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Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2025, Vol. 17 Issue (12): 1761-1784    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-025-0114-7     CSTR: 32272.14.JAL.02501147
Research article     
Soil erosion and sediment connectivity variations in the Hantaichuan Watershed, northern Loess Plateau, China from 1995 to 2020
SHAN Rui1, TIAN Peng2, LU Ang3, FAN Junjian3, GUO Xiaoxue1, ZHAO Yanbo2, MU Xingmin1,2, ZHAO Guangju1,2,3,*()
1State Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
2State Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China
3Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
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Abstract  

Over the past six decades, the implementation of soil and water conservation measures has significantly reduced soil erosion and sediment yield on the Loess Plateau, China. However, while the overall reduction is well-documented, the dynamic interplay between soil erosion potential and sediment connectivity, specifically how they spatially covary under land use/cover changes, remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, this study established a model framework by integrating the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE), index of connectivity (IC), and sediment delivery ratio (SDR) to evaluate the spatio-temporal variations in soil erosion and sediment yield in the Hantaichuan Watershed, northern Loess Plateau, China, from 1995 to 2020 and to estimate the effects of land use/cover changes and check dam construction on sediment yield. The results revealed that the soil erosion in the Hantaichuan Watershed decreased by 43.90% from 1995 to 2020 and the sediment yield decreased by 69.28% under the combination of land use/cover changes and check dam construction. The IC and soil erosion (IC-SE) map revealed both the coupling and decoupling covariation relationships between sediment connectivity and soil erosion. By 2020, areas with high connectivity and high erosion (I-E) covered only 18.67% of the watershed, while contributed more than 40.00% to the total erosion. The I-E zones were mainly located in the central part of the watershed where aeolian sands derived from the Hobq Desert are concentrated and were identified as critical areas for soil and water conservation. This study provides support for priority management of watershed conservation measures as well as a valuable reference for future studies.

Key words： soil erosion      revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model      index of connectivity (IC)      sediment delivery ratio (SDR)      land use/cover changes      check dam      Loess Plateau     
Received: 02 July 2025      Published: 31 December 2025
Corresponding Authors: *ZHAO Guangju (E-mail: gjzhao@nhri.cn)
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SHAN Rui
TIAN Peng
LU Ang
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GUO Xiaoxue
ZHAO Yanbo
MU Xingmin
ZHAO Guangju
Cite this article:

SHAN Rui, TIAN Peng, LU Ang, FAN Junjian, GUO Xiaoxue, ZHAO Yanbo, MU Xingmin, ZHAO Guangju. Soil erosion and sediment connectivity variations in the Hantaichuan Watershed, northern Loess Plateau, China from 1995 to 2020. Journal of Arid Land, 2025, 17(12): 1761-1784.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-025-0114-7     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2025/V17/I12/1761

