Abstract
The Chinese Loess Plateau, a region of remarkable ecological and economic value, grapples with significant water management challenges due to its distinctive geology and climate. This perspective offers a short review of the eco-environmental protection measures undertaken in the Loess Plateau, underscoring the transformative impacts of initiatives such as the “Grain for Green” project. However, it also highlights the enduring challenges, including land degradation, water resources issues, socio-economic inequities, and the implications of climate change. Particularly, water management emerges as a pivotal issue with far-reaching repercussions for soil conservation, biodiversity, and human livelihoods. The paper concludes by proposing future actions, emphasizing the necessity for policy modifications, novel initiatives, and research to tackle these challenges and foster sustainable development in the Loess Plateau. The insights gained from this region could offer invaluable lessons for other regions confronted with similar challenges, thereby contributing to global efforts to mitigate desertification and champion sustainable development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References Cited
Chen, H., Fleskens, L., Schild, J., et al., 2022. Impacts of Large-Scale Landscape Restoration on Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Ecosystem Services in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Landscape Ecology, 37(1): 329–346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-021-01346-z
Chen, Y. P., Wang, K. B., Lin, Y. S., et al., 2015. Balancing Green and Grain Trade. Nature Geoscience, 8: 739–741. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2544
Dang, D. L., Li, X. B., Li, S. K., et al., 2023. Changing Rural Livelihood Activities may Reduce the Effectiveness of Ecological Restoration Projects. Land Degradation & Development, 34(2): 362–376. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4465
Delang, C. O., Yuan, Z., 2015. China’s Grain for Green Program: A Review of the Largest Ecological Restoration and Rural Development Program in the World. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11505-4
Deng, L., Shangguan, Z. P., Li, R., 2012. Effects of the Grain-for-Green Program on Soil Erosion in China. International Journal of Sediment Research, 27(1): 120–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6279(12)60021-3
Feng, X. M., Fu, B. J., Piao, S. L., et al., 2016. Revegetation in China’s Loess Plateau is Approaching Sustainable Water Resource Limits. Nature Climate Change, 6(11): 1019–1022. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3092
Fu, B. J., Wang, S., Liu, Y., et al., 2017. Hydrogeomorphic Ecosystem Responses to Natural and Anthropogenic Changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 45: 223–243. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020552
He, X. D., Li, P. Y., 2020. Surface Water Pollution in the Middle Chinese Loess Plateau with Special Focus on Hexavalent Chromium (Cr6+): Occurrence, Sources and Health Risks. Exposure and Health, 12(3): 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-020-00344-x
Jiang, C., Zhang, H. Y., Wang, X. C., et al., 2019. Challenging the Land Degradation in China’s Loess Plateau: Benefits, Limitations, Sustainability, and Adaptive Strategies of Soil and Water Conservation. Ecological Engineering, 127: 135–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.11.018
Jiang, Z. Y., Li, X. Y., Ma, Y. J., 2013. Water and Energy Conservation of Rainwater Harvesting System in the Loess Plateau of China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 12(8): 1389–1395. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60553-5
Li, P. Y., He, S., Yang, N. N., et al., 2018. Groundwater Quality Assessment for Domestic and Agricultural Purposes in Yan’an City, Northwest China: Implications to Sustainable Groundwater Quality Management on the Loess Plateau. Environmental Earth Sciences, 77(23): 775. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7968-3
Li, P. Y., He, X. D., Guo, W. Y., 2019. Spatial Groundwater Quality and Potential Health Risks Due to Nitrate Ingestion through Drinking Water: A Case Study in Yan’an City on the Loess Plateau of Northwest China. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 25(1/2): 11–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2018.1553612
Li, P. Y., Qian, H., 2018. Water in Loess. In: Meyers, R. A., ed., Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York. 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_968-1
Li, P. Y., Qian, H., Wu, J. H., 2014. Environment: Accelerate Research on Land Creation. Nature, 510(7503): 29–31. https://doi.org/10.1038/510029a
Li, P. Y., Wu, J. H., Zhou, W. F., et al., 2023. Hazard Hydrogeology. Springer Cham, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48427-8
