Managing Soil Erosion Potential by Integrating Digital Elevation Models with the Southern China's Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation——A Case Study for the West Lake Scenic Spots Area of Hangzhou,China

In China,many scenic and tourism areas are suffering from the urbanization that results from physical development of tourism projects,leading to the removal of the vegetative cover,the creation of areas impermeable to water,in-stream modifications,and other problems. In this paper,the risk of soil erosion and its ecological risks in the West Lake Scenic Spots (WLSS) area were quantitatively evaluated by integrating the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) with a digital elevation model (DEM) and geographical information system (GIS) software. The standard RUSLE factors were modified to account for local climatic and topographic characteristics reflected in the DEM maps,and for the soil types and vegetation cover types. An interface was created between the Arcinfo software and RUSLE so that the level of soil erosion and its ecological risk in the WLSS area could be mapped immediately once the model factors were defined for the area. The results from an analysis using the Arcinfo-RUSLE interface showed that the risk value in 93 % of the expanding western part of the WLSS area was moderate or more severe and the soil erosion risk in this area was thus large compared with that in the rest of the area. This paper mainly aimed to increase the awareness of the soil erosion risk in urbanizing areas and suggest that the local governments should consider the probable ecological risk resulting from soil erosion when enlarging and developing tourism areas.     

Changes of Soil Erosion and Possible Impacts from Ecosystem Recovery in the Three-River Headwaters Region,Qinghai, China from 2000 to 2015

Soil erosion poses a great threat to the sustainability of the ecological environment and the harmonious development of human well-being. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) was used to quantify soil erosion in the Three-River Headwaters region (TRH), Qinghai, China from 2000 to 2015. The possible effects of an ecosystem restoration project on soil erosion were explored against the background of climatic changes in the study area. The model was validated with on-ground observations and showed a satisfactory performance, with a multiple correlation coefficient of 0.62 from the linear regression between the estimations and observations. The soil erosion modulus in 2010-2015 increased 6.2%, but decreased 1.2% compared with those in the periods of 2000-2005 and 2005-2010, respectively. Based on the method of overlay analysis, the interannual change of the estimated soil erosion was dominated by climate (about 64%), specifically by precipitation, rather than by vegetation coverage (about 34%). Despite some uncertainties in the model and data, this study quantified the relative contribution of ecological restoration under global climatic change; meanwhile the complexity, labor-intensiveness and long-range character of ecological restoration projects have to be recognized. On-ground observations over the long-term, further parameterization, and data inputs with higher quality are necessary and essential for decreasing the uncertainties in the estimations.     

Predicting soil erosion hazard in Lattakia Governorate(W Syria)

The main objective of this study is to predict soil erosion in the Lattakia Governorate(WSyria)using the Water Erosion Prediction Project model(WEPP)and to compare the result with that of the RUSLE.Field survey and data collection were carried out,and 44 soil samples were analyzed.In addition,all the necessary input files were prepared for use in the WEPP model and RUSLE.Results show that more than of 80%of the locations studied experience slight to moderate erosion(less than 5 t/ha/y),whereas the rest of the locations experience severe soil erosion hazard.Moreover,the volume of runoff estimated by the WEPP model is in the range of 51e321 mm,and the R^2 between the simulated soil erosion and the predicted runoff reached 0.68.Interestingly,the R^2 between the WEPP model and RUSLE is 0.56,which indicates a good correlation between the two models.     

Risk assessment of soil erosion in semi-arid mountainous watershed in Saudi Arabia by RUSLE model coupled with remote sensing and GIS

Soil erosion is the most important factor in land degradation and influences desertification in semi-arid areas. A comprehensive methodology that integrates revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model and GIS was adopted to determine the soil erosion risk (SER) in semi-arid Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. Geoenvironmental factors viz. rainfall (R), soil erodibility (K), slope (LS), cover management and practice factors were computed to determine their effects on average annual soil loss. The high potential soil erosion, resulting from high denuded slope, devoid of vegetation cover and high intensity rainfall, is located towards the north western part of the study area. The analysis is investigated that the SER over the vegetation cover including dense vegetation, sparse vegetation and bushes increases with the higher altitude and higher slope angle. The erosion maps generated with RUSLE integrated with GIS can serve as effective inputs in deriving strategies for land planning/management in the environmentally sensitive mountainous areas.     

