137 Cs-Based Variation of Soil Erosion in Vertical Zones of a Small Catchment in Southwestern China

Jiacun Chen, Zhonglin Shi, Anbang Wen, Dongchun Yan and Taili Chen
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Jiacun Chen: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Zhonglin Shi: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Anbang Wen: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Dongchun Yan: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Taili Chen: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: The study of the variability of soil erosion in mountainous areas provides the basis for soil and water conservation work and forest ecological construction in a targeted way. In this study, Liangshan Town catchment, a typical catchment in the Hengduan Mountains region, southwest China, was selected to investigate the variation of soil erosion in different vertical zones using the 137 Cs tracing technique. The mean 137 Cs reference inventories varied between 573.51 and 705.54 Bq/m 2 , with the elevation increasing from 1600 to 2600 m. The rates of soil erosion exhibited a significant variation. Under the same land cover condition, the average annual soil erosion modulus of high-elevation forest (elevation > 2200 m) was 400.3 t/(km 2 ·a). However, the average annual soil erosion modulus of a low-elevation sparse forest (elevation < 1600 m) was as high as 1756 t/(km 2 ·a). The average annual soil erosion modulus of the sloping farmland, mainly distributed at elevations of 1600–2200 m, was estimated to be 2771 t/(km 2 ·a). These results indicate that effective soil management measures need to be implemented on the cultivated sloping land in the future.

Keywords: variation; soil erosion; fallout radionuclide 137 Cs; Hengduan Mountains (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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