Abstract
Soil loss caused by erosion is a global problem. Therefore, the assessment of soil erosion and the its driving mechanism are of great significance to soil conservation. However, soil erosion is affected by both climate change and human activities, which have not been quantified, and few researchers studied the differences in the driving mechanisms of soil erosion depending on the land use type. Therefore, the spatiotemporal characteristics and changing trends of soil erosion in the Dongting Lake Basin were analyzed in this study. Geographic detectors were used to identify the dominant factors affecting soil erosion in different land use types. In this study, a sensitivity experiment was conducted to clarify the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to soil erosion changes. In addition, we studied the effects of different land use types and vegetation cover restoration on soil erosion. The results show that soil erosion in the Dongting Lake Basin decreased from 2000 to 2018. Human activities represented by land use types and vegetation coverage significantly contributed to the alleviation of soil erosion in the Dongting Lake Basin, whereas climate change represented by rainfall slightly aggravated soil erosion in the study area. The restoration of grassland vegetation and transfer of cultivated land to woodlands in the study area improved the soil erosion. The slope steepness is the key factor affecting the intensity of soil erosion in dry land, paddy fields, and unused land, whereas the vegetation coverage is the key factor affecting the intensity of soil erosion in woodland, garden land, and grassland. Detailed spatiotemporally mapping of soil erosion was used to determine the connections between soil erosion and potential drivers, which have important implications for vegetation restoration and the optimization of land use planning.
Highlights
Soil erosion is one of the most serious global environmental problems, because it causes soil nutrient loss and land degradation, and leads to many secondary environmental problems such as flooding, river siltation, and water pollution, which may affect the ecological security and sustainable development of the region [1, 2]
The slope steepness is the key factor affecting the intensity of soil erosion in the dry land, paddy fields, and unused land, whereas the vegetation coverage is the key factor affecting the intensity of soil erosion in woodland, garden land, and grassland
Human activities represented by land use types and vegetation coverage significantly contributed to the alleviation of soil erosion in the Dongting Lake Basin, whereas climate change represented by rainfall slightly aggravated soil erosion in the study area
Summary
Soil erosion is one of the most serious global environmental problems, because it causes soil nutrient loss and land degradation, and leads to many secondary environmental problems such as flooding, river siltation, and water pollution, which may affect the ecological security and sustainable development of the region [1, 2]. Soil erosion drivers in the Dongting Lake Basin affected by multiple factors such as the topography, soil, land use, vegetation, and climate [3]. Climate change and human activities are the key factors driving the changes in soil erosion. It is necessary to explore the dynamic characteristics of soil erosion, process of land use development, and ecological restoration to maintain ecosystem stability and provide long-term ecosystem services [6]
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