International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Soil and Water Conservation Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/iswcr

Review Paper

The challenge of soil loss control and vegetation restoration in the

karst area of southwestern China
Ligang Zhou a, b, Xiangdong Wang a, b, *, Zhaoyan Wang a, b, Xiaoming Zhang a, b,
Cheng Chen a, b, Huifang Liu a, b
a
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Research and Hydropower Research, Beijing,
100048, China
b
Research Center of Water and Soil Conservation Ecological Engineering and Technology, Beijing, 100048, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Soil loss, both from surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage, in the karst regions of southwestern
Received 16 August 2019 China is a serious environmental problem that threatens sustainability in that region. The surface soil
Received in revised form loss has been extensively studied, and many studies have been conducted to investigate the causes,
12 December 2019
impacts and mechanisms involved, but the study of subsurface soil leakage has received little attention
Accepted 13 December 2019
Available online 16 December 2019
due to the difficulties in studying the natural conditions. There is no consensus on the overall proportions
between surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage. To control soil loss, improve ecological restoration,
and help locals out of poverty, the Chinese government carried out a series of ecological restoration
Keywords:
Karst
projects in the karst regions of southwestern China starting in the 1980s. As a result, the intensity and
Soil loss areal extent of soil loss continues to decrease and the ecological situation is steadily improving. However,
Vegetation restoration because of the fragile ecosystem in the karst regions, the soil loss control is a long-term task, and the soil
Southwestern China loss in some karst regions continues to be a problem. Subsequently, we put forward some suggestions for
the policy makers relative to conservation of soil loss and vegetation restoration. These suggestions
include: (1) government, private organizations and individuals are encouraged to raise funds for soil loss
control and vegetation restoration; (2) nature reserves should be established to increase biodiversity; (3)
engineering projects such as small reservoirs, ponds, and flow diversion channels should be constructed
in marginal karst regions.
© 2019 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and
Power Press. Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-
ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2. Characteristics of soil loss in the karst areas of southwestern China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.1. The imbalance of soil formation and soil loss rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2. The coexistence of surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3. Factors affecting soil loss in karst areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1. Natural processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.1. Geology and geomorphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.2. Hydrological conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.1.3. Vegetation coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2. Human activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4. Vegetation restoration and challenges for soil loss control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

* Corresponding author. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of

Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Research and Hydropower
Research, Beijing, 100048, China.
E-mail address: zzlpgp@163.com (X. Wang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2019.12.001
2095-6339/© 2019 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and Power Press. Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This
is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34 27

5. Summary and conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

1. Introduction Autonomous Region (0.08 million km2, 34.73%) (Cao, Lu, Yang,
Jiang, & Kang, 2011; Zeng et al., 2018) (Fig. 1), the karst areas
Karst topography is defined by the geological action of water on have a population of nearly 200 million, of which minority groups
soluble rocks, such as carbonate, gypsum, limestone and dolomite, account for approximately 30 million. The population and land
which is dominated by chemical dissolution and supplemented by pressure have led the farmers to increasingly expand into areas
the mechanical actions of erosion or collapse due to water and is a with steeply sloping topography and as a result, large parts of the
general term for the phenomena arising from these actions (Wang, forests in the karst areas of southwestern China have been defor-
Wang, Sheng, & Tian, 2018a; Guo et al., 2007). The total area of ested, which has accelerated the soil loss. Consequently, a signifi-
global karst landforms is approximately 22 million km2, accounting cant area of karst (~0.13 million km2) that was previously covered
for approximately 12% of the total area in the world, and these areas by shrubs and trees was gradually converted to bare soil (Brandt
are inhabited by nearly 1 billion people (Jiang, Lian, & Qin, 2014). et al., 2018).
The karst regions of southwestern China is the largest karst region Soil loss is a serious environmental problem that threatens the
in the world and experiences the strongest effects from the karst sustainability and strong development of human society (Gao &
processes, it is also the most complex and fragile ecological envi- Wang, 2019; Li et al., 2017; Zhao & Hou, 2019). In the karst re-
ronment among the global karst regions. With an area of approx- gions of southwestern China, which is a distinctive geological
imately 0.53 million km2 that is largely in Guizhou Province (0.12 environment, the long-term effects of karst process make the car-
million km2, with 61.17% of the region’s total land area), Yunnan bonate rocks highly soluble, and causes air pockets to form under
Province (0.11 million km2, 30.07%) and Guangxi Zhuang the rocks, which makes the soil loss unique, complex, and difficult

Fig. 1. The major provinces in the karst regions of southwestern China.

28 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
to observe. The soil loss not only includes surface soil loss, but also
subsurface soil leakage along underground conduits, such as pores,
fissures, funnels, and even underground rivers. Due to worldwide
concern about soil loss, soil loss models play an important role in
estimating soil loss at large scale. The models not only provide both
quantitative and qualitative estimation of the phenomenon under
various conditions but also estimate the spatial and temporal pat-
terns of soil loss (Li et al., 2015; bib_citation_to_be_resolvedPhinzi
& Ngetar, 2019; Teng, Hu, Zhou, Zhou, & Shi, 2019). Consequently,
the soil loss models serve as guides for policy formulation and the
implementation of effective strategies for the conservation of soil
and water resource at large scale (Brinkmann & Parise, 2012; Peng
& Wang, 2012; bib_citation_to_be_resolved; Phinzi & Ngetar,
2019). Several models have been developed in karst regions of
southwestern China for assessment of soil loss, including empirical
models, such as the universal soil loss equation (USLE), revised
universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and its enhancement (Chen,
Oguchi, & Wu, 2017; Gao & Wang, 2019; bib_citation_to_be_r-
esolved; Phinzi & Ngetar, 2019), and physical models, such as the
water erosion prediction project (WEPP) (Flanagan, Gilley, & Franti,
2007; Laflen, Lane, & Foster, 1991; Zhang, Li, & Ding, 2005), Limburg
soil erosion model (LISEM)(Jia & Zheng, 2004) and European soil
erosion model (EUROSEM) (Sogon, Penven, Bonte, & Muxart, 1999).
Empirical models have been widely used in low-slope regions at a
relatively large spatial scale due to their simple structures and few
required parameters, and the strong applicability of geographic
information system (GIS) and remote sensing technologies (Gao &
Wang, 2019). The RUSLE model has also been applied to the karst
areas of southwestern China (Chen et al., 2017; Feng et al., 2016;
Zeng et al., 2011, 2017, 2018), however, this application ignored
karst fissures, including less erodible soil in areas with severe rocky
desertification, and erosion-resistant bedrock outcrops, and thus
may have overestimated karst soil loss(Gao & Wang, 2019).
