Soil and water loss from the Loess Plateau in China

The Loess Plateau in north China is famous for its deep loess. Due to the special geographic landscape, soil and climatic conditions, and long history (over 5000 years) of human activity, there has been intensive soil erosion which has resulted in prolonged and great impacts on social and economic development in the region. In this paper the factors causing soil and water loss from the Loess Plateau are discussed. Problems and measures for the comprehensive control of soil and water loss in the Loess Plateau are proposed. The objective of this paper is to provide a guide for the reconstruction of ecological and economic development in the region