Changes of spring wind erosion based on wind erosion climate factor in the black soil region of Northeast China

The dry and windy climate and low ground cover in spring in the black soil region of Northeast China make the soil strongly affected by wind erosion,which seriously threatens the food security and ecological security of this region.In this paper,based on the daily observation data of 124 meteorological stations in study area from 1961 to 2020,seasonal and monthly wind erosion climate factor(C)in spring(March to May)were calculated by using the method proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO),the wind erosion characterization in spring were systematically analyzed based on C by various statistical analysis methods.The results showed that in the past 60 years,spring wind erosion climate factor(CSp)and monthly C of the whole region and each province(region)all showed highly significant decreasing trend,but they began to show rebounded trend in the middle or late 2000s.CSp of the study area showed a significant upward trend since 2008 with an increase of 4.59(10a)^(-1).The main contributors to this upward trend are the changes of C in March and in April.For the four provinces(regions),CSp in Heilongjiang,Jilin,Liaoning and eastern Inner Mongolia all showed rebounded since 2008,2011,2008 and 2009,respectively.The rebounded trend of CSp in eastern Inner Mongolia was the most obvious with a tendency rate of 11.27(10a)^(-1),and its mutation occurred after 1984.The rebound trend of CSp in Heilongjiang Province takes the second place,with a trend rate of 4.72(10a)^(-1),but there’s no obvious time mutation characteristics.The spatial characteristics of CSpand monthly C are similar,showing decreasing characteristics centered on the typical black soil belt of Northeast China.Compared with 1961-1990,in the period from 1991 to 2020,the proportion of high value areas(CSp>35,monthly C>10)has decreased to varying degrees,while the proportion of low value areas(CSp≤10,monthly C≤4)has increased.The trends of seasonal and monthly C in 82.2%~87.7%of the stations show significant decreases at 95%confidence level.CSp is closely related to wind speed at 2m height,temperature difference,minimum temperature and precipitation in the same period,of which the correlation between CSp and wind speed is the strongest,indicating that the main control factor for CSp in the study area is wind speed,but the impact of the change of temperature and precipitation on CSp cannot be ignored.

Changes of coastline and tidal flat and its implication for ecological protection under human activities: Take China’s Bohai Bay as an example

The change processes and trends of shoreline and tidal flat forced by human activities are essential issues for the sustainability of coastal area,which is also of great significance for understanding coastal ecological environment changes and even global changes.Based on field measurements,combined with Linear Regression(LR)model and Inverse Distance Weighing(IDW)method,this paper presents detailed analysis on the change history and trend of the shoreline and tidal flat in Bohai Bay.The shoreline faces a high erosion chance under the action of natural factors,while the tidal flat faces a different erosion and deposition patterns in Bohai Bay due to the impact of human activities.The implication of change rule for ecological protection and recovery is also discussed.Measures should be taken to protect the coastal ecological environment.The models used in this paper show a high correlation coefficient between observed and modeling data,which means that this method can be used to predict the changing trend of shoreline and tidal flat.The research results of present study can provide scientific supports for future coastal protection and management.

Review on the Impact of Climate Change on Great Lakes Region’s Agriculture and Water Resources

This study investigates the multifaceted impacts of climate change on the Midwest region of the United States, particularly the rising temperatures and precipitation brought about by hot weather activities and technological advances since the 19th century. From 1900 to 2010, temperatures in the Midwest rose by an average of 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, which would also lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Precipitation is also expected to increase due to increased storm activity and changes in regional weather patterns. This paper explores the impact of these changes on urban and agricultural areas. In urban areas such as the city of Chicago, runoff from the increasing impervious surface areas poses challenges to the drainage system, and agriculture areas are challenged by soil erosion, nutrient loss, and fewer planting days due to excessive rainfall. Sustainable solutions such as no-till agriculture and the creation of grassland zones are discussed. Using historical data, recent climate studies and projections, the paper Outlines ways to enhance the Midwest’s ecology and resilience to climate change.

