Rapid Estimation of Soil Erosion Rate from Exhumed Roots (Xiaolong Mts, China)

Miklós Kázmér, Keyan Fang, Yunchao Zhou and Zoltán Kern ()
Additional contact information
Miklós Kázmér: Department of Palaeontology, Eötvös University, Pázmány Sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
Keyan Fang: Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
Yunchao Zhou: Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Forest College, Guizhou University, Huaxi, Guiyang 550025, China
Zoltán Kern: Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Soil erosion is a challenge worldwide, including in China. The dendrogeomorphic method was applied, for the first time, at Xiaolong Mts in Gansu Province to obtain a quantitative estimate of the soil erosion rate. The dataset built in this pilot study allowed the identification of exhumation texture in exposed roots between 1967 and 2002. The calculated mean erosion rate estimates (Er a ) ranged from 2.6 to 16.5 mm yr −1 and showed an increase with the slope steepness (s). The best fitting linear model (Er a = 0.043(±0.017) × s + 3.09(±1.04); R² = 0.20; R² adj = 0.16; F = 6.18; p = 0.02) could be used in future research to determine and to map soil denudation in this part of the Xiaolong Mts. Notable associations were found between erosive rainfalls and root exhumation events. Daily (Rx1day) and 5-day (Rx5day) precipitation totals of 56 and 73 mm, respectively, seem to be critical thresholds which if exceeded will always induce root exhumation in the same year or in the consecutive season in the forest of the Xiaolong Mts in the studied period.

Keywords: dendrogeomorphology; erosion rate; tree roots; wood anatomy; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/771/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/771/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:6:p:771-:d:1404926

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().