Spatial and temporal variability of soil erosion in the black soil region of Northeast China from 2000 to 2015.

The black soil region in Northeast China is an important production base of commodity grain. However, soil erosion is a major threat that has caused a decline in arable land area and productivity and a series of environmental problems in recent years. To understand the current situation of soil erosion and its changes in the whole black soil region, including six treatment regions, we used the spatial-temporal analysis of soil erosion from 2000 to 2015 and the overlay analysis with its drivers; additionally, soil erosion was evaluated qualitatively with the integrated evaluation method, and its change was indicated by the soil erosion change index (SECI).

Chinese cropland losses due to urban expansion in the past four decades.

Since 1970s, China has experienced the large-scale losses of croplands during urban expansion process, which has drawn great attentions to Chinese government. Although in-depth studies about cropland losses have been executed widely, relatively little attention has been paid to describe long term and high frequency influences of urban expansion on it and reveal its differences systematically. Based on remote sensing and GIS technology, we quantified, analyzed, and mapped cropland losses in China due to urban expansion from the national, administrative-level, population-size, and city scales.