An Assessment of the Impact of Urbanization on Soil Erosion in Inner Mongolia

Li-Yan Wang, Yi Xiao, En-Ming Rao, Ling Jiang, Yang Xiao and Zhi-Yun Ouyang
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Li-Yan Wang: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Yi Xiao: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
En-Ming Rao: College of Geography Resource Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Sichuan 610101, China
Ling Jiang: Zhongshan Research Institute of Environmental Protection Science Co., Ltd, Guangdong 528403, China
Yang Xiao: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Zhi-Yun Ouyang: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China, has experienced severe soil erosion following a period of rapid economic development and urbanization. To investigate how urbanization has influenced the extent of soil erosion in Inner Mongolia, we used urbanization and soil erosion data from 2000 through 2010 to determine the relationship between urbanization and soil erosion patterns. Two empirical equations—the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ)—were used to estimate the intensity of soil erosion, and we performed backward linear regression to model how it changed with greater urbanization. There was an apparent increase in the rate of urbanization and a decrease in the area affected by soil erosion in 2010 compared to the corresponding values for 2000. The urban population stood at 11.32 million in 2010, which represented a 16.47% increase over that in 2000. The area affected by soil erosion in 2000 totaled 704,817 km 2 , yet it had decreased to 674,135 km 2 by 2010. However, a path of modest urban development (rural–urban mitigation) and reasonable industrial structuring (the development of GDP-2) may partially reduce urbanization’s ecological pressure and thus indirectly reduce the threat of soil erosion to human security. Therefore, to better control soil erosion in Inner Mongolia during the process of urbanization, the current model of economic development should be modified to improve the eco-efficiency of urbanization, while also promoting new modes of urbanization that are environmentally sustainable, cost-effective, and conserve limited resources.

Keywords: assessment; Inner Mongolia; soil erosion; urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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