To control soil loss, improve ecological restoration, and help
locals out of poverty, the Chinese government carried out a series of
ecological restoration projects in the karst regions of southwestern
China starting in the 1980s. However, in the case of thin soils,
insufficient soil nutrients, and low land productivity, the primary
consideration for ecological restoration is whether the soil nutri-
ents in shallow soil can meet the nutrient requirements for vege-
tation growth. Vegetation restoration and ecological reconstruction
in karst areas are systematic and large-scale projects; under-
standing how native plant communities overcome nutrient limi-
tations in the characteristically thin, nutrient-poor soils of karst
systems may provide solutions for the strategic restoration of the
degraded karst regions of southwestern China (Sophie M. Green,
2019). The goal of this paper was to comprehensively analyze the
characteristics of soil loss, the impact factors (natural and human
activities), and the challenges of soil loss control and vegetation
restoration in the karst regions of southwestern China. In addition,
we put forward several policy suggestions for decision-makers for
Table 1
Soil erosion rate and soil loss in the karst areas of southwestern China. Derived from Teng et al. (2019).
Region Province/Region
Southwestern Sichuan
China Chongqing
Yunnan
Guizhou
Guangdong
Guangxi
Hubei
Hunan
Total
Average
China
further control of soil loss and vegetation restoration.
2. Characteristics of soil loss in the karst areas of
southwestern China
2.1. The imbalance of soil formation and soil loss rate
The soil-forming material in the karst regions of southwestern
China is derived from the residual material after the weathering
and leaching of carbonate rocks. As the carbonate rocks are highly
soluble and approximately 90% of the substances are dissolved by
water and taken away, so the content of insoluble residual matters
are generally less than 10%. According to an analysis of data 132
samples in Guizhou Province, southwestern China, the average
content of residual substance was only 3.9%(Guangbin, Ji, Xiongfei,
& Yulun, 2013). Subsequently, only a few undissolved minerals
(<10%) are available for soil formation. Many scholars have studied
the rate of soil formation. For example, Wang, Liu, and Zhang
(2004) and Su (2002) reported that the formation of 1 cm soil
from undissolved carbonate bedrock under the current climate
conditions and without anthropologic interface would take
approximately 2.5e8 thousand years, with an average of approxi-
mately 4 thousand years; that is, 0.0025 mm of soil is produced
every year, and approximately 2.5 m3 km-2 yr-1 is of soil formed (Su,
2002; Wang et al., 2004). Li, Shao, Yang, and Bai (2008) also re-
ported that the soil formation rates in the karst region of south-
western China were approximately 80 times slower than those in
non-karst areas. However, human activities, such as the use of
large quantities of acid fertilizers and cultivation practices; natural
processes; and extreme climates, such as extreme drought or
extreme rainfall events, play important roles in soil formation. A
study by Sophie et al. (2019) showed that the growth activities of
plant roots, the application of inorganic fertilizers and farming
activities on steep slopes all contributed to the physical and
chemical weathering of the carbonate rocks, which exacerbated the
soil formation(Sophie M. Green, 2019).
However, all soil loss rates and the total soil losses are high and
are far greater than the soil formation rate in the karst regions of
southwestern China. Teng et al. (2019) used satellite images, field
samples, and the RUSLE model to quantitatively estimate the soil
loss in China, and their results showed that the average soil loss rate
and the average total soil loss in the karst regions of southwestern
China were 3.02 t ha-1 yr-1 and 78.52
106 t yr-1, respectively
(Table 1). The rate of soil loss was far greater than the maximum soil
loss tolerance (0.5 t ha-1 yr-1) in the karst regions. In general, the
rates of soil formation and soil loss in the karst regions of south-
western China are extremely unbalanced.
2.2. The coexistence of surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage
Surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage are typical soil loss
Soil loss rate (t ha-1 yr-1) Total soil loss (
106 t yr-1)
5.73 261.03
5.07 39.96
4.54 168.32
2.72 47.07
1.88 28.37
1.71 38.15
1.41 22.76
1.14 22.49
24.20 628.15
3.02 78.52
1.44 1180.28
 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
Fig. 2. Severe soil loss in the karst regions of southwestern China.
Note: a indicates that severe soil loss caused surface topsoil to be almost lost, forming a karst rocky desertification landscape; b, c, and d indicate subsurface soil loss.
patterns in the karst regions of southwestern China (Fig. 2). Severe
surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage not only lead to land
degradation, reduction of soil depth and soil nutrients loss but also
exacerbate the occurrence of drought, floods, landslides and other
disasters (Zeng et al., 2017). In recent decades, many scholars have
studied soil loss and determined its causes and spatial evolution
(Bai, Wang, & Xiong, 2013; Borrelli et al., 2017; Brandt et al., 2018;
Jiang, Li, Groves, Yuan, & Kambesis, 2009; Li et al., 2015; Qin et al.,
2016; Zhou, Pan, & Zhou, 2017). Loss force (Tang et al., 2019), loss
processes(Dai, Peng, Yang, & Zhao, 2017a; Hu, Chen, Nie, & Wang,
2015; Li et al., 2011; Luo, Zheng, Li, & He, 2018), soil degradation
(Breg Valjavec, Zorn, & Carni, 2018), soil leakage ratio ((Chen and
Lian, 2016); Feng et al., 2016; Kereselidze, Matchavariani,
Kalandadze, & Trapaidze, 2013; 1999; Wei et al., 2010, 2016; Yan
et al., 2018), and soil loss mechanism (Zhou et al., 2012) have also
been explored. However, studies on soil loss have been mainly
concentrated in non-karst areas, and few studies have investigated
the fragile ecological-geological environment in the karst regions of
southwestern China. Only a few scholars have conducted pre-
liminary studies on surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage in
the areas with karst landform. For example, Bai et al. (2011) using
the 137Cs technique to assess the sediment and soil loss rates in a
29
Chinese polygonal karst depression, which indicated that the
sediment deposition rates ranged from 0.91 to 1.97 mm yr-1 from
1963 to 2007, respectively, and the average soil loss rate was
20 t km-2 yr-1, respectively. Chen et al. (2017) assessed soil loss
using a strategy involving alternative submodels based on the
RUSLE model in a karst basin of southwestern China and found that
the RUSLE model estimated a mean annual soil loss rate of
30.24 Mg ha-1 yr-1 from the 1980s to 2000s. Feng et al. (2016) also
found that the average soil loss rates on hillslopes simulated by the
RUSLE model were 0.22 and 0.10 Mg ha-1 yr-1 from 2006 to 2011 in a
partially cultivated peak-cluster depression basin and an undis-
turbed peak-cluster depression basin of northwestern Guangxi,
southwestern China, respectively. Although the soil loss, both from
surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage, in the karst regions
plays an important role in economic and social sustainable devel-
opment, the subsurface soil leakage has received little attention at
present due to the great difficulty of making direct observations on
them. Furthermore, because of the lack of theoretical research,
effective technical methods or data support, researchers have
ignored the contributions and impacts of subsurface soil leakage on
vegetation growth and ecological construction (Yan, Dai, Wang, Jin,
& Mei, 2019). At present, the soil leakage phenomenon is not well
30 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
understood in China, and the two main viewpoints about soil loss
rates are that they are either high or low in the karst areas. Many
scholars (Bai et al., 2013; Bai., 2011; Chen et al., 2017; Xiong, Li, &
Long, 2012) have suggested that the soil leakage ratios in the
karst regions of southwestern China are high. A study of a karst
gorge showed that the volumetric ratio of the surface soil loss (75%)
was 3 times greater than that in the underground loss (Wei et al.,
2016). However, Feng et al. (2016) and De Vente et al. (2013) pro-
posed that soil leakage ratios in the karst regions are very low at a
large spatial scale, and only soil-filled cracks in the rock were
noticed at a small spatial scale (De Vente et al., 2013; Feng et al.,
2016). The debate about the soil leakage ratio ongoing.
