Geodetection analysis of the driving forces and mechanisms of erosion in the hilly-gully region of northern Shaanxi Province

doi:10.1007/s11442-019-1627-9

Abstract

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the spatial variation in soil erosion in the loess hilly-gully region of northern Shaanxi Province, China. It sums up existing research, describes the factors that drive soil erosion, and uses geodetection to investigate the factors individually and in pairs. Our results show that soil erosion in the loess hilly-gully region of northern Shaanxi is mainly hydraulic erosion. There are significant spatial differences in the severity of soil erosion in the region. Generally, it is more severe in the north and west and less severe in the south and east. Individual factor detection results show that the major risk factors affecting soil erosion are human population distribution, precipitation, land-use type, elevation, and soil type. Interactive detection results show that interacting factors play much bigger roles in soil erosion than do individual factors. Based on forced detection results from different periods of time, we can see that forest and grass coverage, urbanization, and economic development in the study area all clearly inhibit soil erosion.

Key words: soil erosion, driving factors, geodetection, loess hilly-gully region, northern Shaanxi

Xuefeng YUAN, Jichang HAN, Yajing SHAO, Yuheng LI, Yongsheng WANG. Geodetection analysis of the driving forces and mechanisms of erosion in the hilly-gully region of northern Shaanxi Province[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2019, 29(5): 779-790.

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Grade number	Erosion level	Average erosion modulus (t/km²×a)	Area (km²)	Proportion (%)
1	Slight	<1000	2618	8.07
2	Minor	1000-2500	3160	9.74
3	Moderate	2500-5000	8659	26.69
4	Intense	5000-8000	6080	18.74
5	Very intense	8000-15000	6333	19.52
6	Extreme	>15000	5587	17.22

Influencing factor	Population	Precipitation	Land-use type	Elevation	Soil type	Sand content
q value	0.127102	0.102612	0.066366	0.027132	0.018847	0.015876
Influencing factor	Silt content	Clay content	GDP	Slope	Aspect
q value	0.009635	0.004776	0.003131	0.001543	0.000789

	Precipitation	Land-use type	Population	Soil type	Elevation
Precipitation	0.1026	-	-	-	-
Land-use type	0.1534	0.0664	-	-	-
Population	0.2062	0.1805	0.1271	-	-
Soil type	0.1207	0.0895	0.1441	0.0188	-
Elevation	0.1318	0.0940	0.1882	0.0538	0.0271

Year	q value	Cultivated land area (km²)	Forested area (km²)	Grassland area (km²)	Wetland area (km²)	Urban and industrial infrastructure area (km²)	Unused land (km²)	Ratio of forest and grassland (%)
1995	0.066	16100	4080	17204	233	124	59	55.22
2000	0.059	16669	4695	16834	202	80	64	55.86
2005	0.049	15790	5638	16754	201	97	64	58.09
2010	0.048	15712	5727	16745	198	98	64	58.30
2015	0.047	15759	5688	16649	203	135	110	57.95