Evaluation of the Function of Reforestation on Soil Loss Control in the Dabie Mountains, China

In the Dabie Mountains of the lower Yangtze basin, China, soil loss reduction has been deemed as important as flood control after the 1998 flood, which caused great damage to the area and its residents. After 2000 year, a project of Reforestation in cultivated land at slope was started. In this study, field observations of water and sediment discharges were carried out on USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation)-plot scale and sub-catchment scale at various types of land use in the Shangshe catchment of the Dabie Mountains in China. Through analyses of field observation data in the Shangshe catchment during 2000 to 2007, Reforestation in the first 3 years decreased soil loss by half of that in cultivated land at slope and by more than 90% percent in the 2006 and 2007 years after reforestation. These results showed the extreme importance of keeping reforestation to control soil loss on cultivated land at slope in the Dabie Mountains, China.