Modeling vegetation coverage and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau Area of China

Abstract

Soil erosion is still one of major issues limiting agricultural and forestry productivity in Loess Plateau of China. Vegetation plays an important role in controlling soil erosion, but studies on modeling dynamics of vegetation and soil erosion and interaction between them were hardly reported. We hypothesized that changes of vegetation coverage and soil erosion as affected by climate factors and human activities in the Loess Plateau of China might be simulated using appropriate models. In order to test our hypothesis and to better understanding the interaction between vegetation coverage and soil erosion, we conducted a study at watershed of Zhifanggou, a typical region of Loess Plateau. Soil erosion was negative linearly correlated with vegetation coverage ( r = 0.99***), while vegetation was mainly associated with human activities. Based on climate change, ecological stress factors and human activities, we developed a model to estimate vegetation coverage and soil erosion. Testing the model performance indicated that dynamics of vegetation coverage and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau of China could be precisely simulated. The importance of each factor in the model was also evaluated. The information of this study can be useful for better understanding the relationships between vegetation and soil erosion.