Modeling soil erosion and its response to land-use change in hilly catchments of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Feng, Xiaoming; Wang, Yafeng; Chen, Liding; Fu, Bojie; Gang-shuan, Bai

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.01.004

Cited by 204 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…For example, in northern Shaanxi Province, the combined planted forest and herbaceous vegetation (i.e., grasses, forbs and herbs) increased from 29.7 % in 1998 to 42.2 % in 2005 as a result of the GFG project (Cao et al, 2009). Also, recovery of natural vegetation and soil conservation practices have shown to be effective in controlling soil erosion (He et al, 2003;Feng et al, 2010) as evidenced by the reduced sediment loading in many large rivers in the region. However, some concerns have been raised with argument that large-scale afforestation in the water-limited arid and semiarid regions may increase the severity of water shortages on the ground that plantation forests consume more water than grassland or degraded lands (Eastham and Rose, 1988;Sun et al, 2006;Zhang et al, 2008a;Wang et al, 2011).…”

Section: M Feng Et Al: Regional Effects Of Vegetation Restoratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Feng

Sun

et al. 2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

188

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Abstract. The general relationships between vegetation and water yield under different climatic regimes are well established at a small watershed scale in the past century. However, applications of these basic theories to evaluate the regional effects of land cover change on water resources remain challenging due to the complex interactions of vegetation and climatic variability and hydrologic processes at the large scale. The objective of this study was to explore ways to examine the spatial and temporal effects of a large ecological restoration project on water yield across the Loess Plateau region in northern China. We estimated annual water yield as the difference between precipitation input and modelled actual evapotranspiration (ET) output. We constructed a monthly ET model using published ET data derived from eddy flux measurements and watershed streamflow data. We validated the ET models at a watershed and regional levels. The model was then applied to examine regional water yield under land cover change and climatic variability during the implementation of the Grain-for-Green (GFG) project during 1999-2007. We found that water yield in 38 % of the Loess Plateau area might have decreased (1-48 mm per year) as a result of land cover change alone. However, combined with climatic variability, 37 % of the study area might have seen a decrease in water yield with a range of 1-54 mm per year, and 35 % of the study area might have seen an increase with a range of 1-10 mm per year. Across the study region, climate variability masked or strengthened the water yield response to vegetation restoration. The absolute annual water yield change due to vegetation restoration varied with precipitation regimes with the highest in wet years, but the relative water yield changes were most pronounced in dry years. We concluded that the effects of land cover change associated with ecological restoration varied greatly over time and space and were strongly influenced by climatic variability in the arid region. The current regional vegetation restoration projects have variable effects on local water resources across the region. Land management planning must consider the influences of spatial climate variability and long-term climate change on water yield to be more effective for achieving environmental sustainability.

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Section: M Feng Et Al: Regional Effects Of Vegetation Restoratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Feng

Sun

et al. 2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

188

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“…The Chinese Loess Plateau is one of the regions with the most severe soil erosion in the world; soil erosion there has created many environmental problems along the lower reaches of the Yellow River (Feng et al 2010). The problems of soil erosion and environmental degradation resulting from long-term anthropogenic influences and the inherent vulnerability of the Chinese Loess Plateau have always been of deep concern to relevant government departments and academic institutions (Xu et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of soil erosion using RUSLE and GIS: a case study of the Yangou watershed in the Loess Plateau, China

et al. 2014

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Due to fragmentized terrain and physiognomy of typical loess landform, long-term anthropogenic influences, and inherent vulnerability, soil erosion is a serious problem in the Loess Plateau of China. There is a critical need to assess soil erosion and spatial distribution for achieving sustainable land use and comprehensive soil conservation management. Taking the Yangou watershed as a case and using the Landsat Thematic Mapper image (land use map), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), soil maps, and precipitation data, this study integrated the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) with GIS technology to estimate soil loss and its spatial distribution. The benefits of soil conservation of land use types were analyzed and the measures for future soil conservation planning were discussed. The results show that silt-covered land and terrace have high benefits of soil conservation, indicating that building check dam, producing silt-covered land for farming, and converting sloped farmland to terrace are effective ways to control soil erosion in the Yangou watershed. Furthermore, increasing vegetation coverage on lower coverage grassland, especially on the slopes with gradients [25°, and eliminating human disturbance in barren areas are feasible and effective measures for soil conservation planning. This study reveals that the integrated RUSLE-GIS model can evaluate and map soil erosion quantitatively and spatially at watershed scale in the Loess Plateau of China. The findings suggest strategies for coping with future soil conservation planning and provide valuable references for future assessments both in the Loess Plateau of China and elsewhere.

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“…Changes in the soil conservation offered by ecosystems and the soil erosion intensity in a region are closely related to changes in land use and land cover (Yang et al, 2003;Feng et al, 2010;Su and Fu, 2013). From 2000 to 2010, decreases in cropland and increases in urban land, forest, and grassland areas were observed in the southwestern China.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in ecosystem service of soil conservation between 2000 and 2010 and its driving factors in southwestern China

et al. 2016

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Human activities significantly alter ecosystems and their services; however, quantifying the impact of human activities on ecosystems has been a great challenge in ecosystem management. We used the Universal Soil Loss Equation and county-level socioeconomic data to assess the changes in the ecosystem service of soil conservation between 2000 and 2010, and to analyze its spatial characteristics and driving factors in the southwestern China. The results showed that cropland in the southwestern China decreased by 3.74%, while urban land, forest, and grassland areas increased by 46.78%, 0.86%, and 1.12%, respectively. The soil conservation increased by 1.88 × 10 11 kg, with deterioration only in some local areas. The improved and the degraded areas accounted for 6.41% and 2.44% of the total land area, respectively. Implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program and urbanization explained 57.80% and 23.90% of the variation in the soil conservation change, respectively, and were found to be the main factors enhancing soil conservation. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was one of the factors that led to the degradation of soil conservation. Furthermore, industrial adjustment, by increasing shares of Industry and Service and reducing those of Agriculture, has also promoted soil conservation. Our results quantitatively showed and emphasized the contributions to soil conservation improvement made by implementing ecological restoration programs and promoting urbanization. Consequently, these results provide basic information to improve our understanding of the effects of ecological restoration programs, and help guide future sustainable urban development and regional industrial restructuring.

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Modeling soil erosion and its response to land-use change in hilly catchments of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Cited by 204 publications

References 30 publications

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Assessment of soil erosion using RUSLE and GIS: a case study of the Yangou watershed in the Loess Plateau, China

Changes in ecosystem service of soil conservation between 2000 and 2010 and its driving factors in southwestern China

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