Dynamic identification of soil erosion risk in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin in China from 1978 to 2010

doi:10.1007/s11442-018-1466-0

Abstract

Abstract:

Soil erosion has become a significant environmental problem that threatens ecosystems globally. The risks posed by soil erosion, the trends in the spatial distribution in soil erosion, and the status, intensity, and conservation priority level in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin were identified from 1978 to 2010. This study employed a multi-criteria evaluation method integrated with GIS and multi-source remote sensing data including land use, slope gradient and vegetation fractional coverage (VFC). The erosion status in the study region improved from 1978 to 2010; areas of extremely severe, more severe, and severe soil erosion decreased from 0.05%, 0.94%, and 11.25% in 1978 to 0.04%, 0.81%, and 10.28% in 1998, respectively, and to 0.03%, 0.59%, and 6.87% in 2010, respectively. Compared to the period from 1978 to 1998, the area classed as improvement grade erosion increased by about 47,210.18 km² from 1998 to 2010, while the area classed as deterioration grade erosion decreased by about 17,738.29 km². Almost all severe erosion regions fall in the 1st and 2nd conservation priority levels, which areas accounted for 3.86% and 1.11% of the study area in the two periods, respectively. This study identified regions where soil erosion control is required and the results provide a reference for policymakers to implement soil conservation measures in the future.

Key words: dynamic identification, soil erosion risk, multi-criteria evaluation, multi-source remote sensing, Yellow River Basin

Haigen ZHAO, Yuyu TANG, Shengtian YANG. Dynamic identification of soil erosion risk in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin in China from 1978 to 2010[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2018, 28(2): 175-192.

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Name	Resolution (m)	Acquired time	Acquired department
Landsat-MSS	56	July to September, 1978	NASA of the US
Landsat-TM	30	July to September, 1998	NASA of the US
HJ-CCD	32	July to September, 2010	China Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application
KH-11	3	July to September, 1978	NASA of the US
ZY3-CCD	2.1	July to September, 2012	China Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application
SPOT4	10	July to September, 1998	Yellow River Conservancy Commission in China

Ground cover	VFC (%)	Slope (o)
Ground cover	VFC (%)	< 5	5-8	8-15	15-25	25-35	> 35
Non-farmland	>75	Slight	Slight	Slight	Slight	Slight	Slight
	60-75	Slight	Light	Light	Light	Moderate	Moderate
	45-60	Slight	Light	Light	Moderate	Moderate	Severe
	30-45	Slight	Light	Moderate	Moderate	Severe	More severe
	<30	Slight	Moderate	Moderate	Severe	More severe	Extremely severe
Farmland		Slight	Light	Moderate	Severe	More severe	Extremely severe

Proportion (%)	1978	1998	2010
<30	62.23	57.28	39.94
30-45	10.30	17.08	9.20
45-60	7.45	7.83	12.50
60-75	6.16	5.43	12.01
>75	13.86	12.38	26.35

Land use type	1980	1998	2010
Farmland	38.57	37.42	33.52
Forestland	15.85	16.70	21.65
Grassland	39.22	39.49	38.61
Water	0.93	0.93	0.59
Built-up land	2.01	2.22	2.34
Unused land	3.42	3.24	3.29

Erosion risk grade	Erosion risk in 1978		Erosion risk in 1998		Erosion risk in 2010
Erosion risk grade	Area (km²)	Proportion (%)	Area (km²)	Proportion (%)	Area (km²)	Proportion (%)
Slight	105516.21	42.22	103337.17	41.35	132991.81	53.21
Light	34582.84	13.84	36547.61	14.62	56912.95	22.77
Moderate	79221.49	31.70	82230.37	32.90	41308.32	16.53
Severe	28114.40	11.25	25683.34	10.28	17157.76	6.87
More severe	2356.23	0.94	2033.02	0.81	1472.78	0.59
Extremely severe	129.89	0.05	89.55	0.04	77.42	0.03