3. Factors affecting soil loss in karst areas
The occurrence and development of soil loss in karst regions of
southwestern China are mainly caused by geological and geo-
morphology, hydrology, vegetation cover and human activities,
which can be attributed to two aspects: natural processes and
human factors.
3.1. Natural processes
3.1.1. Geology and geomorphology
Due to the Mesozoic Yanshan tectonic movement, the karst re-
gions of southwestern China were superimposed with the gener-
ation of new movements from the Himalayan mountains, forming a
steep and broken landscape pattern (Tang et al., 2010; Wang et al.,
2004). The carbonate rocks are highly soluble and long-term
leaching forms unique geomorphological features, such as surface
fissures, pipelines, and funnels; thus, the water and soils on the
slopes are easily lost along these conduits. Luo, Jiang, Han, Cao, and
Pei (2008) reported that from the top of a karst peak to the bottom
of the depression, the soil loss on the slopes is dominated by sub-
surface soil leakage, while soil loss on the depression is dominated
by surface soil loss. The rate of soil formation in the karst regions of
southwestern China is extremely low; 4 ~ 8.5 thousand years are
needed to form 1 cm soil, which is 10 ~ 80 times slower than the
non-karst regions (Jiang et al., 2014; Su, 2002; Zhao & Hou, 2019).
The soil loss in some regions is exhausted and even bedrock is bare
after several years of soil erosion, and it is extremely difficult to
recover in the short term (Zhang, Bai, & He, 2011). Generally, most
soil profiles in the karst regions of southwestern China lack a C-
horizon, which cause the soils to be in direct contact with the
bedrock, and the soil loss easily occurs under light rainfall because
the adhesion between the topsoil and bedrock is greatly reduced
(Zeng et al., 2018). In addition, the thickness of the soil layer de-
creases, but the amount of soil loss increases as the slope increases.
Some studies report that soil loss increases sharply with increasing
the slope gradient. For example, when the slope gradient increases
from 10 ~ 15 to 40 , the thickness of the soil decreases from
120 cm to less than 20 cm but the amount of soil loss increases from
286 t km-2$yr-1 to 11,700 t km-2$yr-1(Jiang et al., 2014; Zhang, Dai,
Wang, Zeng, & Su, 2016). However, Zhang et al. (2018) found that
when the slope gradient increased, the soil loss on the slopes fol-
lowed the pattern of increasing, decreasing, and increasing again.
3.1.2. Hydrological conditions
Rainfall and temperature are drivers of soil loss and act as
chemical and mechanical factors for soil loss in the karst regions of
southwestern China (Dai, Peng, Zhao, Shao, & Yang, 2017; Yang
et al., 2010). A subtropical monsoon climate is dominant in this
region, with a mean annual temperature of 15e20  C and a mean
annual rainfall of 1200e2000 mm, which creates favorable hy-
drothermal conditions for soil loss due to the warm and humid
climate and the concurrent rain and heat. Yuan, Dai, Li, and Peng
(2016) and Dai et al. (2017) through indoor simulation experi-
ments, revealed that the runoff and sediment yield of the sloped
cropland were dominated by underground runoff and sediment
yield under light rainfall intensity (<50 mm h-1) and moderate
rainfall intensity (50 ~ 70 mm h-1), while the surface runoff and
sediment yield were generally greater than the subsurface runoff
and sediment yield. Li et al. (2011) studied in a karst area of Spain
showed that the antecedent soil water content had a significant
impact on the runoff and sediment generation; wet soil can
generate surface runoff and sediment with only 12 mm of rainfall. A
study by Zavala, Jordan, Bellinfante, & Gil (2010) also reported that
the antecedent soil moisture had a significant impact on runoff and
sediment production. Currently, the hydrological cycle and
ecological environment are faced with severe challenges due to
global climate change. The frequency of extreme climate events,
such as drought or extreme rainfall, have increased in the past 50
years in some of the karst regions of southwestern China. During
the extreme drought that continued for three consecutive years in
Qujing City, Yunnan Province, southwestern China, the area of karst
rocky desertification increased by 6.8% annually from 2005 to
2011(SFA, 2012). These extreme changes in the climate and envi-
ronment exacerbate soil loss in the karst regions of southwestern
China.
3.1.3. Vegetation coverage
Low vegetation coverage is another important factor affecting
soil loss in karst regions of southwestern China. A study by Jiang
et al. (2009) showed that rocky desertification caused by severely
soil loss almost no longer occurs under the vegetation coverage
exceeds 60%, while the soil loss is strong when the vegetation
coverage is less than 20%. Li et al. (2011) also found that the soil loss
is very weak even the rainfall is 55 mm h-1 when the vegetation
coverage is higher than 50% in a typical karst region in Spain. In the
karst regions of southwestern China, since the characteristics of
thin soil layer, insufficient of soil nutrients such as organic matter
and humus, few microbial species, high infiltration rate and diffi-
cult to effectively use groundwater resources, as a result, hinder the
vegetation growth((Chen and Lian, 2016); Lv, Wang, & Cai, 2007).
3.2. Human activities
Problems in karst areas, karst management, and the sustain-
ability of karst environments are receiving growing interest
throughout the world due to the importance of natural resources
and the need to protect and properly exploit these areas.