Seabed deposition and erosion change and influence factors in the Yangshan Deepwater Port over the years

The seabed scouring and silting are very important to the construction of port and waterway engineering. Seabed deposition and erosion change is complicated due to the influence of sediment supply, human activities and other factors. The Yangshan Deepwater Port is the new deep water harbor, which is an important part of the Shanghai International Shipping Service Center. Its construction has received much attention. At present, the water depth from the 1 st to the 3 rd harbor district is currently suitable under regular dredging and tidal current action. The fourth harbor district will be built in the world’s largest fully-automated deep water wharf. In the study, bathymetry change of the entire sea area of the Yangshan Deepwater Port and the 4 th harbor district(i.e.,Phase IV project) waters were analyzed quantitatively using multiyear bathymetric, hydrological and sediment data. The results show that from 1998 to 2010, seabed changes are characterized by large volumes of erosion and sedimentation, which the southern part was deposited and the northern part was eroded in the inner harbor waters, but the seabed of the Kezhushan inlet was eroded. Seabed changes of Phase IV project waters generally show a scour tendency in recent few years with the annual scour rate about 0.7 m. Among the many factors, the existence of Kezhushan inlet and its influence of the western water flow play an important positive role in water depth changes under the ebb tide action.

RELATIONSHIP OF ECO-ENVIONMENTAL CHANGE WITH NATURAL EROSION AND ARTIFICIALLY ACCELERATED EROSION

The natural landscape of the Loess Plateau was changed by severe soil erosion. The Ziwuling forest area provides research base for tracing back eco environmental change related to natural erosion and artificially accelerated erosion. Using methods of typical region investigations, in situ experimental study and chemical analysis of samples, impact of vegetation destruction and rehabilitation on soil erosion, characteristics of natutal erosion under conditions of natural ecological balance and artificially accelerated erosion resulting from vegetation destruction in forest area, and the processes of artificially accelerated erosion and soil degradation have been analyzed and discussed.

Integrated Modeling of Soil Erosion for a Canadian Watershed in Response to Projected Changes in Climate and Consequent Adoption of Mitigating Best Management Practices

Controlling soil erosion and the transport and deposition of suspended sediment to receiving waters, especially in relation to the modifying influences of, and interplay between, climate and land-use alterations, is essential for effective watershed management. The Atlantic Canada—New England region is expected to experience elevated rainfall erosivity due to climate change over the next century. Using the projected higher precipitation amounts of 5% and 10% for future scenarios of 5 and 25 years for the region, and a spatially-explicit, integrated (GIS, RUSLE) model for a rural watershed in Nova Scotia, predicted increases in total erosion rates of 4.9 and 9.9%, respectively. Modelled scenarios altering buffer strips based on either consistent or slope-variable widths between 30 m (the legal requirement) to 90 m were found to correspond to reductions in predicted total watershed erosion rates from 11% to 32%. Assuming and extending the 1:1 concordance between projected precipitation and estimated soil erosion for this particular watershed into the more distant future of 26 to 55 years, suggests that the 25% increase in soil erosion predicted over this period would have to be offset by expanding the protective buffer strips to a consistent width of 70 m. Adoption of such a protective management scheme would subsume 19% of the terrestrial area of the study watershed and thus consequent reductions in land available for agricultural production and timber harvest.

Simulation of the landform change process on a purple soil slope due to tillage erosion and water erosion using UAV technology

Both tillage erosion and water erosion are severe erosional forms that occur widely on sloping agricultural land.However,previous studies have rarely considered the process of landform change due to continuous simulation experiments of alternating tillage erosion and water erosion.To identify such changes,we applied a scouring experiment(at a 60 L min-1 water discharge rate based on precipitation data from the local meteorological station and the catchment area in the Yuanmou County,Yunnan Province,China)and a series of simulated tillage experiments where plots were consecutively tilled 5,10,and 15 times in rotation(representing 5 yr,10 yr,and 15 yr of tillage)at slope gradients of 5°,10°,and 20°.Close-range photogrammetry(CRP)employing an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)and a real-time kinematic global positioning system(RTK-GPS)was used to measure landform changes,and highresolution digital elevation models(DEMs)were generated to calculate net soil loss volumes.Additionally,the CRP was determined to be accurate and applicable through the use of erosion pins.The average tillage erosion rates were 69.85,131.45,and 155.34 t·hm-2·tillage pass-1,and the average water erosion rates were 1892.52,2961.76,and 4405.93 t·hm-2·h-1 for the 5°,10°,and 20°sloping farmland plots,respectively.The water erosion rates increased as tillage intensity increased,indicating that tillage erosion accelerates water erosion.Following these intensive tillage treatments,slope gradients gradually decreased,while the trend in slope gradients increased in runoff plots at the conclusion of the scouring experiment.Compared to the original plots(prior to our experiments),interactions between tillage and water erosion caused no obvious change in the landform structure of the runoff plots,while the height of all the runoff plots decreased.Our findings showed that both tillage erosion and water erosion caused a pseudo-steady-state landform evolutionary mechanism and resulted in thin soil layers on cultivated land composed of purple soil in China.

