Assessment of Soil Erosion in the Qinba Mountains of the Southern Shaanxi Province in China Using the RUSLE Model

Abstract

The Southern Shaanxi Province, an important ecological security barrier area in central China, is the primary water source of the south-to-north water transfer project in China. However, severe soil erosion seriously affects the safety of regional ecological security and water quality of the water diversion project. To reveal the characteristics and variation of soil erosion in the southern Shaanxi Province after the implementation of a series of eco-environmental construction measures, in this study, the spatio-temporal characteristics of soil erosion from 2000 to 2014 were evaluated based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The average soil erosion of southern Shaanxi Province in China was characterized as slight (less than 500 t·km–2·a–1) and mild erosion (500–2500 t·km–2·a–1) with an average soil erosion modulus of 1443.49 t·km–2·a–1, 1710.49 t·km–2·a–1, 1771.99 t·km–2·a–1 and 1647.74 t·km–2·a–1 in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014, respectively. The results revealed an increase in soil erosion until 2000 and a mitigation during the period of 2000 to 2014. After 2010, the soil erosion was controlled effectively. The spatial distribution of soil erosion displayed obvious spatial heterogeneity, and the high soil erosion (greater than 2500 t·km–2·a–1) was primarily distributed in the north-central and south counties of the study area. The soil erosion remained high and aggravated in six counties (i.e., Zhen’an, Zhashui, Ningshan, Ningqiang, Lueyang and Shanyang), and high erosion (greater than 5000 t·km–2·a–1) was found in the regions with slope gradients greater than 35 degrees and the middle mountainous (800–2000 m) regions. Therefore, the eco-environmental construction measures could effectively control soil erosion. However, unreasonable human activities remain the primary cause of soil erosion in the southern Shaanxi Province. In the future, more comprehensive and thorough ecological construction measures will be necessary to ensure regional ecological security and the eco-environmental quality of water sources.

Impact of Land Cover Change Due to Armed Conflicts on Soil Erosion in the Basin of the Northern Al-Kabeer River in Syria Using the RUSLE Model

“…In order to detect the role of vegetation in soil loss transition, the soil erosion modulus of various times has been determined in tow scenarios according to Wang and Su [62]. The natural condition and C factor fixation to detect the role of vegetation in soil loss transition and the contribution rate of vegetation to soil erosion were analyzed by comparing the average soil erosion modulus under C factor fixation scenarios with the real average soil erosion modulus in the natural condition: The wildfire inventory dataset was created using the GPS data from the field surveys in 2012-2016 and evaluated using the hotspots of MODIS and Google Earth images.…”

Analysis of Soil Erosion Risk in a River Basin – A Case Study from Hogoshti River Basin (Kosovo)

“…The soil erodibility (K) is intrinsic susceptibility of the soil to erosion, which is a function of its pedologic, physical, and chemical characteristics of the soils, such as percentage of silt and sand, structure, permeability, organic matter, parental material and others [Ozsoy et al, 2012, Pradhan et al, 2012. Soil erodibility values is most difficult factor in RUSLE model to determine [Wang and Su, 2020]. Typical values for soil erodibility range from about 0.10 for soils with high clay content, to 0.45 for soils with prevalent sand content.…”

Experimental Study on Spray Uniformity

“…In extreme weather conditions, rainfall affects equipment communication and causes restricted equipment operation. A large amount of domestic and international researches [1,2] has shown that if the sealing performance of the equipment is poor, rainwater seepage into the internal electronic devices can cause some functional damage and failures [3] or accidents [4], weakening the working ability of the equipment. Water mist is generated during rainfall and enters the internal electronic devices.…”