渭北矿区土壤侵蚀评估及驱动因素分析

陕西省渭北矿区地处黄土高原,受到自然环境和煤炭开采等人类活动的双重影响,该地区土壤侵蚀更为严重,生态环境更加脆弱。以渭北矿区为研究对象,基于RUSLE模型对渭北矿区土壤侵蚀进行了评估,并综合植被覆盖度、多年平均降水量、坡度、土地利用类型和煤炭年产量等影响因子,应用地理探测器方法对渭北矿区土壤侵蚀进行定量归因。研究结果对矿区水土流失防治具有一定参考价值。结果表明：（1）渭北矿区土壤侵蚀以微度和轻度侵蚀为主,土壤侵蚀严重的区域主要位于研究区西南部、中部和东南部。（2）植被覆盖度和多年平均降水量是造成研究区土壤侵蚀的主导因子,坡度介于20°~25°的地区、植被覆盖度小于0.3的区域和裸地是发生土壤侵蚀的高风险区。（3）渭北矿区各因子协同作用对土壤侵蚀的解释力均大于单因子解释力,因此多个因子共同作用会对土壤侵蚀造成显著影响。     

Sediment delivery processes and the spatial distribution of caesium-137 in a small Sicilian basin

The sediment delivery processes occurring in a small Sicilian basin are modelled using the spatially distributed SEDD model recently proposed by Ferro and Minacapilli. The model is applied by using soil data (grain-size distribution, organic matter content, etc.) of 129 samples uniformly distributed over the study area and compiling the available information (topographic map, soil data, etc.) into a Geographical Information System. Finally, the predictive capability of the distributed sediment delivery approach is tested experimentally using the caesium-137 measurement technique. The comparison between calculated sediment yield and the corresponding measured caesium-137 loss is used to validate the SEDD model at the scale of both the single morphological unit and the entire basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil erosion risk scenarios in the Mediterranean environment using RUSLE and GIS: An application model for Calabria (southern Italy)

Soil erosion by water (WSE) has become a relevant issue at the Mediterranean level. In particular, natural conditions and human impact have made the Calabria (southern Italy) particularly prone to intense WSE. The purpose of this investigation is to identify areas highly affected by WSE in Calabria by comparing the scenarios obtained by assuming control and preventive measures and actions, as well as actual conditions generated by forest fires, also in the presence of conditions of maximum rainfall erosion.Geographic Information System techniques have been adopted to treat data of reasonable spatial resolution obtained at a regional scale for application to the RUSLE model. This work is based on the comparison of such data with a basic scenario that has been defined by the present situation (present scenario). In this scenario: (i) R has been assessed by means of an experimental relation adjusted to Calabria on the basis of 5-min observations; (ii) K has been drawn from the soil map of Calabria including 160 soilscapes; (iii) LS has been estimated according to the RUSLE2 model by using (among other subfactors) a 40-m square cell DTM; (iv) C has been derived by processing the data inferred from the project Corine Land Cover, whose legend includes 35 different land uses on three levels; and (v) P has been hypothesized as equal to 1.For the remaining three hypothesized scenarios, the RUSLE factors have been adjusted according to experimental data and to data in the literature. In particular, forest areas subject to fire have been randomly generated as far as fire location, extension, structure, and intensity are concerned.The values obtained by the application of the RUSLE model have emphasized that land management by means of measures and actions for reducing WSE causes a notable reduction of the erosive rate decreasing from ~30 to 12.3 Mg ha^− 1 y^− 1. On the other hand, variations induced by hypothetical wildfires in forests on 10% of the regional territory bring WSE over the whole region to values varying from 30 to 116 Mg ha^− 1 y^− 1.This study can be offered to territorial planning authorities as an evaluation instrument as it highlights the merits and limitations of some territorial management actions. In fact, in Calabria no observations exist concerning the implications of these actions.     

近30年来密云水库上游水土流失动态监测

使用修正的通用土壤流失方程RUSLE,综合考虑降雨、土壤可蚀性、地形、土地覆盖和水土保持措施等因素,计算得密云水库上游地区1990年、2000年和2008年3期的土壤侵蚀数据,并对土壤侵蚀变化结果及其原因进行分析,发现：①研究区近20年水土流失状况经历由加剧到减轻的过程,但总体来说是减轻的,1990～2008年减轻区面积和加剧区面积分别为3083．11km。和2287．71km2;②研究区水土流失变化的原因主要为以土地利用类型变化为特征的人为因素,降雨也有影响,而与坡度没有关系。     

基于遥感和GIS的宣化县水土流失定量空间特征分析

以遥感和GIS技术为支撑,利用通用的土壤流失方程(USLE)的修正模型(RUSLE)定量评估宣化县2000年的水土流失量和土壤侵蚀强度,并对宣化县水土流失空间分布特征进行了分析。结果表明,宣化县2000年土壤侵蚀(轻度侵蚀以上)面积为982.85 km2,占宣化县总面积的39.25%,平均土壤侵蚀模数为13.92 t/hm2.a,属于轻度侵蚀;坡度越大,极强度及剧烈侵蚀越有可能发生,从整体来看,15°~25°是侵蚀比例最大的坡度带。宣化县土壤侵蚀主要集中于灌草地和旱地两种土地类型,两者土壤侵蚀面积占宣化县2000年总土壤侵蚀面积的93.897%。