Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of land use and land cover change on soil erosion and the spatio-temporal variation in Liupan Mountain Region, southern Ningxia, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Liupan Mountains are located in the southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China, that forms an important divide between landforms and biogeographic regions. The populated part of the Liupan Mountain Region has suffered tremendous ecological damage over time due to population pressure, excessive demand and inappropriate use of agricultural land resources. To present the relationship between land use/cover change and spatio-temporal variation of soil erosion, data sets of land use between the late 1980s and 2000 were obtained from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, and spatial models were used to characterize landscape and soil erosion conditions. Also, soil erosion in response to land use and land cover change were quantified and analyzed using data from geographical information systems and remote sensing. Soil erosion by water was the dominant mode of soil loss, while soil erosion by wind was only present on a relatively small area. The degree of soil erosion was classified into five severity classes: slight, light, moderate, severe, and very severe. Soil erosion in the Liupan Mountain Region increased between the late 1980s and 2000, both in terms of acreage and severity. Moderate, severe, and very severe eroded areas accounted for 54.86% of the total land area. The lightly eroded area decreased, while the moderately eroded area increased by 368817 ha (22%) followed by severe erosion with 146552 ha (8.8%), and very severe erosion by 97067.6 ha (5.8%). Soil loss on sloping cropland increased with slope gradients. About 90% of the cropland was located on slopes less than 15°. Most of the increase in soil erosion on cropland was due to conversion of steep slopes to cropland and degradation of grassland and increased activities. Soil erosion was severe on grassland with a moderate or low grass cover and on dry land. Human activities, cultivation on steep slopes, and overgrazing of pastures were the main reasons for the increase in erosion severity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lambin E F, Geist H J. Land-Use and Land-Cover Change: Local Processes and Global Impacts. Berlin: Springer-verlag, 2006

    Google Scholar 

  2. Matson P A, Parton W J, Power A G, Swift M J. Agricultural intensification and ecosystem properties. Science, 1997, 277(5325): 504–509

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Turner B L. Local faces, global flows: the role of land use and land cover in global environmental change. Land Degradation & Rehabilitation, 1994, 5(2): 71–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Meyer W B, Turner B L. Land-use/land-cover change: challenges for geographers. GeoJournal, 1996, 39(3): 237–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Liu J Y, Xu X L, Shao Q Q. Grassland degradation in the “threeriver headwaters” region, Qinghai Province. J. Geogr. Sci., 2008, 18: 259–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Li X B. Impact on Hydrolytic and Water Resource of Land Use and Land Cover Change. Beijing: Global Map Press, 2002, 1–6 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Yang S H, Yan H L, Guo L Y. The land use change and its ecoenvironmental effects in transitional agro-pastoral region: a case study of Yulin City in northern Shaanxi Province. Progress in geography, 2004, 23(6): 49–55 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Quan B, Chen J F, Qiu H L, Römkens M J M, Yang X Q, Jiang S F, Li B C. Spatial-temporal pattern and driving forces of land use changes in Xiamen. Pedosphere, 2006, 16(4): 477–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Quan B, Zhu H J, Chen S L, Römkens M J M, Li B C. Land suitability assessment and land use change in Fujian Province, China. Pedosphere, 2007, 17(4): 493–504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wang R Y, Zhao G X, Zhou W, Zhu X C, Wang J Y, Qin Y W. Assessment of the impacts of land use on regional ecological environmental vulnerability. Transactions of the Chinese society of agricultural engineering, 2008, 24(12): 215–220 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Chen X. Land Use/Cover Change in Arid Area in China. Beijing: Science Press, 2008, 543 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Zhu X M, Ren M E. The Loess Plateau-Its formation, soil and water losses, and control of the Yellow River. In: Laflen J M, Tian J L, eds. Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming. New York: CRC Press, 2000, 1–3

    Google Scholar 

  13. Zhang L, Zhou Y, Zhang L T. Recent advances and future prospects on relationship between LUCC and soil erosion. Research of soil and water conservation, 2008, 15(3): 43–48 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Li S B, Jiang Q, Li B C. Ecological Agriculture Construction Technology in Mountainous Area of Southern Ningxia. Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Publishing House, 2006 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Liang Y M. Vegetation Construction on the Loess Plateau. Zhengzhou: Yellow River Conservancy Press, 2003 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Wu Q X. Mechanism of Soil andWater Conservation for Forests and Its Regulation Technology. Beijing: Science Press, 2005 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Li B C, Li S B. The construction and demonstration of ecological agriculture in semiarid degradation mountainous areas. Research of soil and water conservation, 2005, 12(3): 1–4 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Li B C, An S S, Hao S L. Analysis of social economic problems and countermeasures of agricultural construction adjustment in Southern Ningxia. Research of soil and water conservation 2005, 12(3): 8–18 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hao S L, An S S, Li B C, Zhao XM. Effects of converting farm land to forest and grassland in hilly-gully region of Loess Plateau. Research of soil and water conservation. 2005, 12(3): 29–30 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Ma N X. North-western Nature Reserve of China. Xi’an: Northwestern University Press, 1995 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Liu J Y, Zhan J, Deng X Z. Spatio-temporal patterns and driving forces of urban land expansion in China during the economic reform era. Ambio, 2005, 34(6): 450–455 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Meng Q X. Integrated assessment of eco-environmental quality on the Loess Plateau based on remote sensing, GIS and models. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Xi’an: Northwest Sci-tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, 2006, 158

    Google Scholar 

  23. Wang S Y. Studies on geo-informatic Tupu changes of ecoenvironment backed by RS and GIS technologies in Yellow River Basin. Dissertation for Post-doctorate. Beijing: Tsinghua University, 2004

    Google Scholar 

  24. Tang K L. Chinese Soil and Water Conservation. Beijing: Science Press, 2004, 845 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hao S L. Study on Land Use/Land Cover Change-A Case of Mountainous Region of South Ningxia. Zhengzhou: Yellow River Conservancy Press, 2009 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Shan L. Collected Papers of Shan Lun. Xi’an: Shaanxi Science and Technology Press, 2003 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Chen Y Z, Jing K, Cai Q G. Modern Erosion and Treatment on the Loess Plateau. Beijing: Science Press, 1988 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Quan B, Römkens M J M, Tao J J, Li B C, Li C K, Yu G H, Chen Q C. Spatial-temporal pattern and population driving force of land use change in Liupan Mountains Region, southern Ningxia, China. Chinese Geographical Science, 2008, 18(4): 323–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geospatial Information Science, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China

    Bin Quan, Fang Wang & Jie Chen

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Water and Soil Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China

    Bin Quan & Rui Li

  3. USDA/ARS, National Sedimentation Laboratory, P. O. Box 1157, Oxford, MS, 38655, USA

    M. J. M. Römkens

  4. Hunan Key Laboratory of Coal Resources Clean-utilization and Mine Environment Protection, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, China

    Bin Quan

  5. State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Beijing Normal University/The Institute of Remote Sensing Applications of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100875, China

    Fang Wang

Authors
  1. Bin Quan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. J. M. Römkens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rui Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jie Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bin Quan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Quan, B., Römkens, M.J.M., Li, R. et al. Effect of land use and land cover change on soil erosion and the spatio-temporal variation in Liupan Mountain Region, southern Ningxia, China. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. China 5, 564–572 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-011-0348-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-011-0348-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation