An Upscaling Method for Cover-Management Factor and Its Application in the Loess Plateau of China

Wenwu Zhao, Bojie Fu and Yang Qiu
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Wenwu Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Resources Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Outer Street, Beijing 100875, China
Bojie Fu: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuangqing Road, Beijing 100085, China
Yang Qiu: School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Outer Street, Beijing 100875, China

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: The cover-management factor (C-factor) is important for studying soil erosion. In addition, it is important to use sampling plot data to estimate the regional C-factor when assessing erosion and soil conservation. Here, the loess hill and gully region in Ansai County, China, was studied to determine a method for computing the C-factor. This C-factor is used in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) at a regional scale. After upscaling the slope-scale computational equation, the C-factor for Ansai County was calculated by using the soil loss ratio, precipitation and land use/cover type. The multi-year mean C-factor for Ansai County was 0.36. The C-factor values were greater in the eastern region of the county than in the western region. In addition, the lowest C-factor values were found in the southern region of the county near its southern border. These spatial differences were consistent with the spatial distribution of the soil loess ratios across areas with different land uses. Additional research is needed to determine the effects of seasonal vegetation growth changes on the C-factor, and the C-factor upscaling uncertainties at a regional scale.

Keywords: cover-management factor; scale; soil erosion; rainfall erosivity; Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE); soil conservation; C-factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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