A review of soil and water conservation in China

Abstract

The preservation and sustainable development of soil and water resources is one of the basic principles for the development of China. Throughout the course of history, all the social improvement and economic development are deeply concerned with soil loss and ecological environmental protection. It is now a common sense that soil and water conservation is the safety insurance for national ecology and its development. For the past long period of time, soil and water loss has been recognized as “the No. 1 killer” to the ecological environment. The nation is on the stage of the critical conditions for its development. China has massive mountain and upland area with complicated geological conditions and accelerated human destruction and serious soil and water loss. Based on rich historical documents, renovating experience and detailed analysis of the data collected in field experiments and field surveys for soil and water conservation, this paper aims to review the general characteristics of soil and water loss, to explore the relationship between soil and water conservation and sustainable economic development, and to provide relevant strategies for soil and water conservation in China.