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Environmental Earth Sciences

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01-09-2014 | Original Article

Comprehensive analysis of relationship between vegetation attributes and soil erosion on hillslopes in the Loess Plateau of China

Authors: Jian Hou, Bojie Fu, Shuai Wang, Huoxing Zhu

Published in: Environmental Earth Sciences | Issue 5/2014

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Abstract

In soil and water conservation research, vegetation is considered to be a primary factor affecting soil erosion. Many studies focus on the relationship between soil erosion and a given attribute of vegetation. Few studies have attempted a comprehensive analysis of vegetation attributes. Thus, the aim of this study is to explain the relationship between vegetation and soil erosion in detail. We studied 104 vegetation plots and 104 soil samples in the Yangjuangou catchment, Loess Plateau, Shaanxi Province, China. According to a correlation analysis of the vegetation attributes and soil ¹³⁷Cs inventories, vegetation cover exerts a positive effect on soil erosion. In addition, vegetation aggregation increases with increasing soil loss. During this period of study, plant diversity can have different relationships with soil erosion according to the vegetation pattern. When vegetation distribution is relatively homogeneous, plant cover decreases with increasing diversity, and the soil loss increases. When vegetation pattern distributes between homogeneous and heterogeneous, the relationship between vegetation diversity and soil erosion is not obvious. When vegetation distribution is in a heterogeneous pattern, cover increases with increasing diversity, and soil loss decreases.

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Title: Comprehensive analysis of relationship between vegetation attributes and soil erosion on hillslopes in the Loess Plateau of China
Authors: Jian Hou
Bojie Fu
Shuai Wang
Huoxing Zhu
Publication date: 01-09-2014
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Environmental Earth Sciences / Issue 5/2014
Print ISSN: 1866-6280
Electronic ISSN: 1866-6299
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3076-1

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