Comparison and quantitative assessment of two regional soil erosion survey approaches

Regional soil erosion surveys are the first step of soil conservation planning.Grid and sampling ap-proaches are commonly used for soil erosion surveys at the regional scale.With the grid approach,the region is divided into grids(e.g.,1 km × 1 km),and the soil erosion rate of each grid was calculated.With the sampling approach,a small portion of the area(typically 4%or less)was taken and then the soil erosion rate was calculated.Based on the above calculation,both approaches evaluated the soil erosion area(which is the area where the soil erosion rate is greater than the soil loss tolerance(t))and its distribution in the whole region.The purpose of this paper is to compare the assessment results of the two approaches and analyse their practicality using Yunyang County,Chongqing,China(area is 3636 km^(2)).The soil erosion rate,percentage of soil erosion area(PSEA,which is the ratio of the area where the soil erosion rate is greater than the soil loss tolerance(t)to the area of the total study region)and its spatial distribution were compared between the two approaches.The results showed that the grid approach overestimated the average soil erosion rate and PSEA overall for all 33 sample units and the whole region in comparison to the sampling approach.The sampling approach can yield a reasonable spatial distribution of the soil erosion rate in the whole region.In addition,the soil erosion regions were more clustered than those using the grid approach,which can be more suitable for soil conservation planning.Therefore,the sampling approach is an efficient and practical approach in regional soil erosion surveys.The results can provide insights into regional soil erosion surveys.

The assessment of soil loss by water erosion in China

Soil erosion is a major environmental problem in China.Planning for soil erosion control requires accurate soil erosion rate and spatial distribution information.The aim of this article is to present the methods and results of the national soil erosion survey of China completed in 2011.A multi-stage,unequal probability,systematic area sampling method was employed.A total of 32,948 sample units,which were either 0.2-3 km2 small catchments or 1 km2 grids,were investigated on site.Soil erosion rates were calculated with the Chinese Soil Loss Equation in 10 m by 10 m grids for each sample unit,along with the area of soil loss exceeding the soil loss tolerance and the proportion of area in excess of soil loss tolerance relative to the total land area of the sample units.Maps were created by using a spatial interpolation method at national,river basin,and provincial scales.Results showed that the calculated average soil erosion rate was 5 t ha-1 yr-1 in China,and was 18.2 t ha-1 yr-1 for sloped,cultivated cropland.Intensive soil erosion occurred on cropland,overgrazing grassland,and sparsely forested land.The proportions of soil loss tolerance exceedance areas of sample units were interpolated through the country in 250 m grids.The national average ratio was 13.5%,which represents the area of land in China that requires the implementation of soil conservation practices.These survey results and the maps provide the basic information for national conservation planning and policymaking.