Fig. 1 Location (a) and sub-basin zoning (b) of the Hantaichuan Watershed. DEM, digital elevation model. The numbers in Figure 1b are the serial numbers of sub-basins.
Dataset Data type Period Resolution Description Data source
DEM (m) Raster 2020 30 m ASTER DEM Geospatial Data Cloud (http://www.gscloud.cn/)
precipitation (mm) Time series 1995-2020 - Daily precipitation data of the Hantaichuan Watershed from four rainfall stations (Erzihao, Qingdamen, Xiangshawan, and Hantaimiao) Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China (1995-2020)
Sediment (kg/m3) Time series 1995-2020 - Suspended sediment concentrations at the Xiangshawan Hydrological Station Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China (1995-2020)
NDVI Raster 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 100 m NDVI data were obtained from AVHRR and MODIS NDVI products. Research Center for Digital Mountain and Remote Sensing Application, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (http://digitalmountain.imde.ac.cn)
Land use Raster 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 30 m Land use data were classified into six categories: arable land, forest land, grassland, water body, construction land, and bare land. Geographical Information Monitoring Cloud Platform (http://www.dsac.cn/)
Soil Raster 2020 1:1,000,000 Soil type map and the information on related soil properties National Earth System Science Data Center, National Science & Technology Infrastructure (http://loess.geodata.cn)
Table 1 Description and source of data
Fig. 2 Workflow of this study. P factor, soil conservation practice factor; C factor, cover management factor; LS factor, the combination of is the slope length and slope steepness factors; R factor, rainfall erosivity factor; K factor, soil erodibility factor; NDVI, normalized difference vegetation index; RI, roughness index; IC, index of connectivity; IC-SE, index of connectivity-soil erosion; SDR, sediment delivery ratio. IS index is the impedance index, reflecting the combined effects of topography, vegetation, and soil and water conservation measures; and the W factor is the impedance factor, reflecting the ability of vegetation and topography to resist sediment movement.
Fig. 3 Spatial distribution of soil erosion factors. (a), multi-year mean rainfall erosivity factor of 1995-2020; (b), soil erodibility factor; (c), slope length factor; (d), slope steepness factor.
Year Arable land Grassland Forest land Water body Construction land Bare land
Area (km2) Percentage (%) Area (km2) Percentage (%) Area (km2) Percentage (%) Area (km2) Percentage (%) Area (km2) Percentage (%) Area (km2) Percentage (%)
1995 80.65 9.22 629.43 71.96 15.28 1.75 41.74 4.77 8.64 0.99 98.96 11.31
2000 79.72 9.11 635.50 72.65 31.84 3.64 41.87 4.79 8.43 0.96 77.34 8.85
2005 74.78 8.55 631.90 72.24 31.07 3.55 41.74 4.77 21.60 2.47 73.61 8.42
2010 73.67 8.42 630.72 72.11 30.75 3.52 41.73 4.77 26.91 3.08 70.92 8.10
2015 68.79 7.86 634.08 72.49 30.90 3.53 41.44 4.74 42.95 4.91 56.54 6.47
2020 60.06 6.87 636.75 72.80 31.49 3.60 41.25 4.72 59.86 6.84 45.29 5.17
Table 2 Land use change in the Hantaichuan Watershed
Fig. 4 Spatial distribution of land use type in the Hantaichuan Watershed in 1995 (a), 2000 (b), 2005 (c), 2010 (d), 2015 (e), and 2020 (f)
Fig. 5 Spatial distribution of soil conservation practice factor in the Hantaichuan Watershed in 1995 (a), 2000 (b), 2005 (c), 2010 (d), 2015 (e), and 2020 (f)
Fig. 6 Spatial distribution of cover management factor in the Hantaichuan Watershed in 1995 (a), 2000 (b), 2005 (c), 2010 (d), 2015 (e), and 2020 (f)
Fig. 7 Spatio-temporal change in soil erosion in the sub-basins of the Hantaichuan Watershed from 1995 to 2020. (a), 1995; (b), 2000; (c), 2005; (d), 2010; (e), 2015; (f), 2020.
Fig. 8 Spatio-temporal change in IC in the Hantaichuan Watershed from 1995 to 2020. (a), 1995; (b), 2000; (c), 2005; (d), 2010; (e), 2015; (f), 2020.
Fig. 9 Spatial distribution of SDR in the sub-basins of the Hantaichuan Watershed in 1995 (a), 2000 (b), 2005 (c), 2010 (d), 2015 (e), and 2020 (f)
Fig. 10 Spatial distribution of simulated sediment yield with the trapping effects of check dams in the sub-basins in the Hantaichuan Watershed in 1995 (a), 2000 (b), 2005 (c), 2010 (d), 2015 (e), and 2020 (f)
Fig. 11 Spatial distribution of estimated sediment yield in the sub-basins of the Hantaichuan Watershed in 1995 (a), 2000 (b), 2005 (c), 2010 (d), 2015 (e), and 2020 (f)
Fig. 12 Comparison between observed and simulated sediment yield at the Xiangshawan Hydrological Station from 1995 to 2020
Fig. 13 IC-SE map of the Hantaichuan Watershed from 1995 to 2020. (a), 1995-1999; (b), 2000-2004; (c), 2005-2009; (d), 2010-2014; (e), 2015-2020. i-E represents low connectivity and high erosion; I-E represents high connectivity and high erosion; i-e represents low connectivity and low erosion; and I-e represents high connectivity and low erosion.
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