Li, Y. R., Zhang, X. C., Cao, Z., et al., 2021. Towards the Progress of Ecological Restoration and Economic Development in China’s Loess Plateau and Strategy for more Sustainable Development. Science of the Total Environment, 756: 143676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j-scitotenv.2020.143676
Liang, H. B., Xue, Y. Y., Li, Z. S., et al., 2022. Afforestation may Accelerate the Depletion of Deep Soil Moisture on the Loess Plateau: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis. Land Degradation & Development, 33(18): 3829–3840. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4426
Pye, K., 1995. The Nature, Origin and Accumulation of Loess. Quaternary Science Reviews, 14(7/8):653–667. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(95)00047-X
Qu, L. L., Li, Y. R., Wang, Y. S., et al., 2022. Dynamic Evolution and the Mechanism of Modern Gully Agriculture Regional Function in the Loess Plateau. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 32(11): 2229–2250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-2045-y
Ran, L. S., Lu, X. X., Fang, N. F., et al., 2018. Effective Soil Erosion Control Represents a Significant Net Carbon Sequestration. Scientific Reports, 8: 12018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30497-4
Wang, K. B., Deng, L., Shangguan, Z. P., et al., 2021. Sustainability of Eco-Environment in Semi-Arid Regions: Lessons from the Chinese Loess Plateau. Environmental Science & Policy, 125: 126–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.08.025
Wang, Y. H., Brandt, M., Zhao, M. F., et al., 2020. Do Afforestation Projects Increase Core Forests? Evidence from the Chinese Loess Plateau. Ecological Indicators, 117: 106558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106558
Wang, Z. J., Xu, M. Z., Liu, X., et al., 2022. Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load Reduction in a Typical Loess Plateau Watershed. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 39: 100992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.100992
Wang, Z. Z., Fu, B. J., Wu, X. T., et al., 2023. Esca** Social-Ecological Traps through Ecological Restoration and Socioeconomic Development in China’s Loess Plateau. People and Nature, 5(4): 1364–1379. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10513
Wu, D., Zou, C. X., Cao, W., et al., 2019. Ecosystem Services Changes between 2000 and 2015 in the Loess Plateau, China: a Response to Ecological Restoration. PLoS One, 14(1): e0209483. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209483
Yan, X. W., Liu, J. B., Rühland, K. M., et al., 2022. Climate Change as the Dominant Driver of Recent Ecological Changes in a Semi-Arid Alpine Lake from the Chinese Loess Plateau. Journal of Paleolimnology, 68(1): 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-020-00167-5
Yu, Y., Zhao, W. W., Martinez-Murillo, J. F., et al., 2020. Loess Plateau: From Degradation to Restoration. Science of the Total Environment, 738: 140206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140206
Yu, Y., Zhu, R. P., Liu, D. J., et al., 2023. Understanding the Balance between Soil Conservation and Soil Water Storage Capacity during the Process of Vegetation Restoration in Semi-Arid Watersheds in the Loess Plateau, China. Land Degradation & Development, 34(18): 5805–5815. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4878
Zeng, Y., Ran, L. S., Fang, N. F., et al., 2022. How to Balance Green and Grain in Marginal Mountainous Areas? Earth’s Future, 10(5): e2021EF002552. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021ef002552
Zhang, B. Q., Wu, P. T., Zhao, X. N., et al., 2014. Assessing the Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Rainwater Harvesting Potential (1971-2010) on the Chinese Loess Plateau Using the VIC Model. Hydrological Processes, 28(3): 534–544. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9608
Zhao, G., Mu, X., Wen, Z., et al., 2013. Soil Erosion, Conservation, and eco-Environment Changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Land Degradation & Development, 24(5): 499–510. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2246
Acknowledgments
Doctor Linjie **e is acknowledged for preparing the vegetation cover image used in this study. The anonymous reviewers are also helpful in further improving the quality of the manuscript, and we are grateful for their constructive comments and suggestions. Financial support has been received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42072286), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2023YFC3706901), and the Qinchuangyuan “Scientist + Engineer” Team Development Program of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology (No. 2022KXJ-005). The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-024-1970-3.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, P., Kou, X., Wang, Y. et al. Building a More Sustainable Chinese Loess Plateau. J. Earth Sci. 35, 283–287 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-024-1970-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-024-1970-3