Soil degradation in China

The Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project 1995 to

2015
645 000km2 east of Tibetan plateau
Most eroded place on earth
Giant gullies
Vegetation covered removed, rainfall washed away,
immediately runs off in gully 95% is run off
Used to take 100 days to run off to Yellow river
Used to be grassland intact ecosystem
Now, Yellow river from Tibetan plateau to Northern China to
the sea
River is also known as the Mother River due to development
of Chinese civilization 10,000 years ago along the river
Initial impacts by logging, tried to plant crops on steep slopes
and free grazed sheep until denuded, exploited the land, 1
million tonnes of sediment chocked the Yellow river, for
housing, firewood, ancient practices
Dust storms from the Loess plateau effects entire Asia,
mainly North China
Increases Green house effect
1995 started, degraded eco, absence of vegetation cover,
soil stability, natural fertility, ability to absorb water,
sequester carbon had been lost
LP illustrates the fact that human impact without considering
environment ecosystem,
Floods and then droughts for rest of the year and famine
LP people were trapped in poverty and ecological
degradation
The more they try to make a living, the worse the
environment became unsustainable agricultural practices
Intact ecosystem + Chinese government, trying to improve
soil and thus economy
Ecologic renewal
They want us to plant trees even in good land, but they dont
want to plant trees because you cant eat trees, but it holds
the soil down, making it better for crop growth
Economic and ecological had to be equal
Farmers to improve income yet preserves the environment
how?
Farmers paid for labour, they also had land use rights and all
the output,
All they wanted was productive field to grow crops
250-300mm rainfall a year sufficient for rainfall eco, water
goes down eroded gullies, not absorbed, drought

small dams were built to catch rain to be used for the rest of
the year
sustainable water management is required for long term
viability
not a panacea tree planting,
trees planted in 1995, the survival rate was problematic
because the soil would not support the trees
grasses and bushes increases soil stability and water
absorption, soil fertility
active measures such as dune stabilization, to hold sand, to
protect plants
last decade, shown to rehab large scale ecosystem, soil
stability, reduced erosion, return natural stability, return of
diverse plants and animals biodiversity, water absorption and
flow, steady stream throughout the year, sequestered
carbon, carbon balance
insects, birdsother plants and frogs
not introducing anything new, just correcting the mistakes
local income quadruple in a decade
new crops practices replacing old agricultural practices
vineyards and orchards
greenhouses increases the growing season
pen feeding increases out put instead of free grazing
reducing impact on slope lands
7% of arable land but 22% of population
restore agricultural land is to increases food security
thick soil layer but no nutrients
in other areas of the world, the soil is too thin, active erosion
process can be stopped to prevent the point of no return
top soil layer is only a few inches in South china, soil
exploited, no longer can be used
restore vegetation cover, restore carbon cycle, dust reduced,
run-off decreased
impossible to estimate increase biodiversity, increase soil
nutrients, hydrological cycle, sequester carbon
employing them (farmers) in conservation of large scale
ecosystem, they benefit as well