Modeling spatial and temporal change of soil erosion based on multi-temporal remotely sensed data

In order to monitor the pattern, distribution, and trend of land use/cover change （LUCC） and its impacts on soil erosion, it is highly appropriate to adopt Remote Sensing （RS） data and Geographic Information System （GIS） to analyze, assess, simulate, and predict the spatial and temporal evolution dynamics. In this paper, multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM＋ re- motely sensed data are used to generate land cover maps by image classification, and the Cellular Automata Markov （CA_Markov） model is employed to simulate the evolution and trend of landscape pattern change. Furthermore, the Re- vised Universal Soil Loss Equation （RUSLE） is used to evaluate the situation of soil erosion in the case study mining area. The trend of soil erosion is analyzed according to total/average amount of soil erosion, and the rainfall （R）, cover man- agement （C）, and support practice （P） factors in RUSLE relevant to soil erosion are determined. The change trends of soil erosion and the relationship between land cover types and soil erosion amount are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the CA_Markov model is suitable to simulate and predict LUCC trends with good efficiency and accuracy, and RUSLE can calculate the total soil erosion effectively. In the study area, there was minimal erosion grade and this is expected to con- tinue to decline in the next few years, according to our prediction results.

Remote Sensing and GIS for the Spatio-Temporal Change Analysis of the East and the West River Bank Erosion and Accretion of Jamuna River (1995-2015), Bangladesh

Jamuna River is one of the principal rivers of Bangladesh, changing continuously due to erosion and accretion over the past decades. This analysis evaluates the East Bank and the West Bank erosion and accretion between 1996 and 2015 for Jamuna River. An unsupervised classification algorithm and post-classification change employing skills in Geographic Information System are performed to evaluate spatial and temporal dynamics of erosion and accretion for different points of Jamuna River using Bangladesh. Landsat image (1995, 2005, 2015). The correctness of the Landsat-produced map ranges from 82% to 84%. It has been evidently observed that changes in the proportion of erosion and accretion differ in different points of Jamuna River. The highest eroded area is 3.82 square kilometers (km2) during the period of 1995 to 2005 and the highest accreted area is 6.15 square kilometers (km2) during the period of 1995 to 2015. The erosion and accretion values fluctuated from place to place. The changing trend of Riverbank is creating many socio-economic problems in the proximate areas.

Overview of recent land cover changes,forest harvest areas,and soil erosion trends in Nordic countries

