Land use change and soil erosion in the Maotiao River watershed of Guizhou Province

• Published in: Journal of geographical sciences Vol. 21; no. 6; pp. 1138 - 1152
• Main Authors: Xu, Yueqing, Luo, Ding, Peng, Jian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg SP Science Press 01.12.2011; Springer Nature B.V; Department of Land Resources and Management, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences,China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China%Chongqing Geomatics Center, Chongqing 401121, China%School of Management, Central University for Nationality, Beijing 100081, China
• Subjects: Accelerated erosion; Agricultural land; Asia; Bgi / Prodig; China; Conservation practices; Dryland farming; Earth and Environmental Science; Environmental protection; Erosion control; Forest protection; Geographical Information Systems/Cartography; Geography; Grasslands; Karst; Land management; Land use; Landsat; Nature Conservation; Physical Geography; Regional studies; Remote sensing; Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry; Rivers; Soil conservation; Soil erosion; Soil formation; Sustainable use; Watersheds; 土地利用变化; 土地利用类型; 土壤侵蚀; 天然林保护工程; 河流域; 贵州省; 通用土壤流失方程; Guizhou; China; Guizhou China; China, People's Rep., Guizhou Prov; land-use change; Guizhou Province of China; soil erosion; Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation; land-use type; Agricultural practice; Soil erosion; Karst; Agricultural land use; Watershed; Decision making process; Geographical information system; Sustainable development; Land use
• ISSN: 1009-637X; 1861-9568
• DOI: 10.1007/s11442-011-0906-x

Due to the extremely poor soil cover, a low soil-forming rate, and inappropriate intensive land use, soil erosion is a serious problem in Guizhou Province, which is located in the centre of the karst areas of Southwest China. In order to bring soil erosion under control and restore environment, the Chinese Government has initiated a serious of ecological re- habilitation projects such as the Grain-for-Green Programme and Natural Forest Protection Program and brought about tremendous influences on land-use change and soil erosion in Guizhou Province. This paper explored the relationship between land use and soil erosion in the Maotiao River watershed, a typical agricultural area with severe soil erosion in central Guizhou Province. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamic change of land-use type in Maotiao River watershed from 1973 to 2007 using Landsat MSS image in 1973, Landsat TM data in 1990 and 2007. Soil erosion change characteristics from 1973 to 2007, and soil loss among different land-use types were examined by integrating the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation （RUSLE） with a GIS environment. The results indicate that changes in land use within the watershed have significantly affected soil erosion. From 1973 to 1990, dry farmland and rocky desertified land significantly increased. In contrast, shrubby land, other forestland and grassland significantly decreased, which caused accelerated soil erosion in the study area. This trend was reversed from 1990 to 2007 with an increased area of land-use types for ecological use owing to the implementation of environmental protection programs. Soil erosion also significantly varied among land-use types. Erosion was most serious in dry farmland and the lightest in paddy field. Dry farmland with a gradient of 6°-25° was the major contributor to soil erosion, and conservation practices should be taken in these areas. The results of this study provide useful information for decision makers and planners to take sustainable land use management and soil conservation measures in the area.