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The soil leakage ratio in the Mudu watershed, China

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Abstract

Soil leakage in karst areas is an important geomorphic agent of environmental interest. There are several viewpoints concerning soil leakage ratios. One viewpoint states that the soil leakage ratio is high in karst regions, whereas others consider that it is very low. This paper’s objective is to describe the soil leakage phenomena qualitatively and quantitatively in the Chongqing Karst, China, by conventional methods such as monitoring runoff plots and paint traces drawn on piles and walls found within runoff plots, and by measuring the activity of the isotope 137Cs at small, medium, and large spatial scales. This paper’s results show that soil-filled karst cracks occurred at a small spatial scale with soil leakage ratios ranging from about 3% to about 34% at two abandoned quarries and six soil profiles with rock (karst) crack development. The soil leakage ratio was almost zero at the medium spatial scale. The soil leakage ratio was 4.50% and the surface-soil erosion ratio was 95.50% of the total soil erosion at the large spatial scale. It is concluded that soil leakage ratios in the study area were low at a large spatial scale, and that cracks in karst were filled with soil at small spatial scales. This paper’s results indicate that soil leakage phenomena vary depending on the processes acting at the small, medium, and large spatial scales.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the reviewers for their insightful comments and helpful suggestions on submitted manuscript. This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41202135) and the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, China (Grant No. cstc2012jjA80008). The authors also thank the financial award from State Scholarship Fund of China Scholarship Council (File No. 201504500006) to support the research at UCSB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Resources and Environment College, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Xingping Wei, Deti Xie & Jiupai Ni

  2. Geography and Tourism College, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 400047, China

    Xingping Wei & Yaner Yan

  3. Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, United States

    Xingping Wei & Hugo A. Loáiciga

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  1. Xingping Wei
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  2. Yaner Yan
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  3. Deti Xie
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  4. Jiupai Ni
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  5. Hugo A. Loáiciga
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Correspondence to Yaner Yan.

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Wei, X., Yan, Y., Xie, D. et al. The soil leakage ratio in the Mudu watershed, China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 721 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5351-9

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