Spatial and temporal patterns of soil erosion in the Tibetan Plateau from 1984 to 2013北大核心CSCD

Soil erosion has a critical effect on ecological security and socioeconomics, which may deteriorate ecosystem services and common human well-being. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) was applied to assess soil erosion from 1984 to 2013 in the Tibetan Plateau and analyzed the temporal and spatial variation of soil erosion intensity. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial variation rates of soil erosion were explored across different ecosystems. The results indicated that the annual soil erosion fuctuated in the Tibetan Plateau, the soil erosion intensity decreased from south to north, and the most serious soil erosion was mainly distributed in the southern Tibetan Plateau (Xigaze and Changdu regions, Lhasa, and north of the Shannan region). The soil erosion intensity was higher in shrub, alpine meadow, and sparse vegetation ecosystems. The highest soil erosion was found in alpine meadow (2.17 × 1010 t), followed by alpine grassland (1.59 × 1010 t) and sparse vegetation (1.30 × 1010 t) ecosystems. Meanwhile, although the most serious soil erosion intensity was found in the regions of 3 000-4 000 m altitude, the soil erosion was mainly observed in the regions of 4 000-5 000 m altitude. In the three most recent decades, annual soil erosion decreased at a rate of-1.78 × 108 t/a. Additionally, soil erosion mainly increased in south of the Qiangtang Plateau and in the periphery of the Qaidam basin. Decreased soil erosion was mainly found along the Hengduan Mountains, central Himalayas. Although the increased annual normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) had positive effects for soil protection, changes in soil erosion was mainly controlled by the change of annual precipitation. Thus, the fragility of ecological systems and increased rainfall erosivity accounted for the obviously increased soil erosion in the alpine grassland ecosystem (1.19 × 10 t/a). However, increased ecosystem stability and decreased rainfall erosivity contributed to the decreased soil erosion in forest and shrub ecosystems, by-0.77 × 10 t/a and-1.65 × 10 t/a, respectively. The slightly decreased rainfall erosivity accounted for a decrease of soil erosion in the sparse vegetation ecosystem (-0.44 × 10 t/a). Meanwhile, soil erosion has decreased in the alpine meadow ecosystem over the past 30 years, which may owing to the relatively higher NDVI that neutralized the increase of rainfall erosivity to some extent. This study revealed serious soil erosion regions and ecosystems in the Tibetan Plateau and explored possible reasons for variations in soil erosion in different ecosystems, which may provide a scientific reference for soil erosion conservation and control in the near future. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.