Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Erosion in the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains Using the RUSLE Model
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Material and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Data Source
2.3. RUSLE Model
2.4. The Rainfall Erosivity Factor (R)
2.5. Soil Erodibility Factor (K)
2.6. Slope Length Slope Factor (LS)
2.7. Vegetative Cover and Management Factor (C)
2.8. Soil and Water Conservation Measures Factor (P)
3. Results and Outcomes
3.1. Spatial and Temporal Distribution Characteristics of Soil Erosion in the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains
3.2. Soil Erosion in Various Restoration Units in the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains
3.3. Study on the Key Factors Affecting Soil Erosion
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- Soil erosion in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains is predominantly characterised by moderate and gentle erosion. In 2023, the average soil erosion modulus is 233.515 tonnes per square kilometre per year, resulting in a total soil erosion amount of 85,233.046 tonnes per year. Between 2018 and 2023, there has been an improvement in the soil erosion situation in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains. Both the area affected by erosion and the intensity of erosion have shown a consistent decrease. The process of soil erosion, specifically of moderate and higher grades, has progressively moved from the research area’s northeastern and southwestern sections to the northern foothills’ western region. The centre region displays reduced soil erosion, predominantly characterised by minimal and moderate erosion.
- Topographic features, including height and slope, strongly influence soil erosion in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains. The soil erosion area in the study region has a declining tendency on both sides as elevation increases, primarily due to variations in slope. The centre area, characterised by slopes ranging from 15° to 25°, experiences the most significant decrease in soil erosion. The concentrated region for erosion, which plays a significant role in soil erosion prevention and control, has been discovered to have an elevation range of 500–1500 m and a slope range of 15°–25°. The river valleys and mountain basins are the main areas affected by soil erosion in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains. In these areas, the soil erosion modulus is higher, while the slopes of the mountains show a gradual decrease in soil erosion. In the Heihe River Basin, 29.49% of the erosion quantity in the entire region is attributed to biodiversity conservation and habitat units. The Laohe River Basin exhibits the highest soil erosion modulus, measuring 20.620 t/(km2·a), underscoring the importance of implementing soil and water conservation measures and habitat restoration initiatives in this region.
- The main land use categories contributing to soil erosion in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains are forests, grasslands, and cultivated land. The erosion occurring on cultivated land and woods at a small scale is diminishing, and there is a declining tendency in erosion at other levels. In grasslands, there is a rising pattern in both micro-scale and severe erosion, while other levels of erosion show a declining tendency.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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S. No | Partition | Unit | Partition Name | Area/km2 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | III | Comprehensive management unit of soil and water loss in shallow hills of Lishan Mountain | One mountain | 51,338.10 |
2 | II | Comprehensive Restoration of Damaged Ecology in the Control Zone at the Foot of Qinling Mountains. | One area | 114,216.38 |
3 | IV | Biodiversity Conservation and Habitat in the Heihe River Basin | Six water | 131,924.19 |
4 | I | Water Conservation Function Maintenance Unit at the Northern Foot of Qinling Mountains. | One screen | 81,297.77 |
5 | IV | Integrated Environmental Management Unit for the Ba River Basin | Six water | 95,298.31 |
6 | IV | Soil and Water Conservation and Habitat Restoration Unit in the Feng River Basin | Six water | 64,762.18 |
7 | IV | Soil and Water Conservation and Habitat Restoration Unit in the Lao River Basin | Six water | 41,914.24 |
8 | IV | Geological Hazard Prevention and Control Management Unit in the Yu River Basin | Six water | 14,581.062 |
9 | II | Comprehensive Treatment of Water Environment in the Control Zone at the Front of Qinling Mountains | One area | 27,808.22 |
10 | IV | Comprehensive Management Unit for the Ecological Environment in the Chan River Basin | Six water | 23,552.36 |
Date Name | Accuracy | Usage | Source of Data |
---|---|---|---|
‘Digital Elevation Model’ (DEM) | 12.5 m × 12.5 m | Extract watershed range and river network data Calculate slope length and slope steepness factor (LS) | NASA_12.5M_DEM www.rivermap.cn |
