Integrated Use of GCM, RS, and GIS for the Assessment of Hillslope and Gully Erosion in the Mushi River Sub-Catchment, Northeast China

Ranghu Wang, Shuwen Zhang, Jiuchun Yang, Luoman Pu, Chaobin Yang, Lingxue Yu, Liping Chang and Kun Bu
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Ranghu Wang: College of Earth Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
Shuwen Zhang: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Jiuchun Yang: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Luoman Pu: College of Earth Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
Chaobin Yang: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Lingxue Yu: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Liping Chang: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Kun Bu: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: The black soil region of Northeast China has suffered from severe soil erosion by water. Hillslope and gully erosion are the main erosion types. The objective of this research was to integrate the assessment of hillslope and gully erosion and explore spatial coupling relations between them in the Mushi River sub-catchment using geographical conditions monitoring (GCM) including remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model and visual satellite image interpretation were used to evaluate hillslope and gully erosion, respectively. The results showed that (1) the study area as a whole had slight erosion due to rill and sheet erosion, but suffered more serious gully erosion, which mainly occurs in cultivated land; (2) GCM contributed to the overall improvement of soil erosion assessment, but the RUSLE model likely overestimates the erosion rate in dry land; (3) the hillslope and gully erosion were stronger on sunny slopes than on shady slopes, and mainly occurred at middle elevations. When the slope was greater than 15 degrees, the slope was not the main factor restricting the erosion, while at steeper slopes, the dominant forest land significantly reduced the soil loss; (4) trends of gully erosion intensity and density were not consistent with the change in soil erosion intensity. To our knowledge, this study was one of the first that attempted to integrate gully erosion and hillslope erosion on a watershed scale. The findings of this study promote a better understanding of the spatial coupling relationships between hillslope and gully erosion and similarly indicate that GCM, RS, and GIS can be used efficiently in the hilly black soil region of Northeast China to assess hillslope and gully erosion.

Keywords: black soil; Northeast China; soil erosion; RUSLE; coupling relation of hillslope and gully erosion; geographical conditions monitoring (GCM) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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