On the problem of land melioration on the Chinese Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau in Northwestern China, with 60 million inhabitants, is strongly endangered by heavy erosion quickly decreasing soil fertility and yield of crops, causing also severe problems in the main river of the area, uplifting its bed by strong sedimentation. This situation is mainly due to improper land use, cutting woods, ploughing up grasslands which are the consequence of the decreasing yield of former plough lands. This vicious cycle may only be disrupted by a proper land management based on the newest results of scientific research, on up to date data bases as well as on traditional methods. The land melioration methods must primarily aim at a prevention of further erosion and at an increase of infiltration by different methods, but all means of a proper country planning and development should be harmonised in order of halting of further deterioration of the area.