The management of soil and water conservation in the Loess Plateau of China: Present situations, problems, and counter-solutions

The Loess Plateau, located in the upper and middle reaches of China′s Yellow River, is both the largest and deepest loess deposit in the world. Over 60% of this land is a gully-hill dominated region owing to massive soil erosion during the extensive cultivation activities over the past thousands of years. Issues regarding soil and water conservation in the Loess Plateau have always attracted great attention from the state government, and various types of models have emerged for soil and water conservation in this land area. However, there is no systematic summary of models for soil and water conservation at the regional scale in the Loess Plateau. In the present study, four dominant models of soil and water conservation were identified in the Loess Plateau since 1949, after the founding of the People′s Republic of China. The biological model is mainly the Grain to Green Project, comprising afforestation for barren hills and plantation for enclosed hills. The engineering model mainly comprised the construction of terraces and check-dams, as well as the recently adopted gully control and land reclamation projects. The comprehensive management model of small watersheds is mainly embodied by the regulation of slope and gully areas through the combination of biological and engineering models. A comprehensive model at the regional scale emphasized the integrated protection, systematic restoration, and comprehensive management, to achieve sustainable development in the elements of ecology, society, and economy systems. Based on the existing problems with the models for soil and water conservation in the Loess Plateau, we have presented a strategy for the adjustment and optimization of models for soil and water conservation in this region to provide a scientific basis for ecological restoration and soil erosion management in the Loess Plateau.