Environmental Geology

, Volume 58, Issue 5, pp 1021–1028 | Cite as

Application of the 137Cs tracer technique to study soil erosion of alpine meadows in the headwater region of the Yellow River

  • Y. S. Li
  • G. X. Wang
  • Y. J. Ding
  • L. Zhao
  • Y. B. Wang
Original Article
First Online:
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Accepted:

Abstract

The 137Cs tracer technique was used to study soil erosion of alpine meadow grassland in two small river basins in the headwater region of the Yellow River. The results show that the levels of 137Cs in soil samples from this alpine meadow vegetation zone exhibit an exponential distribution, generally within a depth of approximately 20 cm. Due to strong winds, freeze-thaw cycles and water, soil erosion was found to be stronger on the upper slope than on the lower slope, and except for the slope crest, the intensity of soil erosion at other sites was as follows: upslope < midslope < downslope. There was a significant negative correlation between the intensity of soil erosion and the extent of alpine meadow vegetation cover (P < 0.01). The mean soil erosion modulus exhibited a linear reduction trend with an increase in vegetation cover, and the correlation coefficient R2 was ≥ 0.997. The higher the degradation degree of the alpine meadow grassland, the greater is the soil erosion. The mean erosion modulus in the severely degraded meadow zone was 2.23 times greater than the one in the slightly degraded zone, and the maximum erosion modulus reached 2.96 × 106 kg/km2/a.

Keywords

137Cs tracer technique Soil erosion Degradation of vegetation Alpine meadow Headwater area Yellow River 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This study was jointly funded by the “973” Project (No. 2007CB411504), the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40701022 & 90511003), and National Social Science Fund Projects (No. 08CMZ010), and “Hundred People” Project of the Chinese Academy of Science. Foundation Project of State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science (No. SKLCS07-06). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the help of those whose valuable comments improved the manuscript.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Y. S. Li
    • 1
  • G. X. Wang
    • 1
    • 2
  • Y. J. Ding
    • 1
  • L. Zhao
    • 1
  • Y. B. Wang
    • 3
  1. 1.Cryosphere Research Station on Qinghai Xizang Plateau of Science, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research InstituteChinese Academy of SciencesLanzhouChina
  2. 2.Institute of Mountain Hazard and EnvironmentChinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water ConservancyChengduChina
  3. 3.College of Resources and EnvironmentLanzhou UniversityLanzhouChina

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