Mapping spatiotemporal land cover changes offers opportunities to better understand trends and drivers of envi-ronmental change and helps to identify more sustainable land management strategies.This study investigates the spatiotemporal patterns of changes in land covers,forest harvest areas and soil erosion rates in Nordic countries,namely Norway,Sweden,Finland,and Denmark.This region is highly sensitive to environmental changes,as it is experiencing high levels of human pressure and among the highest rates of global warming.An analysis that uses consistent land cover dataset to quantify and compares the recent spatiotemporal changes in land cover in the Nordic countries is missing.The recent products issued by the European Space Agency and the Copernicus Climate Change Service framework provide the possibility to investigate the historical land cover changes from 1992 to 2018 at 300 m resolution.These maps are then integrated with time series of forest harvest areas be-tween 2004 and 2018 to study if and how forest management is represented in land cover products,and with soil erosion data to explore status and recent trends in agricultural land.Land cover changes typically involved from 4%to 9%of the total area in each country.Wetland showed the strongest reduction(11,003 km^(2),−11%of the wetland area in 1992),followed by forest(8,607 km^(2),−1%)and sparse vegetation(5,695 km^(2),−7%),while agriculture(15,884 km^(2),16%)and settlement(3,582 km^(2),84%)showed net increases.Wetland shrinkage dominated land cover changes in Norway(5,870 km^(2),−18%),followed by forest and grassland with a net gain of 3,441 km^(2)(3%)and 3,435 km^(2)(10%),respectively.In Sweden,forest areas decreased 13,008 km^(2)(−4%),mainly due to agriculture expansion(9,211 km^(2),29%).In Finland,agricultural areas increased by 5,982 km^(2)(24%),and wetland decreased by 6,698 km^(2)(−22%).Settlement had the largest net growth in Denmark(717 km^(2),70%),mainly from conversion of agriculture land.Soil erosion rates in Nordic countries are lower than the global average,but they are exacerbating in several locations(especially western Norway).The integration of the land cover datasets with maps of forest harvest areas shows that the majority of the losses in forest cover due to forestry operations are largely undetected,but a non-negligible share of the forest-to-agriculture(up to 19%)or forest-to-grassland(up to 51%)transitions overlap with the harvested sites.Forestry activity in the study region primarily involves small-scale harvest events that are difficult to be detected at the 300 m resolution of the land cover dataset.An accurate representation of forest management remains a challenge for global datasets of land cover time series,and more interdisciplinary international efforts are needed to address this gap.Overall,this analysis provides a detailed overview of recent changes in land cover and forest management in Nordic countries as represented by state-of-the-art global datasets,and offers insights to future studies aiming to improve these data or apply them in land surface models,climate models,landscape ecology,or other applications.

Erosion response to anthropogenic activity and climatic changes during the Holocene: case studies in northwestern China and southern Norway

Soil erosion assessment and prediction play critical roles in addressing problems associated with erosion control or soil conservation. The past dynamics of soil erosion can provide valuable information for us to understand the relations of soil erosion to environmental change and anthropogenic activity. The present paper has compared Holocene climatic changes in northwestern China with those in southern Norway, and investigated the past dynamics of erosion activity during the Holocene. Modern soil erosion on the Loess Plateau is a combination of the intensive natural erosion and human-induced erosion, the latter being four times greater than the former. Because of global warming and increasing human activities, climate on the Loess Plateau is becoming dryer and more unstable, causing an enhanced erosion problem and water scarcity. In the arctic-alpine region of southern Norway, however, the global warming and regional wetting caused expansion of the largest European ice cap. This has accentuated the erosion in that region, with a higher frequency of avalanches and debris flows.

Changes in Climate Factors and Their Impacts on Wind Erosion Climatic Erosivity in Farming-pastoral Zone of Northern China

Climate change can affect wind erosion power and hence induce changes in wind erosion rates.In this study,the wind erosion climate factor(C-factor),proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,was used to assess the impact of changes in climate on wind erosion climatic erosivity.The Mann-Kendall test was employed to detect trends in the C-factor during the period of 1961–2017 in the farming-pastoral zone of northern China.Sensitivity analysis was used to determine the sensitivity of the C-factor to changes in key climate factors.Furthermore,a comparison of the contributions of different climate factors was carried out to understand their impact on changes in the C-factor.The results indicated that most of the surveyed region exhibited decreasing trends in wind speed at a confidence level of 90%,while maximum and minimum temperatures showed increasing trends throughout the study area.As a consequence of decreasing wind speed,the annual C-factor exhibited significant decreasing trends,with a mean slope of–0.58/yr.Seasonal analysis revealed that in most regions,the changes in the C-factor had significant decreasing trends in spring,winter,and autumn,while in more than two-thirds of the study area,no significant change trends in the C-factor were detected in summer at a confidence level of 90%.Sensitivity analysis showed that the C-factor was most sensitive to wind speed,and that the sensitivity coefficients from July to September were much higher than those in other months.Contribution analysis revealed that,for most stations,wind speed(with greater values of sensitivity coefficients)was the dominant factor in the change of C-factor,while for some stations,the minimum temperature made the most contribution to the C-factor’s change due to its dramatic changes during the study period.Although the minimum temperature sensitivity coefficient was the lowest of all the sensitivity coefficients,it is urgent to evaluate the expected impact of minimum temperature due to its possible changes in the future.

