The Loess Plateau of China(LP) has the largest and thickest loess deposits in the world. Quantifying the amount of loess in the LP is crucial for investigating the accumulation and erosion of loess, and determining th...The Loess Plateau of China(LP) has the largest and thickest loess deposits in the world. Quantifying the amount of loess in the LP is crucial for investigating the accumulation and erosion of loess, and determining the regional soil and water resource capacity. We used loess thickness data, a pedotransfer function for bulk density(BD), and the clay content data observed in 242 sites across the LP to derive the BD of loess and then estimate the loess mass and its distribution across the LP. The results indicated that the average BD of loess between the surface and bedrock is 1.58 g cm^(-3), varying from 1.18 to 1.87 g cm^(-3).The total loess mass is approximately 5.45 ? 10^(13) t, and the average loess mass over an area of 1 m^2 is 169 t, ranging from 1.36 to 585 t. The greatest mass of loess is in the south-central of the LP while the lowest mass of loess is in the northwest and river valley areas. Our estimate of loess mass provides key data for calculating water, carbon, and nutrient storages in the LP, which improves our understanding of soil-water processes and ecohydrological systems in this landscape.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571130081, 41371242, 41530854)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2017076)+1 种基金the Youth Innovation Research Team Project (LENOM2016Q0001)the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau (A314021402-1806)
文摘The Loess Plateau of China(LP) has the largest and thickest loess deposits in the world. Quantifying the amount of loess in the LP is crucial for investigating the accumulation and erosion of loess, and determining the regional soil and water resource capacity. We used loess thickness data, a pedotransfer function for bulk density(BD), and the clay content data observed in 242 sites across the LP to derive the BD of loess and then estimate the loess mass and its distribution across the LP. The results indicated that the average BD of loess between the surface and bedrock is 1.58 g cm^(-3), varying from 1.18 to 1.87 g cm^(-3).The total loess mass is approximately 5.45 ? 10^(13) t, and the average loess mass over an area of 1 m^2 is 169 t, ranging from 1.36 to 585 t. The greatest mass of loess is in the south-central of the LP while the lowest mass of loess is in the northwest and river valley areas. Our estimate of loess mass provides key data for calculating water, carbon, and nutrient storages in the LP, which improves our understanding of soil-water processes and ecohydrological systems in this landscape.
