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A 42-yr soil erosion record inferred from mineral magnetism of reservoir sediments in a small carbonate-rock catchment, Guizhou Plateau, southwest China

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Abstract

Shibanqiao Reservoir (25°56′56.5′′ N, 105°26′44.5′′ E and ∼1400 m a.s.l.), southwest Guizhou Plateau, SW China, was built in 1958. It lies in an area of sub-tropical monsoon humid climate in a carbonate-rock-dominated catchment of 6 km2. Two sediment cores (24 and 23 cm long) were retrieved from the reservoir, and four soil profiles were sampled in the catchment. Mineral magnetism was measured on all sediment and soil samples. Soil and sediment magnetic measurements together with analyses of sediment 137Cs activity, particle-size, TOC, and C/N revealed changes in soil erosion between 1960 and 2002. During some phases, erosion (probably as splashing and/or sheeting) was relatively low and tended to take place only in the topsoil as indicated by high ARM/SIRM of the sediments. During other phases, erosion (probably as rilling and/or initial gullying) was relatively intense and thus disturbed the deeper soils, as expressed by high IRM−100mT/SIRM. Most of the changes in relative intensity of erosion can be ascribed to fluctuations in precipitation. Changes in land use/land cover or human activities may account, in part, for changes in soil erosion inferred for four more roughly identified periods.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 40335046). We are grateful to Prof. Rixiang Zhu, Prof. Jiming Sun and Prof. Baochun Huang, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS and Prof. Weiguo Zhang, the State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University for their help in conducting mineral-magnetism measurements, Prof. Ronggui Huang and Dr. Fushun Wang, the Institute of Geochemistry, CAS for their help in sampling sediments, Ms. Ju Yuan for her help in sampling soils, and Prof. Changsheng Wang, the Institute of Geochemistry, CAS for his help in conducting 137Cs assay. We also thank Mr. Congqing Lan, the director of the Bureau of Science and Technology of Guanling County for his help in doing field work in the County. The authors also thank two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Mark Brenner whose suggestions and comments have greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Hongya Wang, Yuying Huo, Lingyun Zeng & Yunlong Cai

  2. College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Xiouqin Wu

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  1. Hongya Wang
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  2. Yuying Huo
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  3. Lingyun Zeng
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  4. Xiouqin Wu
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  5. Yunlong Cai
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Correspondence to Hongya Wang.

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Wang, H., Huo, Y., Zeng, L. et al. A 42-yr soil erosion record inferred from mineral magnetism of reservoir sediments in a small carbonate-rock catchment, Guizhou Plateau, southwest China. J Paleolimnol 40, 897–921 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-008-9206-6

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