Spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of soil erosion function in a typical basin of the alpine region in the upper Yellow River

TL;DR

This study examines how soil erosion and conservation have changed over 40 years in a Tibetan river basin and identifies factors driving these changes.

Contribution

The study provides a long-term analysis of soil erosion dynamics and conservation function in the alpine upper Yellow River Basin using spatiotemporal modeling.

Findings

Soil erosion intensity peaked in 2000 at 1292.49 t/(km²·a) but decreased by 40.45% by 2020.

Soil conservation function increased by 88.24% over 40 years, showing the effectiveness of conservation measures.

Vegetation cover and elevation were the main drivers of soil erosion intensity, while elevation and precipitation influenced conservation function.

Abstract

In recent years, soil erosion has become increasingly severe in the Tibet Plateau, especially in the upper Yellow River Basin. Although numerous studies have been conducted on soil erosion in this region, most of them are limited to short time spans and fail to reflect the temporal variations of soil erosion at long-term scales. In this study, the spatiotemporal changes in soil erosion intensity and soil conservation function were evaluated using the InVEST model, and driving factors were identified using Geodetector in the Shagou River watershed from 1980 to 2020. The results showed that over the past 40 years, the Shagou River watershed mainly suffered mild erosion, the soil erosion intensity increased by 81.40% from 1980 to 2000, reaching a peak of approximately 1292.49 t/(km²·a). From 2000 to 2020, it decreased by 40.45% with 769.63 t/km²·a, indicating a clear improvement trend. From 1980 to 1990, the growth rate of soil conservation function was most significant, reaching 25.89%, while the growth rate from 2010 to 2020 was relatively small, only 6.23%. Over the past 40 years, the total soil conservation function increased by 1.12×10⁷ t, with a growth rate of 88.24%, reflecting the effectiveness of soil conservation measures. In addition altitudes, slopes, and land use types had significantly affected both on actual soil erosion intensity and soil conservation function. Geodetector analysis revealed that the primary factors influencing soil erosion intensity were vegetation cover and elevation, along with their two - factor interaction. Regarding the soil conservation function, the main influencing factors were elevation and precipitation, with the interaction dominated by elevation. This study should provide a theoretical basis and scientific reference for ecological protection and sustainable development in the alpine region of the upper Yellow River Basin.

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