Similarity Analysis: Revealing the Regional Difference in Geomorphic Development in Areas with High and Coarse Sediment Yield of the Loess Plateau in China

The development of loess landforms is controlled by underlying, pre-existing paleotopography. Previous studies have focused on the inheritance of loess landform and the control of underlying paleotopography on modern terrain based on the digital elevation model (DEM), while the similarities and differences between modern terrain and underlying paleotophotography have not been directly spatialized. In this study, areas with high and coarse sediment yield (AHCSY) in the Loess Plateau of China were selected to form the study area, and the DEM of the study area’s underlying paleotophotography was reconstructed using detailed geological maps, loess thickness maps, and underlying paleotopographic information. The hypsometric integral (HI) and spatial similarity analysis methods were used to compare the spatialized difference between underlying and modern terrain of the Loess Plateau from the perspectives of the landform development stage and surface elevation, respectively. The results of the HI method demonstrate that essentially, there are similarities between the geomorphologic development stages of underlying and modern terrain, and only some local differences exist in some special areas. The results regarding the spatialized coefficient of relative difference and the Jensen–Shannon divergence demonstrate that the thicker the loess is, the weaker the similarity is, and vice versa. Meanwhile, according to the present loess landform division, the order of regional similarity from low to high is as follows: loess tableland, broken loess tableland, hilly regions, dunes, and the Yellow River Trunk. The use of the similarity analysis method to analyze similarities between underlying and modern terrain plays an important role in revealing the inheritance of loess landforms.