(Brinkmann & Parise, 2012). However, unreasonable human activ-
ities such as cultivation on steep slopes (>25 ), destruction of for-
ests, overgrazing, and production, and construction activities can
lead to land degradation and soil loss. In addition, excessive pop-
ulation pressure leads to serious soil loss. The depression of the
economy in karst regions of southwestern China continues to
worsen and the population continues to grow; the demand for
food, energy and economic growth is constantly increasing. The
population density in the karst regions of southwestern China was
207 people/km2 in 2017, which far exceeds the limit of a reasonable
population capacity (~100 people/km2) at the current productivity
level (SFA, 2018). To feed the population, local residents have no
choice but to cut the short shrubs and trees to grow corn in steep
areas, or to burn the bushes on the hillslopes to fertilize the hill-
slopes in the fall hillslope, resulting in vicious circle of the
increasing the population leasing to excessive reclamation, which
exacerbate soil loss and depresses the economically (Jiang et al.,
2014). In particular, the Great Leap Forward resulted in great
deforestation, as farmers cut large amounts of timber to aliment
 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
furnace to melt pig iron, and as forests were cut to increase the
amount of farmland (Delang & Yuan, 2014). Deforestation also
continued during the Cultural Revolution (Delang & Yuan, 2014). In
addition, severe rural road erosion, housing excavation, and animal
trampling can cause roads to collapse and, in extreme cases, cause
landslides (Zhao & Hou, 2019).
Tourism in the karst areas is an important mode of poverty
alleviation and economic development. Tourism brings tourists and
thousands of jobs that help to increase the income of the local
residents’. However, as the numbers of tourists increases, the de-
mand for water and other resources will increase. Although the
karst regions of southwestern China have a subtropical monsoon
climate with abundant rainfall, karst fissures develop, and precip-
itation is easily lost through these conduits (Zhao & Hou, 2019).
Consequently, karst areas can experience severe water shortages,
especially from September to March. To maintain the quality of
tourism year-round, engineering measures for water allocation,
such as reservoirs, ponds, and water pipelines, are needed. Con-
struction of these measures will inevitably change the local hy-
drological processes, thereby aggravating soil loss (Brinkmann & Jo
Garren, 2011; Zhao & Hou, 2019).
4. Vegetation restoration and challenges for soil loss control
Soil loss is a common phenomenon throughout the world due to
the impact of natural and human activities, especially in the karst
areas of southwestern China. Teng et al. (2019) reported that the
soil loss ratio in the karst regions of southwestern China
(3.02 Mg ha-1 yr-1) was 2.1 times the national average soil loss ratio
(1.44 Mg ha-1 yr-1). After experiencing the destruction of forests
during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revaluation, the
Chinese government has attempted to become more influential in
the economic and ecological fields and has become more interested
in the soil loss and karst rocky desertification in the karst areas of
southwestern China during the past few decades (Wang et al., 2018;
Zhang et al., 2019; Zhao & Hou, 2019). Several major ecological
conservation and construction projects, including the Green for
Green Program, the Natural Forest Protection Program, The Fast-
Growing and High-Yielding Timber Plantation Development Pro-
gram in Key Regions and Planning Outline for Comprehensive
Management of Rocky Desertification in Karst Areas (2006e2015),
were implemented to reduce soil loss and to control karst rocky
desertification starting in the 1980s. However, insufficient surface
soil and soil nutrients are the main limiting factors for vegetation
restoration, and it is unclear whether the fragile ecosystem in the
karst areas of southwestern China (shallow soil, low soil fertility
and high percentage of rock outcrops) can provide the water and
nutrients needed for vegetation growth. It seems that the rock
outcrop rate is negatively correlated with the level of soil nutrients,
however, there were significant positive correlations between the
percentage of rock outcrops and the majority of soil nutrients
(Wang et al., 2018a). The main reason may be that rock outcrops can
improve the cycling and accumulation of soil nutrients and redis-
tribute the organic carbon and nutrients to nearby soil patches in
the karst system. Wang et al. (2018a) also found that the N:P in the
karst regions of southwestern China was 3.45, which is far lower
than the global average (13.1) and the average for China (9.3), but
significantly higher than those in some other fragile ecosystem in
China, including degraded grasslands, deserts, and estuarine wet-
lands. Many studies have examined the effects of ecosystem
restoration projects on individual soil parameters, including the soil
water content (Yang, Chen, Nie, & Wang, 2019) and soil organic
carbon stock (Deng, Guo, & Zhou, 2014; Tong et al., 2018; Xiao et al.,
2017), or only a few limited soil parameters, including the soil
quality (Zhang et al., 2019) and soil nutrients (Tong et al., 2017;
31
Vijith, Seling, & Dodge-Wan, 2017; Wang et al., 2018a, 2018b; Xiao
et al., 2018; Zhu, Shen, He, & Zhao, 2017). Zhang et al. (2019) re-
ported that vegetation restoration practices can greatly improve
soil physical and chemical quality in karst landscapes of south-
western China (Zhang et al., 2019). Other scholars have also found
that soil physical and chemical properties changed, and the nutri-
ents increased significantly after vegetation restoration projects
were implemented (Long, De Zhang, & He, 2017; Pang et al., 2018;
Peng et al., 2013). Tong et al. (2017, 2018) reported that tree-
planting projects in the karst areas of southwestern China have
increased the aboveground biomass carbon increased 9%
(þ0.05 Pg C yr-1), which indicated that the positive effects of these
ecosystem engineering projects may reduce the risks of soil loss
and desertification by increasing the vegetation cover and reducing
the sensitivity of the ecosystem to climate changes. Similarly, sat-
ellite images show going green and biomass increase in the karst
regions of southwestern China (Brandt et al., 2018; Macias-Fauria,
2018). A few scholars, however, have reported that the ecological
status did not show any sign of improvement due to the lack of
economic development and that the inappropriate human activ-
ities that have induced soil loss still exist in the karst regions of
southwestern China (Bai et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2004). At the same
time, they also acknowledged that the soil loss and karst rocky
desertification in the karst areas of southwestern China have not
expanded, which implies that the soil loss and karst rocky desert-
ification are essentially under control (Bai et al., 2013; Wang et al.,
2004). Therefore, we can conclude that the soil nutrient conditions
were sufficient for vegetation restoration and reconstruction in the
fragile ecosystem.