Microstructure Changes during Cavitation Erosion for a Steel with Metastable Austenite

The characteristics of microstructure changes during cavitation erosion (CE) were investigated by the use of XRD and TEM analyses for steel (ZG0Cr13Mn8N) with metastable austenite. The results show that the microstructure of the surface layer of the specimens consists of α'-martensite, metastable austenite and a few ε-martensite before CE. CE obviously increases dislocation density and straight or planar dislocations on the surface, and induces γ->ε,ε-> α' and γ->α'-martensitic transformation.

Extracting change information of land-use and soil-erosion based on RS & GIS technology

Rapid land-use change has taken place in many arid regions of China such as Yulin prefecture over the last decade due to rehabilitation measures. Land-use change and soil erosion dynamics were investigated by the combined use of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). The objectives were to determine land-use transition rates and soil erosion change in Yulin prefecture over 15 years from 1986 to 2000. Significant changes in land-use and soil erosion occurred in the area over the study period. The results show the significant decrease in barren land mainly due to conversion to grassland. Agricultural land increased associated with conversions from grassland and barren land. The area of water erosion and wind erosion declined. The study demonstrates that the integration of satellite remote sensing and GIS is an effective approach for analyzing the direction, rate, and spatial pattern of land-use and soil erosion change.

Changes in Mediterranean Coastline According to the Coastal Type and Land Cover under Climate Change:The Case of South-east Spain

Coastline changes were analyzed considering the land cover types and the analysis of the causes that have deter­mined these changes during the past decades.Through the overlapping of aerial photographs and GIS analysis,the results showed that the land surface increased with respect to the previous stage,gaining terrain to the sea,but this increment was caused by anthropogenic processes.In fact,without human pressure,the land surface beside the coastal line would have decreased,especially on the sandy beaches and coastal dunes.Therefore,the beaches are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems and geomorphological systems due to erosion and lack of sediment supply associated with the modified river courses(i.e.by the construction of reservoirs,concrete channeling,etc.),the inner land use changes,and the effects of global warming on the sea level.Climate change studies predict specific increases in the sea level along the coast.The aim of this work is to know if anthropic activity can reverse the effects of sea level rise and coast­al erosion.In fact,it has been done for decades with measures aimed to correct impacts and favour economic activity(i.e.maintaining tourism resources)and not from the environmental issues.

Using REE Tracers to Measure Sheet Erosion Changing to Rill Erosion

Rare earth element(REE) tracer method was used to study sheet erosion changing to rill erosion on slope land. By placing different REE on different soil depth across a slope in an indoor plot, two simulated rainfalls were applied to study the change of erosion type and the rill erosion process. The results indicate that the main erosion type is sheet erosion at the beginning of the rainfalls, and serious erosion happens after rill erosion appears. Accumulated sheet and rill erosion amount increases with the rainfalls time. The percentage of sheet erosion amount decreases and rill erosion percentage increases with time. At the end of the rainfalls, the total rill erosion amounts are 4.3 and 5 times more than sheet erosion. In this paper, a new REE tracer method was used to quantitatively distinguish sheet and rill erosion amount. The new REE tracer method should be useful to future studying of erosion processes on slope lands.

Soil erosion along a long slope in the gentle hilly areas of black soil region in Northeast China

Characteristics of soil erosion change along a long slope in the gentle hilly areas in black soil region in Northeast China are discussed. A simplified slope model based on segments was used to analyze the runoff data and soil erosion data observed between 2003 and 2004 over 10 field plots with different slope length in Heshan Farm, Heilongjiang Province. We found that soil erosion rate over long slopes in the black soil region changed alternatively along the slope and creates alternative zones of intensive erosion and week erosion.The exact place of each zone is different for different rainfall conditions. In a year with less and mild precipitation, rill cannot happen within the top 50 m, while in a year with large and intensive precipitation, rill can be formed starting even at 15 m from the top of the slope.

