The Link between Landscape Characteristics and Soil Losses Rates over a Range of Spatiotemporal Scales: Hubei Province, China

Qing Li, Yong Zhou, Li Wang, Qian Zuo, Siqi Yi, Jingyi Liu, Xueping Su, Tao Xu and Yan Jiang
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Qing Li: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Yong Zhou: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Li Wang: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Qian Zuo: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Siqi Yi: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Jingyi Liu: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Xueping Su: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Tao Xu: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Yan Jiang: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: Controlling soil erosion is beneficial to the conservation of soil resources and ecological restoration. Understanding the spatial distribution characteristics of soil erosion helps find the key areas for soil control projects and optimal scale for investing in a soil and water conservation project at the lowest cost. This study aims to answer the question of how the spatial distribution of soil erosion in Hubei Province changed between 2000 and 2020. Moreover, how do the effects of natural factors and human activities on soil erosion vary over the years? What are the differences in landscape pattern characteristics and the spatial cluster of soil erosion at multiple administrative scales? We simulated the spatial distribution of soil erosion in Hubei province from 2000 to 2020 by the Chinese Soil Loss Equation model at three administrative scales. We investigated the relationship between soil erosion and driving factors by Geodector. We explored the landscape pattern and hotspots of land at different levels of soil erosion by Fragstat and hotspot analysis. The results show that: (1) The average soil erosion rate decreased from 2000 to 2020. Soil erosion is severe in the mountainous areas of western Hubei province, while it is less severe in the central plains. (2) Land-cover type, precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index are the most influencing factors of soil erosion in 2000–2010, 2015, and 2020, respectively. (3) The aggregation index values at the town scale are higher than those at the city and county scales, while the fractal dimension index values at the town scale are lower, which indicates that soil erosion projects are most efficient when the project unit is ‘town’. (4) At the town scale, if the hotspot area (6.84% of the total area) is treated as the protection target, it can reduce 50.42% of the total soil erosion of Hubei province. Hotspots of soil erosion overlap with high erosion zones, mainly in the northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern parts of Hubei province in 2000, while the hotspots in northwestern Hubei disappear in 2020. In conclusion, land managers in Hubei should optimize the land-use structure, soil and water conservation in slope land, and eco-engineering controls at the town scale.

Keywords: landscape pattern analysis; multi-scale; hotspot analysis; geodetector; Chinese soil loss equation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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