There have been positive outcomes from the implementation of
these ecological restoration projects, including reduced pressure
from the population and land requirement, and from the good
hydrothermal conditions in the karst regions of southwestern
China; the intensity and areal extent of soil loss continues to
decrease and the ecological situation is steadily improving. The
monitoring data showed that the average annual expansion rate of
the karst rocky desertification area caused by severe soil loss was
1.86%, 1.67%, 1.27%, and 3.45% in 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2016,
respectively (SFA, 2018). The artificial afforestation and protection
of grassland vegetation played a leading role in the reversal of karst
rocky desertification, with a contribution rate of 65.5%; the
contribution rate of the natural vegetation restoration due to
reduced population pressure and the adjustment of rural energy
structure adjustment was 24.4%; the contribution rate of agricul-
tural technology measures was 3.9%; and the contribution rate of
other factors was 6.2%(SFA, 2018), which indicates that the overall
trend of the expansion of soil loss has been effectively curbed, the
areas of karst rocky desertification land in the karst regions of
southwestern China has been continuously reduced, and the
ecological situation has steadily improved. However, because of the
fragile ecosystem in the karst regions, soil loss control is a long-
term task, soil loss in some regions continues to. In summary, the
challenges of soil loss control and vegetation restoration in karst
areas mainly include the following:
(a) The ecosystem is very fragile, which causes recovery to take a
long time. The characteristics of the karst regions of south-
western China, such as the unique double-layer hydrological
structure, high carbonate rock exposure, thin soil layer, poor
water retention, and fertilizer retention capacity, make the
fragile ecosystem vulnerable to disasters, easy to destroy and
difficult to remediate. At present, the vegetation is domi-
nated by shrubs (~56.5%) and the vegetation is still in the
primary stage of succession. Zhou, Luo, Zhou, Cai, and Zhao
(2018) report that it will take approximately 20 years for
32 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
karst rocky desertification to recover from degraded herb
communities to shrubs, approximately 47 years to arbor
forests, and nearly 80 years to stable climax communities.
(b) The areas require labor-intensive protection and is difficult to
govern. At present, the area of shrubs and arbor forests that
have been effectively protected in the karst regions of
southwestern China is only 47% of the total area; 15 million
hectares of shrubs and arbor forests need to be strengthened,
and approximately 10 million hectares of karst rocky
desertification land need to be treated (SFA, 2018). At the
same time, with the advancement of these ecological pro-
jects, some karst rocky desertification lands with better site
conditions have been gradually improved. The regions that
need to be treated next will be more difficult, and the costs of
governance are increasing.
(c) The lack of economic development and the very high pop-
ulation and land pressure create difficulties. The karst re-
gions of southwestern China, which are located in the middle
and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Pearl River, are an
important ecological security barrier zone and typically have
high levels of poverty. The per capita GDP is only approxi-
mately 71% of that of the country. Because farmers have
fewer ways to increase their income, they are more depen-
dent on agricultural land, and 211 counties continued to be
improved in 2017 (http://www.stats.gov.cn/). The population
density of this region is 207 people/km2, which is 1.5 times
the national average population density, and more than
twice the theoretical maximum (100 people/km2) of the
karst region (SFA, 2018). The most economically-deprived
people in the region are the farmers, who forge a living by
cultivating the characteristically thin soils that sit on top of
the carbonate rocks in the sub-tropical karst ecosystem
(Sophie M. Green, 2019).
(d) Man-made damage and natural disasters still exist, and the
partial deterioration of the land is difficult to eliminate. As
the income from grain production and subsidies is much
higher than the standard compensation for ecological ben-
efits, deforestation and cultivation still occur on steep slopes.
In remote villages, the use of fuelwood and overgrazing are
also putting pressure on soil loss control. Coupled with the
uncertainty of natural disaster and extreme climates, such as
droughts and freezes, as well as landslide, forest fires, and
forest pests, the consolidation and expansion of the soil loss
control and vegetation restoration have always faced serious
threats, and partial deterioration likely occurs without
continuous monitoring.
In the future, the most significant steps for controlling soil loss
and vegetation restoration in the karst regions of southwestern
China should be the following: (1) The government should increase
its budget for studying the mechanisms and processes of soil loss so
that it could construct an appropriate management system and
provide scientific references for land management (Zhao & Hou,
2019). At the same time, we cannot solely rely on government in-
vestment; if the government no longer provides compensation for
ecological improvements, farmers will become likely to reclaim
land on the steep slopes (>25 ); as a result, private organizations
and individuals are also encouraged to raise funds for soil preser-
vation and vegetation restoration. (2) In the karst regions of
southwestern China, large amounts of water are stored due to the
water resource are abundant, with an annual average precipitation
of 1000e2000 mm. However, surface water supplies are often
scarce due to the rapid percolation of the rainwater conduits within
karst landscapes. Subsequently, the construction of small reservoirs
and ponds, and flow diversion channels should be used to hold
water resources. Dams are built to form reservoirs or lakes, which
are used to introduce surface water and/or groundwater into low-
lying areas for the irrigation of farmland and drinking water, or
temporary pumping stations are built in cultivated areas such as
depressions and valleys to meet the needs of spring irrigation and
the water demands during drought (Zhou, Li, Jiang, & Tand, 2009).
A successful example of this type of practice is the construction of
Hongfeng Lake in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, southwestern
China. Hongfeng Lake has an area of approximately 57.2 km2, a
water depth of 10.52 m, a maximum depth of approximately 45 m,
and a storage volume of 0.6 billion m3, and it provides drinking
water for more than 300 million people (Longyang, 2019). Not only
did it hinder the expansion of soil loss but it also provided sufficient
soil water content for the restoration of the ecosystem in the karst
regions. (3) Methods for increasing the incomes of poor farmers in
the karst regions of southwestern China should be expanded,
including increasing the output of rural surplus labor, developing
ecological agriculture, continuously increasing compensation for
returning farmland to forests or grasslands, growing economical
plants, and developing ecotourism resources (Karst Geological
Forest Park), to improve their economic conditions, thereby
reducing the dependence of poor rural households on the agricul-
ture land for income. (4) Nature reserves should be established in
areas with severe soil loss and extensive karst rocky desertification
to achieve the maximum protection from soil loss. In nature re-
serves, farming and other human activities that may cause soil loss
without government permission should be forbidden (Zhao & Hou,
2019). A successful example of these practices is the construction of
the Maolan Nature Reserver in Libo County (107 52e108 05 E,
25 09e25 20 N), Guizhou Province, southwestern China. With an
area of approximately 21,000 ha, the forest area is approximately
19,000 ha and the forest coverage is approximately 90%. There are
1,203 species of plants and 2,028 species of animals. The reserve not
only has important scientific research value and great ecotourism
value but also a very large biological gene pool (Liu et al., 2018;
Zhengming, Yu, & Ran, 2011).