A Discussion on Possible Indicators Related to Genetic Structure Changes in Plant Germplasm Conservation

The purpose of the present paper is to study and develop indicators and procedures for the evaluation of genetic structure changes in germplasm conservation due to social and natural environment reasons. Some basic concepts in germplasm study were introduced at first. Then, six kinds of indicators for genetic diversity as a measure of genetic potential of a germplasm collection were presented, i.e., numbers of different entities at certain level, evenness of the entity distribution, genetic similarity and genetic distance, genetic variance and genetic coefficient of variation, multivariate genetic variation indices, and coefficient of parentage. It was pointed out that genetic dispersion did not provide a complete concept of genetic diversity if without any information from genetic richness. Based on the above, the indicators for genetic erosion as the genetic structure changes of germplasm conservation due to social reasons, the indicators of genetic vulnerability as the genetic structure changes of germplasm conservation due to environmental stresses, the measurement of genetic drift and genetic shift as the genetic structure changes of germplasm collection during reproduction or seed increase were reviewed and developed. Furthermore, the estimation procedures of the indicators by using molecular markers were suggested. Finally, the case studies on suitable conservation sample size of self-pollinated and open-pollinated populations were given for reference.

Prediction of spatial soil loss impacted by long-term land-use/land-cover change in a tropical watershed

The devastating effect of soil erosion is one of the major sources of land degradation that affects human lives in many ways which occur mainly due to deforestation, poor agricultural practices, overgrazing,wildfire and urbanization. Soil erosion often leads to soil truncation, loss of fertility, slope instability, etc.which causes irreversible effects on the poorly renewable soil resource. In view of this, a study was conducted in Kelantan River basin to predict soil loss as influenced by long-term land use/land-cover(LULC) changes in the area. The study was conducted with the aim of predicting and assessing soil erosion as it is influenced by long-term LULC changes. The 13,100 km^2 watershed was delineated into four sub-catchments Galas, Pergau, Lebir and Nenggiri for precise result estimation and ease of execution. GIS-based Universal Soil Loss Equation(USLE) model was used to predict soil loss in this study. The model inputs used for the temporal and spatial calculation of soil erosion include rainfall erosivity factor,topographic factor, land cover and management factor as well as erodibility factor. The results showed that 67.54% of soil loss is located under low erosion potential(reversible soil loss) or 0-1 t ha^(-1) yr^(-1) soil loss in Galas, 59.17% in Pergau, 53.32% in Lebir and 56.76% in Nenggiri all under the 2013 LULC condition.Results from the correlation of soil erosion rates with LULC changes indicated that cleared land in all the four catchments and under all LULC conditions(1984-2013) appears to be the dominant with the highest erosion losses. Similarly, grassland and forest were also observed to regulate erosion rates in the area. This is because the vegetation cover provided by these LULC types protects the soil from direct impact of rain drops which invariably reduce soil loss to the barest minimum. Overall, it was concluded that the results have shown the significance of LULC in the control of erosion. Maps generated from the study may be useful to planners and land use managers to take appropriate decisions for soil conservation.

Evaluation of an erosion-sediment transport model for a hillslope using laboratory flume data

Climate change can escalate rainfall intensity and cause further increase in sediment transport in arid lands which in turn can adversely affect water quality. Hence, there is a strong need to predict the fate of sediments in order to provide measures for sound erosion control and water quality management. The presence of micro- topography on hillslopes influences processes of runoff generation and erosion, which should be taken into account to achieve more accurate modelling results. This study presents a physically based mathematical model for erosion and sediment transport coupled to one-dimensional overland flow equations that simulate rainfall-runoff generation on the rill and interrill areas of a bare hillslope. Modelling effort at such a fine resolution considering the flow con- nection between Jnterrill areas and rills is rarely verified. The developed model was applied on a set of data gath- ered from an experimental setup where a 650 cm×136 cm erosion flume was pre-formed with a longitudinal rill and interrJll having a plane geometry and was equipped with a rainfall simulator that reproduces natural rainfall characteristics. The flume can be given both longitudinal and lateral slope directions. For calibration and validation, the model was applied on the experimental results obtained from the setup of the flume having 5% lateral and 10% longitudinal slope directions under rainfall intensities of 105 and 45 mm/h, respectively. Calibration showed that the model was able to produce good results based on the R2 （0.84） and NSE （0.80） values. The model performance was further tested through validation which also produced good statistics （R2=0.83, NSE=0.72）. Results in terms of the sedigraphs, cumulative mass curves and performance statistics suggest that the model can be a useful and an important step towards verifying and improving mathematical models of erosion and sediment transport.