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Erosion rates of different land uses and sediment sources in a watershed using the 137Cs tracing method: field studies in the Loess Plateau of China

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Abstract

A good understanding of the erosion rate and sediment source is an important prerequisite for the soil and water conservation, and the prevention and reduction of flood hazard. The objectives of this study are to estimate the erosion rate under different land uses and the sediment source by the 137Cs tracing method in a watershed on the Loess Plateau of China. In the study watershed, 54 sampling sites were selected from five land use types. The results showed that the average erosion rate from the bare land, cultivated land, desert, woodland and grassland was 6500, 5900, 4850, 620 and 320 t/km2·a, respectively. Combining the area of various land uses in the watershed, the percentage of sediment yields from the bare land, desert, cultivated land, woodland and grassland was 48.0, 28.6, 19.3, 2.1 and 2.0 %, respectively. The bare land, desert and cultivated land are the main sediment sources. These findings will be useful for the soil and water conservation management and the planning of mitigation measures.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB403303) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41371284). The authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their comments in considerably improving the quality of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Loss Process and Control on the Loess Plateau of the Ministry of Water Resources, Yellow River Institute of Hydraulic Research, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450003, China

    Mian Li, Wenyi Yao, Zhenzhou Shen, Jishan Yang & Er Yang

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  1. Mian Li
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  2. Wenyi Yao
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  3. Zhenzhou Shen
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  4. Jishan Yang
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  5. Er Yang
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Correspondence to Mian Li.

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Li, M., Yao, W., Shen, Z. et al. Erosion rates of different land uses and sediment sources in a watershed using the 137Cs tracing method: field studies in the Loess Plateau of China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 591 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5225-6

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