5. Summary and conclusion
Soil loss, both from surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage,
in the karst regions of southwestern China is a serious environ-
mental problem that threatens sustainability. The main factors for
soil loss are natural processes including geological, hydrological
and vegetation cover, and unreasonable human activities including
excessive population pressure, cultivation on steep slopes (>25 ),
production and construction activities. Surface soil loss has been
extensively studied, but the study of subsurface soil leakage has
received little attention at present due to the great limitations of
natural conditions. In addition, there are two main viewpoints
about soil loss rates that they are either high or low in the karst
regions of southwestern China. Therefore, the soil loss phenome-
non is not well understood in karst regions.
As a result of the implementation of a series of ecological
restoration projects and the good hydrothermal conditions in the
karst regions of southwestern China, the intensity and areal extent
of soil loss continues to decrease and the ecological situation is
steadily improving. However, because of the fragile ecosystem in
the karst regions, soil loss control is a long-term task, and the soil
loss in some karst regions continues to. In the future, we must pay
close attention to the following: first, the government should in-
crease its budget and the private organization and individuals are
also encouraged to raise funds for soil loss control and vegetation
restoration; second, engineering measures such as small reservoirs,
ponds, and flow diversion channels should be constructed in
marginal karst regions; third, nature reserves should be established
 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
to increase biodiversity; and finally, methods for poor farmers to
improve their economic conditions should be expanded, thereby
reducing the soil loss caused by human activities.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by National key research and devel-
opment plan project (2016YFC0502403), the Open Research Funds
of State Key Laboratoryof Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle
in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-
powerResearch (No. SKL2018CG04),and the National Natural Sci-
ence Foundation of China (No.51879281).
References
Bai, X.iaoyong (2011). Assessment of sediment and erosion rates by using the
caesium-137 technique in a Chinese polygonal karst depression. Environ. Earth
Sci., 64(8), 2151e2158.
Bai, X. Y., Wang, S. J., & Xiong, K. N. (2013). Assessing spatial-temporal evolution
processes of karst rocky desertification land: Indications for restoration stra-
tegies. Land Degradation & Development, 24(1), 47e56.
Borrelli, P., et al. (2017). An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use
change on soil erosion. Nature Communications, 8(1), 2013.
Brandt, M., Yue, Y., Wigneron, J. P., Tong, X., Tian, F., Jepsen, M. R., et al. (2018).
Satellite-observed major greening and biomass increase in south China karst
during recent decade. Earth’s Future, 6(7), 1017e1028.
Breg Valjavec, M., Zorn, M., & Carni, A. (2018). Bioindication of human-induced soil
degradation in enclosed karst depressions (dolines) using Ellenberg indicator
values (Classical Karst, Slovenia). The Science of the Total Environment, 640e641,
117e126.
Brinkmann, R., & Jo Garren, S. (2011). Karst and sustainability. Dordrecht,
Netherlands: Springer.
Brinkmann, R., & Parise, M. (2012). Karst environments: Problems, management,
human impacts, and sustainability: An introduction to the special issue. Journal
of Cave and Karst Studies, 74(2), 135e136.
Cao, J., Lu, S., Yang, D., Jiang, Z., & Kang, Z. (2011). Process of soil and water loss and
its control measures in karst regions, Southwestern China. Sci. Soil.Water Con-
serv., 9(2), 52e56 (In Chinese).
Chen, H., Oguchi, T., & Wu, P. (2017). Assessment for soil loss by using a scheme of
alterative sub-models based on the RUSLE in a Karst Basin of Southwest China.
Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 16(2), 377e388.
Chen, P., & Lian, Y. (2016). Modeling of soil loss and its impact factors in the guijiang
karst river basin in southern China. Environ. Earth Sci., 75(4).
Dai, Q., Peng, X., Yang, Z., & Zhao, L. (2017a). Runoff and erosion processes on bare
slopes in the karst rocky desertification area. Catena, 152, 218e226.
Dai, Q., Peng, X., Zhao, L., Shao, H., & Yang, Z. (2017b). Effects of underground pore
fissures on soil erosion and sediment yield on karst slopes. Land Degradation &
Development, 28(7), 1922e1932.
De Vente, Joris, J. P., Verstraeten, G., Govers, G., Vanmaercke, M., Van Rompaey, A.,
et al. (2013). Predicting soil erosion and sediment yield at regional scales:
Where do we stand? Earth-Science Reviews, 127, 16e29.
Delang, C. O., & Yuan, Z. (2014). China’s grain for green Program. Switzerland:
Springer International Publishing.
Deng, L., Guo, B., & Zhou, P. (2014). Land-use conversion and changing soil carbon
stocks in China’s ’grain-for green’ Program: A synthese. Global Change Biology,
20(11), 3544e3556.
Feng, T., Chen, H., Polyakov, V. O., Wang, K., Zhang, X., & Zhang, W. (2016). Soil
erosion rates in two karst peak-cluster depression basins of northwest Guangxi,
China: Comparison of the RUSLE model with 137Cs measurements. Geo-
morphology, 253, 217e224.
Flanagan, D. C., Gilley, J. E., & Franti, T. G. (2007). Water erosion prediction project
(WEPP): Development history, model capabilities, and future enhancements.
Transactions of the Asabe, 50(5), 1603e1612.
Gao, J., & Wang, H. (2019). Temporal analysis on quantitative attribution of karst soil
erosion: A case study of a peak-cluster depression basin in southwest China.
Catena, 172, 369e377.
Guangbin, Y., Ji, W., Xiongfei, C., & Yulun, A. (2013). Soil erosion evaluation and nu-
merical simulation in karst area. Beijing, China: Meteorological Press.
Guo, C., Cao, J., Tian, X., Liu, Y., Zhao, X., & Dai, J. (2007). Chinese karst ecological
hydrology. Beijing, China: Geological Press (In Chinese).
Hu, K., Chen, H., Nie, Y., & Wang, K. (2015). Seasonal recharge and mean residence
times of soil and epikarst water in a small karst catchment of southwest China.
Scientific Reports, 5, 10215.
Jiang, Z., Lian, Y., & Qin, X. (2014). Rocky desertification in Southwest China: Im-
pacts, causes, and restoration. Earth-Science Reviews, 132, 1e12.
Jiang, Y., Li, L., Groves, C., Yuan, D., & Kambesis, P. (2009). Relationships between
rocky desertification and spatial pattern of land use in typical karst area,
Southwest China. Environ. Earth Sci., 59(4), 881e890.
Jia, Y., & Zheng, F. (2004). LISEM model and its application. Research of Soil and
Water Conservation, 11, 91e93 (In Chinese).
33
Kereselidze, D. N., Matchavariani, L. G., Kalandadze, B. B., & Trapaidze, V. Z. (2013).
