The evaluation of soil stability in loess hilly and gully region of Northern Shaanxi based on GIS

Abstract

Based on the previous research in loess hilly region of Northern Shaanxi, this paper takes the soil erosion degree as the main measure of soil stability and the soil utility, annual average rainfall in flood season (from June to September), and topography, as the main measure indexes of soil stability. After that, the evaluation system of soil stability in loess hilly region of Northern Shaanxi can be constructed, which can be done by special analysis of GIS. The results illustrate that the soil stability showed a trend of high south‐east and low north‐west. Soil with good stability is mainly distributed in Ganquan County, and Yanchuan County, where vegetation coverage is high, vegetation types are mostly forest land and grassland, ecological environment is good, and precipitation erosion effect is not significant. Soil with intermediate stability is mainly distributed in Baota district and its surrounding areas, where the main vegetation types are bush fallow and grassland, and the terrain is flat and gently rolling. Soil with the worst stability is mainly distributed in Suide County, and Wuqi County. The area is mostly sandy and desert, the terrain is fragmented, soil is loose, vegetation cover is not high, making the soil the worst soil stability, and strong rainfall conditions are prone to soil erosion. The prerequisite of the implementation of soil consolidation projects is having evaluation on soil stability. The research results can be the theoretical evidence, and implement guarantee of regional soil exploitation and reorganization, and the reference to enhancing the assurance of ecological safety.