The spatial and temporal variability and influence factor analysis of soil erosion in a grass farming area: a case study in central China

Zijing Xue; Xiaohuang Liu; Mamat Sawut; Jiufen Liu; Xiaofeng Zhao; Liyuan Xing; Ran Wang; Xinping Luo; Chao Wang; Honghui Zhao; Ying Wang

doi:10.1071/SR23099

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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The spatial and temporal variability and influence factor analysis of soil erosion in a grass farming area: a case study in central China

Zijing Xue

^A ^B ^# , Xiaohuang Liu

^C ^D ^# , Mamat Sawut

^A ^E ^F ^* , Jiufen Liu ^C ^D , Xiaofeng Zhao ^C ^D , Liyuan Xing ^C ^D , Ran Wang ^C ^D , Xinping Luo ^C ^D , Chao Wang ^D , Honghui Zhao ^D and Ying Wang ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China.

^B Key Laboratory of Groundwater Sciences and Engineering, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shijiazhuang, 050061, China.

^C Key Laboratory of Natural Resource Coupling Process and Effects, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing, China.

^D Command Center of Natural Resource Comprehensive Survey, China Geological Survey, Beijing, China.

^E Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China.

^F Key Laboratory of Smart City and Environment Modelling of Higher Education Institute, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China.

^* Correspondence to: korxat@xju.edu.cn

^# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Claudio Bini

Soil Research 62, SR23099 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR23099

Submitted: 25 June 2023 Accepted: 25 September 2023 Published: 13 November 2023

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Analysing soil erosion has important research significance for the protection of the ecological environment and the prevention and control measures of soil erosion.

Methods

This paper aims to discuss the soil erosion degree in the warm temperate grass farming subregion of the southern Shanxi and Guanzhong Basin, China, based on Universal Soil Loss Model, RUSLE.

Aims

The soil erosion modulus from 1998 to 2020 of the study area was calculated and divided into five periods: 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020.

Key results

We highlight two key findings: (1) the average soil erosion modulus changed from 498.86 t km⁻² a⁻¹ in 2000 to 316.94 t km⁻² a⁻¹ in 2020, and the proportion of soil area with an unchanged erosion degree is above 85%; (2) the average annual erosion area is the largest when rainfall is greater than 550 mm and less than 620 mm. From 2000 to 2020, the area of cultivated land decreased by 3497.47 km², and the area of grassland increased by 1364.96 km². The degree of erosion of grassland is the most severe, with soil erosion is most intense when the Normalised Vegetation Index (NDVI) is greater than 0.55 and less than 0.75.

Conclusions

The results show that the soil erosion in this area is slight on the whole and its degree has been decreasing.

Implications

The analysis in this paper can elucidate the seriousness of the soil erosion problem so that the government can strengthen the key management of soil and water conservation and achieve the purpose of reducing soil erosion.

Keywords: a case study in central China, influence factor analysis, RUSLE model, soil degradation, soil erosion, Southern Shanxi and Guanzhong Basin, spatial analysis, temporal analysis.

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