Allowable soil erosion rates in Georgia. Eurasian Soil Science, 46(4), 438e446.
Laflen, J. M., Lane, L. J., & Foster, G. R. (1991). Wepp: A new generation of erosion
prediction technology. Journal of Soil & Water Conservation, 46(1), 34e38.
Li, Y., Bai, X., Zhou, Y., Qin, L., Tian, X., Tian, Y., et al. (2015). Spatial-temporal evo-
lution of soil erosion in a typical mountainous karst basin in SW China, based
on GIS and RUSLE. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 41(1), 209e221.
-Benet, A., Canto
Li, X.-Y., Contreras, S., Sole  n, Y., Domingo, F., La
zaro, R., et al. (2011).
Controls of infiltrationerunoff processes in Mediterranean karst rangelands in
SE Spain. Catena, 86(2), 98e109.
Li, P., Mu, X., Holden, J., Wu, Y., Irvine, B., Wang, F., et al. (2017). Comparison of soil
erosion models used to study the Chinese Loess Plateau. Earth-Science Reviews,
170, 17e30.
Li, Y.-bing, Shao, J.-a., Yang, H., & Bai, X.-y. (2008). The relations between land use
and karst rocky desertification in a typical karst area, China. Environmental
Geology, 57(3), 621e627.
Liu, B., Zhang, M., Bussmann, W. R., Liu, H.-m, Liu, Y.-y, Peng, Y.-d., et al. (2018).
Species richness and conservation gap analysis of karst areas: A case study of
vascular plants from Guizhou, China. Global Ecology and Conservation, 16,
e00460.
Long, H., De Zhang, & He, G. (2017). The effects of planted and plowed Stylosanthes
guianensis on degrading soil fertility in hilly countries of dry-hot valley. Acta
Ecologica Sinica, 37(5), 279e283.
Longyang, Q. (2019). Assessing the effects of climate change on water quality of
plateau deep-water lake - a study case of Hongfeng Lake. The Science of the Total
Environment, 647, 1518e1530.
Luo, W., Jiang, Z., Han, Q., Cao, J., & Pei, J. (2008). Soil distribution and erosion
characteristics of different geomorphological parts in karst peak cluster
depression. Soil and Water Conservation in China, 12, 46e49 (In Chinese).
Luo, J., Zheng, Z., Li, T., & He, S. (2018). Changes in micro-relief during different
water erosive stages of purple soil under simulated rainfall. Scientific Reports,
8(1), 3483.
Lv, M., Wang, H., & Cai, Y. (2007). General review of soil erosion in the karst area of
southwest China. Progress in Geography, 26, 87e96 (In Chinese).
Macias-Fauria, M. (2018). Satellite images show China going green. Nature,
553(7689), 411e413.
Pang, D., Cao, J., Dan, X., Guan, Y., Peng, X., Cui, M., et al. (2018). Recovery approach
affects soil quality in fragile karst ecosystems of southwest China: Implications
for vegetation restoration. Ecological Engineering, 123, 151e160.
Peng, T., & Wang, S.-jie (2012). Effects of land use, land cover and rainfall regimes on
the surface runoff and soil loss on karst slopes in southwest China. Catena, 90,
53e62.
Peng, S., Xu, X., Li, Z., Liu, M., Xu, C., Zhang, R., et al. (2013). Effects of vegetation
restoration types on soil quality in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, China. Soil Science
& Plant Nutrition, 59(3), 347e360.
Phinzi, K., & Ngetar, N. S. (2019). The assessment of water-borne erosion at catch-
ment level using GIS-based RUSLE and remote sensing: A review. International
Soil and Water Conservation Research, 7(1), 27e46.
Qin, W., Guo, Q., Zuo, C., Shan, Z., Ma, L., & Sun, G. (2016). Spatial distribution and
temporal trends of rainfall erosivity in mainland China for 1951e2010. Catena,
147, 177e186.
Sogon, S., Penven, M.-J., Bonte, P., & Muxart, T. (1999). Estimation of sediment yield
and soil loss using suspended sediment load and 137Cs measurements on
agricultural land, Brie Plateau, France. Hydrobiologia, 410, 251e261.
Sophie, M. G., Jennifer, A. J. D., Tu, C., Buss, H. L., Sanderson, N., Hawkes, S. J., et al.
(2019). Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst
Critical Zone. Chemical Geology, 527(20), 119107.
Su, W. (2002). Controlling model for rocky desertification of karst mountainous
region and its preventing strategy in southwest, China. Journal of Soil and Water
Conservation, 16, 29e33 (In Chinese).
Tang, J., Tang, X., Qin, Y., He, Q., Yi, Y., & Ji, Z. (2019). Karst rocky desertification
progress: Soil calcium as a possible driving force. The Science of the Total
Environment, 649, 1250e1259.
Tang, Y., Zhang, X., Zhou, J., Yu, S., Yang, P., & Wang, J. (2010). The mechanism of
underground leakage of soil in karst rocky desertification areas-A case in
Chenqi small watershed, Puding, Guizhou Province. Carsologica Sinica, 29,
121e127 (In Chinese).
Teng, H.-fen, Hu, J., Zhou, Y., Zhou, L.-q, & Shi, Z. (2019). Modelling and mapping soil
erosion potential in China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 18(2), 251e264.
The State Forestry Administration of China (SFA). (2012). Bulletin on the rocky
desertification in China (In Chinese).
The State Forestry Administration of China (SFA). (2018). Bulletin on the rocky
desertification in China (In Chinese).
Tong, X., Brandt, M., Yue, Y., Horion, S., Wang, K., Keersmaecker, W. D., et al. (2018).
Increased vegetation growth and carbon stock in China karst via ecological
engineering. Nature Sustainability, 1(1), 44e50.
Tong, X., Wang, K., Yue, Y., Brandt, M., Liu, B., Zhang, C., et al. (2017). Quantifying the
effectiveness of ecological restoration projects on long-term vegetation dy-
namics in the karst regions of Southwest China. International Journal of Applied
Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 54, 105e113.
Vijith, H., Seling, L. W., & Dodge-Wan, D. (2017). Effect of cover management factor
in quantification of soil loss: Case study of sungai akah subwatershed, baram
river basin sarawak, Malaysia. Geocarto International, 33(5), 505e521.
Wang, K., Chen, H., Zeng, F., Yue, Y., Zhang, W., & Fu, Z. (2018). Ecological research
supports eco-environmental management and poverty alleviation in karst region of
34 L. Zhou et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 8 (2020) 26e34
southwest China (Vol. 33, pp. 213e222). China Academic Journal Electronic
Publishing House (In Chinese).
