Distribution of Shrubland and Grassland Soil Erodibility on the Loess Plateau

Abstract

Soil erosion is one of the most severe problems facing environments and has increased throughout the 20th century. Soil erodibility (K-factor) is one of the important indicators of land degradation, and many models have been used to estimate K values. Although soil erodibility has been estimated, the comparison of different models and their usage at a regional scale and, in particular, for different land use types, need more research. Four of the most widely distributed land use types were selected to analyze, including introduced and natural grassland, as well as introduced and natural shrubland. Soil particle size, soil organic matter and other relevant soil properties were measured to estimate soil erodibility in the Loess Plateau. The results show that: (1) the erosion productivity impact calculator (EPIC) model and SHIRAZI model are both suitable for the Loess Plateau, while the SHIRAZI model has the advantage of fewer parameters; (2) introduced grassland has better ability to protect both the 0–5 cm soils and 5–20 cm soils, while the differences between introduced and natural shrubland are not obvious at a catchment scale; (3) the K values of introduced grassland, natural grassland, introduced shrubland and natural shrubland in the 0–5 cm layer vary from 0.008 to 0.037, 0.031 to 0.046, 0.012 to 0.041 and 0.008 to 0.045 (t·hm2·h/(MJ·mm·hm2)), while the values vary from 0.009 to 0.039, 0.032 to 0.046, 0.012 to 0.042 and 0.008 to 0.048 (t·hm2·h/(MJ·mm·hm2)) in the 5–20 cm layer. The areas with a mean multiyear precipitation of 370–440 mm are the most important places for vegetation restoration construction management at a regional scale. A comprehensive balance between water conservation and soil conservation is needed and important when selecting the species used to vegetation restoration. This study provides suggestions for ecological restoration and provides a case study for the estimate of soil erodibility in arid and semiarid areas.

Soil erodibility as impacted by vegetation restoration strategies on the Loess Plateau of China

“…This result implies that the abandoned farmlands covered by shrubs, especially korshinsk peashrub, were the most effective restoration strategies to reduce soil erodibility on the Loess Plateau. The current result is supported by the result of Zhang et al (2018), who found that the soil erodibility in runoff plots covered by shrubs was less than that from plots covered by grass in the Ansai County of the Loess Plateau. The current result is supported by the result of Zhang et al (2018), who found that the soil erodibility in runoff plots covered by shrubs was less than that from plots covered by grass in the Ansai County of the Loess Plateau.…”

“…The variation in soil erodibility reflected by CSEI could be explained by the changes in BSC thickness, BD, OM, LD, and RD driven by vegetation restoration (Table V). The current result is supported by the result of Zhang et al (2018), who found that the soil erodibility in runoff plots covered by shrubs was less than that from plots covered by grass in the Ansai County of the Loess Plateau.…”

Effects of Soil Properties on K Factor in the Granite and Limestone Regions of China

“…Coarse soil texture means large and more numerous soil pores, which benefits downward transport of fine particle in the process of surface water infiltration [42,43]. Soil particle organic matters easily combine with fine particles to form organic-inorganic complexes or soil aggregates, which reduces the moving ability of clay and silt [12,13]. Low SOC content in the soils of the JRC restricts the protection ability to fine particle, thus the possibility of soil erosion depends on soil particle size distribution, i.e., K factor is mainly affected by soil texture.…”

Evolutionary Characteristics and Trade-Offs’ Development of Social–Ecological Production Landscapes in the Loess Plateau Region from a Resilience Point of View: A Case Study in Mizhi County, China

“…Ecological processes mainly include stress processes and protection processes in this study. The ecological stress process in the loess hilly and gully region mainly focused on non-point source pollution and soil erosion in agricultural areas [6,39,49]. According to the proportion of the cultivated land area of the watershed, combined with the total application amount of fertilizer, the fertilizer application intensity was calculated.…”