ASSESSMENT OF SOIL LOSS FROM LAND USE/LAND COVER CHANGE AND DISASTERS IN THE LONGMEN SHAN MOUNTAINS, CHINA

Soil erosion is the main cause of the decline in global available land resources, and China is one of the countries suffering from severe soil erosion. In this paper, the RUSLE model and GIS were used to assess the changes in soil erosion in different ecosystems and counties. The results showed that from 2005 to 2017, the highest rate of ecosystem change was in the other ecosystems category, with an increase in mean soil loss to 4.06 t.ha(-1).year(-1). For the counties, the highest soil erosion was recorded in Maoxian County during the study period, because Maoxian County was one of the severely affected counties in the Wenchuan Earthquake. The mean soil loss in Yingjing was relatively small, as the estimates for 2005 and 2017 were 0.08 t.ha(-1).year(-1) and 0.09 t.ha(-1).year(-1), respectively. The areas with severe soil loss are along rivers, mainly distributed along the Minjiang and Tuojiang River basins and their tributaries. The findings of our study will be helpful for identifying high-risk zones, and developing policies to minimize human, environmental and economic losses in any disastrous event.