Wang, M., Chen, H., Zhang, W., & Wang, K. (2018b). Soil nutrients and stoichiometric
ratios as affected by land use and lithology at county scale in a karst area,
southwest China. The Science of the Total Environment, 619e620, 1299e1307.
Wang, S. J., Liu, Q. M., & Zhang, D. F. (2004). Karst rocky desertification in south-
western China: Geomorphology, landuse, impact and rehabilitation. Land
Degradation & Development, 15(2), 115e121.
Wang, L., Wang, P., Sheng, M., & Tian, J. (2018a). Ecological stoichiometry and
environmental influencing factors of soil nutrients in the karst rocky deserti-
fication ecosystem, southwest China. Global Ecology and Conservation, 16,
e00449.
iciga, H. A. (2016). The soil leakage ratio in the
Wei, X., Yan, Y., Xie, D., Ni, J., & Loa
Mudu watershed, China. Environ. Earth Sci., 75(8).
Wei, X., Yuan, D., & Xie, S. (2010). Study on soil erosion and loss on slope in karst
mountain valley area of chongqing valley with 137Cs and soil nutrient elements.
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 24, 16e19 (In Chinese).
Xiao, K., He, T., Chen, H., Peng, W., Song, T., & Wang, K. (2017). Impacts of vegetation
restoration strategies on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a karst
area, southwest China. Ecological Engineering, 101, 247e254.
Xiao, K., Li, D., Wen, L., Yang, L., Luo, P., Chen, H., et al. (2018). Dynamics of soil
nitrogen availability during post-agricultural succession in a karst region,
southwest China. Geoderma, 314, 184e189.
Xiong, K., Li, J., & Long, M. (2012). Features of soil and water loss and Key issues in
demonstration areas for combating karst rocky desertification. Acta Geographica
Sinica, 67, 878e888 (In Chinese).
Yan, Y., Dai, Q., Wang, X., Jin, L., & Mei, L. (2019). Response of shallow karst fissure
soil quality to secondary succession in a degraded karst area of southwestern
China. Geoderma, 348, 76e85.
Yan, Y., Dai, Q., Yuan, Y., Peng, X., Zhao, L., & Yang, J. (2018). Effects of rainfall in-
tensity on runoff and sediment yields on bare slopes in a karst area, SW China.
Geoderma, 330, 30e40.
Yang, J., Chen, H., Nie, Y., & Wang, K. (2019). Dynamic variations in profile soil water
on karst hillslopes in Southwest China. Catena, 172, 655e663.
Yang, P., Tang, Y.-Q., Zhou, N.-Q., Wang, J.-X., She, T.-Y., & Zhang, X.-H. (2010).
Characteristics of red clay creep in karst caves and loss leakage of soil in the
karst rocky desertification area of Puding County, Guizhou, China. Environ. Earth
Sci., 63(3), 543e549.
Yuan, Y., Dai, Q., Li, C., & Peng, X. (2016). Response of soil erosion in simulated
condition rainfall on typical slope farmland in karst. Journal of Soil and Water
Conservation, 30, 24e28 (In Chinese).
Zavala, L. M., Jord an, A., Bellinfante, N., & Gil, J. (2010). Relationships between rock
fragment cover and soil hydrological response in a Mediterranean environment.
Soil Science & Plant Nutrition, 56(1), 95e104.
Zeng, F., Jiang, Z., Shen, L., Chen, W., Yang, Q., & Zhang, C. (2018). Assessment of
multiple and interacting modes of soil loss in the karst critical zone, Southwest
China (SWC). Geomorphology, 322, 97e106.
Zeng, C., Wang, S., Bai, X., Li, Y., Tian, Y., Li, Y., et al. (2017). Soil erosion evolution and
spatial correlation analysis in a typical karst geomorphology using RUSLE with
GIS. Solid Earth, 8(4), 721e736.
Zeng, L., Wang, M., & Li, C. (2011). Study on soil erosion and its spatio-temporal
change at Hongfeng Lake watershed based on RUSLE Model. Hydrogeology &
Engineering Geology, 38, 113e118 (In Chinese).
Zhang, X.-bao, Bai, X.-yong, & He, X.-bin (2011). Soil creeping in the weathering
crust of carbonate rocks and underground soil losses in the karst mountain
areas of southwest China. Carbonates and Evaporites, 26(2), 149e153.
Zhang, J. Y., Dai, M. H., Wang, L. C., Zeng, C. F., & Su, W. C. (2016). The challenge and
future of rocky desertification control in karst areas in southwest China. Solid
Earth, 7(1), 83e91.
Zhang, X., Hu, M., Guo, X., Yang, H., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, K. (2018). Effects of topo-
graphic factors on runoff and soil loss in Southwest China. Catena, 160,
394e402.
Zhang, X. C., Li, Z. B., & Ding, W. F. (2005). Validation of WEPP sediment feedback
relationships using spatially distributed rill erosion data. Soil Science Society of
America Journal, 69(5), 1440e1447.
Zhang, Y., Xu, X., Li, Z., Liu, M., Xu, C., Zhang, R., et al. (2019). Effects of vegetation
restoration on soil quality in degraded karst landscapes of southwest China. The
Science of the Total Environment, 650(Pt 2), 2657e2665.
Zhao, L., & Hou, R. (2019). Human causes of soil loss in rural karst environments: A
case study of Guizhou, China. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 3225.
Zhengming, Y., Yu, D., & Ran, J. (2011). Study on the ecosystem and community
economic development to maolan national natural reserve in Guizhou prov-
ince. Journal of Anhui Agri. Sci., 39(25), 15532e15534.
Zhou, N., Li, C., Jiang, S., & Tand, Y. (2009). Models of soil and water loss and soil
leakage in puding karst area. Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 29, 7e11 (In
Chinese).
Zhou, Q., Luo, Y., Zhou, X., Cai, M., & Zhao, C. (2018). Response of vegetation to water
balance conditions at different time scales across the karst area of southwestern
Chinada remote sensing approach. The Science of the Total Environment, 645,
460e470.
Zhou, H. Y., Pan, X. Y., & Zhou, W. Z. (2017). Assessing spatial distribution of soil
erosion in a karst region in southwestern China: A case study in jinfo moun-
tains. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 52, 012047.
Zhou, J., Tang, Y., Yang, P., Zhang, X., Zhou, N., & Wang, J. (2012). Inference of creep
mechanism in underground soil loss of karst conduits I. Conceptual model.
Natural Hazards, 62(3), 1191e1215.
Zhu, X., Shen, Y., He, B., & Zhao, Z. (2017). Humus soil as a critical driver of flora
conversion on karst rock outcrops. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 12611.