Title: Soil Erosion Assessment of Alpine Grassland in the Source Park of the Yellow River on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Authors: Huilong Lin*, Yuting Zhao

Journal: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Impact factor: IF₂₀₂₀ = 4.17

Abstract: The source park of the Yellow River (SPYR), as a vital ecological shelter on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is suffering different degrees of degradation and desertification, resulting in soil erosion in recent decades. Therefore, studying the mechanism, influencing factors and current situation of soil erosion in the alpine grassland ecosystems of the SPYR are significant for protecting the ecological and productive functions. Based on the ¹³⁷Cs element tracing technique and machine learning algorithms, five strategic variable selection algorithms based on machine learning algorithms are used to identify the minimal optimal set and analyze the main factors that influence soil erosion in the SPYR. The optimal model for estimating soil erosion in the SPYR is obtained by comparisons model outputs between the RUSLE and machine learning algorithms combined with variable selection models. We identify the spatial distribution pattern of soil erosion in the study area by the optimal model. The results indicated that: (1) A comprehensive set of variables is more objective than the RUSLE model. In terms of verification accuracy, the simulated annealing-Cubist model (R=0.67, RMSD=1,368 t km^?2·a^?1) simulation results represents the best while the RUSLE model (R=0.49, RMSD=1,769 t·km^?2·a^?1) goes on the worst. (2) The soil erosion is more severe in the north than the southeast of the SPYR. The average erosion modulus is 6,460.95 t·km^?2·a^?1 and roughly 99% of the survey region has an intensive erosion modulus (5,000?8,000 t·km^?2·a^?1). (3) Total erosion loss is relatively 8.45·10⁸ t·a^?1 in the SPYR, which is commonly 12.64 times greater than the allowable soil erosion loss. The economic monetization of SOC loss caused by soil erosion in the entire research area was almost $47.90 billion in 2014. These results will help provide scientific evidences not only for farmers and herdsmen but also for environmental science managers and administrators. In addition, a new ecological policy recommendation was proposed to balance grassland protection and animal husbandry economic production based on the value of soil erosion reclassification.

Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.771439 fevo-09-771439.pdf