US-China collaboration on conservation

Abstract

The Loess Plateau, situated in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, is infamous for its severe soil erosion caused by highly erodible fine aeolian deposits, steep slopes, heavy storms, and sparse vegetation cover stemming from intensive cultivation and improper land use (Chen et al. 1988). Potential levee breaches and flooding poses a grave threat to people's lives and properties in the highly developed and populous Northern China Plain situated along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. This threat is very likely to increase under projected climate change, which is anticipated to produce more and heavier storms and therefore more severe soil erosion in the Loess Plateau. Thus, it is of great importance to evaluate the potential impacts of projected climate change on sediment generation in the Loess Plateau as well as sediment dynamics and transport in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.