Evaluating the impact of soil erosion on soil quality in an agricultural land, northeastern China

The impact of soil erosion on soil quality is still not systematically understood. The purpose of this study was thus to quantify the impact of soil erosion on soil quality and its change with slope morphology in an agricultural field, northeastern China based on radionuclide 137 Cs, unmanned aerial vehicle derived high resolution digital elevation model, and soil sampling. 137 Cs method yielded an average soil erosion rate of − 275 t km −2 yr −1 ranging from − 1870 to 1557 t km −2 yr −1 . The soil quality index derived from total dataset (SQI_TDS) can be well explained by that derived from minimum data set (SQI_MDS) with a determination coefficient R 2 of 0.874. SOM, sand, and cation exchange capacity in the MDS play more important roles than other soil indicators. Soil quality was significantly affected by soil erosion, with Adj. R 2 of 0.29 and 0.33 for SQI_TDS and SQI_MDS, respectively. The spatial variations of soil erosion and soil quality were both affected by slope topography. Soil erosion must be controlled according to topographic and erosion characteristics in northeastern China.