NF) as well as slope and check-dam farmland (CF) soil quality, two typical traditional...     

黄土高原森林植被景观的特征分析

用1∶50万森林类型图为信息源,以G IS为手段,对黄土高原地区森林景观类型斑块的大小、形状以及空间特征进行了分析。结果表明:黄土高原地区27类森林总面积仅64 980.7 km2,共有斑块数5 890个,林斑平均面积较小,且分布不均,森林景观破碎化程度较高。森林景观以华北落叶松林、山杨林、油松林、辽东栎林等为优势类型。黄土高原森林景观类型的形状指数值都比较大,说明森林斑块的形状明显偏离于圆形和方形,多为狭长的不规则形,其斑块的边界率都比较高。不同类型森林分维数变化较大,这也表明黄土高原森林景观破碎化程度较高,景观异质性较大。     

黄土高原发展过程中的五大转折

1 Introduction W hatim portanttransform ations have taken place during the form ation ofthe Loess Plateau in China? Research on this problem has especially im portantscientific significance forus to learn ofthe evolution oftheLoessPlateau and predictthe f…