Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains

Soil erosion has been significantly exacerbated by climate change and urbanization, posing serious threats to environmental protection and sustainable development. In this study, soil erosion in the Daqing River Basin from 2000 to 2022 was assessed using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUS...

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Main Authors: Meng Wang, Yuanyuan Ding, Yong Wang, Miao Liu, Xueli Han, Zhihao Luan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1551743/full
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author Meng Wang
Yuanyuan Ding
Yong Wang
Miao Liu
Xueli Han
Zhihao Luan
author_facet Meng Wang
Yuanyuan Ding
Yong Wang
Miao Liu
Xueli Han
Zhihao Luan
author_sort Meng Wang
collection DOAJ
description Soil erosion has been significantly exacerbated by climate change and urbanization, posing serious threats to environmental protection and sustainable development. In this study, soil erosion in the Daqing River Basin from 2000 to 2022 was assessed using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model, which incorporates data from digital elevation model (DEM), normalized vegetation index (NDVI), and land-use sources, and the spatiotemporal evolution of soil erosion was subsequently analyzed. The impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on erosion and their interactions with soil erosion were analyzed via random forest and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that soil erosion in the Daqing River Basin averaged 159 t/(km2·a) from 2000 to 2022, with averages of 386 t/(km2·a) in the mountains and 1.1 t/(km2·a) in the plains. The erosion intensity increased from southeast to northwest, with higher levels in mountains than in plains. The soil erosion level initially improved but then deteriorated sharply after a significant turning point in 2015. Natural factors, particularly precipitation, were the largest drivers of soil erosion throughout the Daqing River Basin, whereas anthropogenic factors had the greater impact on erosion in plains than in mountains. There was strong synergy among various anthropogenic factors throughout the basin. In the mountains, anthropogenic factors were antagonistic to vegetation coverage, whereas in the plains, they were synergistic with vegetation coverage and meteorological factors.
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-c701266c909b421bbc9b60b096b83fb92025-08-20T03:53:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-05-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.15517431551743Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plainsMeng Wang0Yuanyuan Ding1Yong Wang2Miao Liu3Xueli Han4Zhihao Luan5School of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, ChinaSoil erosion has been significantly exacerbated by climate change and urbanization, posing serious threats to environmental protection and sustainable development. In this study, soil erosion in the Daqing River Basin from 2000 to 2022 was assessed using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model, which incorporates data from digital elevation model (DEM), normalized vegetation index (NDVI), and land-use sources, and the spatiotemporal evolution of soil erosion was subsequently analyzed. The impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on erosion and their interactions with soil erosion were analyzed via random forest and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that soil erosion in the Daqing River Basin averaged 159 t/(km2·a) from 2000 to 2022, with averages of 386 t/(km2·a) in the mountains and 1.1 t/(km2·a) in the plains. The erosion intensity increased from southeast to northwest, with higher levels in mountains than in plains. The soil erosion level initially improved but then deteriorated sharply after a significant turning point in 2015. Natural factors, particularly precipitation, were the largest drivers of soil erosion throughout the Daqing River Basin, whereas anthropogenic factors had the greater impact on erosion in plains than in mountains. There was strong synergy among various anthropogenic factors throughout the basin. In the mountains, anthropogenic factors were antagonistic to vegetation coverage, whereas in the plains, they were synergistic with vegetation coverage and meteorological factors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1551743/fullsoil erosionRUSLE modelspatiotemporal evolutionmountain-plain comparisonPLS-SEMDaqing river basin
spellingShingle Meng Wang
Yuanyuan Ding
Yong Wang
Miao Liu
Xueli Han
Zhihao Luan
Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
Frontiers in Environmental Science
soil erosion
RUSLE model
spatiotemporal evolution
mountain-plain comparison
PLS-SEM
Daqing river basin
title Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
title_full Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
title_short Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the Daqing river basin: a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
title_sort spatiotemporal dynamics of soil erosion in the daqing river basin a comparative analysis of mountains and plains
topic soil erosion
RUSLE model
spatiotemporal evolution
mountain-plain comparison
PLS-SEM
Daqing river basin
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1551743/full
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