Remote sensing imagery | 250 m × 250 m | Calculate normalised vegetation index (NDVI) Calculate vegetation cover (VC) Calculate crop management factor (C) | geospatial data cloud www.gscloud.cn |
Land use distribution map (Land_use) | 10 m × 10 m | Extract soil and water conservation measure factor (P) | ESA_Sentinel_2 Livingatlas.arcgis.com/landcover |
Rainfall data (P) | daily precipitation | Calculate Rainfall Erosivity Factor(R) | China Meteorological Science Data Sharing Service Network Cdc.cma.gov.cn |
Distribution and Physicochemical Properties of Soil Types (Soil_type) | 1000 m × 1000 m | Calculate Soil Erodibility Factor(K) | Resource and Environmental Science and Data Center Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences www.resdc.cn |
Primary Type | Secondary Type | p | Primary Type | Secondary Type | p |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arable land | Paddy field | 0.01 | Waters | River channel | 0 |
Dryland | 0.40 | Lake | 0 | ||
Woodland | Woodland | 1.00 | Reservoirs, pits, and ponds | 0 | |
Bushland | 0.70 | Permanent glaciers and snow-covered areas | 0 | ||
Sparse woodland | 0.60 | Unused land | Shoreline | 1.00 | |
Other woodlands | 0.50 | Sand dunes | 1.00 | ||
Grassland | High coverage grassland | 1.00 | Salt-affected land | 1.00 | |
Medium coverage grassland | 0.70 | Marshland | 1.00 | ||
Low coverage grassland | 0.60 | Bare land | 1.00 | ||
Urban and rural, industrial and mining residential land | Urban land | 0.001 | Bare rocky terrain | 0 | |
Rural settlement | 0 | Other | 1.00 | ||
Other construction land | 0.001 |
Level | Average Erosion Modulus/t*hm−2*a−1 |
---|---|
Microscale Erosion | 0–200 |
Mild Erosion | 200–2500 |
Moderate Erosion | 2500–5000 |
Intense Erosion | 5000–8000 |
Severe Intensity Erosion | 8000–15,000 |
Violent Erosion | 15,000 and above |
Levels and Indicators t*km−2*a−1 | Area (km2) | Area Percentage (%) | Average Erosion Quantity (t*a−1) | Erosion Quantity Proportion (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Microscale Erosion: 0–200 | 601,154.995 | 92.958 | 60,279.329 | 70.723 |
Mild Erosion: 200–2500 | 43,880.839 | 6.785 | 22,107.460 | 25.938 |
Moderate Erosion: 2500–5000 | 1567.688 | 0.242 | 2412.524 | 2.831 |
Intense Erosion: 5000–8000 | 89.290 | 0.014 | 433.733 | 0.509 |
Restoration Unit Name | Erosion Modulus (t*km−2*a−1) | Area (Km2) | Area Proportion (%) | Amount of Erosion (t*a−1) | Percentage of Erosion Quantity (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comprehensive management unit of soil and water loss in shallow hills of Lishan Mountain | 6.579 | 51,241.983 | 7.924 | 3369.971 | 3.954 |
Restoration of the damaged ecosystem in the front control zone of the Qinling Mountains | 6.346 | 114,246.794 | 17.666 | 7247.458 | 8.503 |
Biodiversity conservation and habitat in the Heihe River Basin | 19.035 | 132,092.145 | 20.426 | 25,135.268 | 29.490 |
Water conservation function maintenance unit at the northern foot of Qinling Mountains | 15.155 | 81,329.861 | 12.576 | 12,321.418 | 14.456 |
Bahe River Basin Ecological Environment Comprehensive Management Unit | 8.579 | 95,169.747 | 14.716 | 8161.547 | 9.576 |
Fenghe River Basin Soil and Water Conservation and Habitat Restoration Unit | 19.260 | 64,760.472 | 10.014 | 12,468.812 | 14.629 |
Soil and Water Conservation and Habitat Restoration Unit in Laohe River Basin | 20.620 | 41,947.700 | 6.486 | 8646.778 | 10.145 |
Geological disaster prevention and control unit in the Yanhe River Basin | 19.583 | 14,576.330 | 2.254 | 2853.588 | 3.348 |
Comprehensive improvement of the controlled water environment in front of Qinling Mountains | 5.290 | 27,786.557 | 4.297 | 1469.348 | 1.724 |
Comprehensive Management Unit for Ecological and Environmental Governance in the Chan River Basin | 15.123 | 23,541.224 | 3.640 | 3558.856 | 4.175 |
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Cheng, Y.; Huo, A.; Liu, F.; Ahmed, A.; Abuarab, M.E.-S.; Elbeltagi, A.; Kucher, D.E. Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Erosion in the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains Using the RUSLE Model. Water 2024, 16, 2187. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152187
Cheng Y, Huo A, Liu F, Ahmed A, Abuarab ME-S, Elbeltagi A, Kucher DE. Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Erosion in the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains Using the RUSLE Model. Water. 2024; 16(15):2187. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152187
Chicago/Turabian StyleCheng, Yuxiang, Aidi Huo, Feng Liu, Adnan Ahmed, Mohamed EL-Sayed Abuarab, Ahmed Elbeltagi, and Dmitri Evgenievich Kucher. 2024. "Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Erosion in the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains Using the RUSLE Model" Water 16, no. 15: 2187. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152187