The relationships between land use and soil conditions in the hilly area of the loess plateau in northern Shaanxi, China

Inappropriate land use is one of the main reasons for soil erosion and nutrient loss in the hilly loess area. In the Yangjuangou catchment, which has typical hill and gully topography, the effects of land use changes on soil erosion and the distribution of soil nutrients and moisture were studied at the three spatial scales of total catchment, transect and land use type. Between 1984 and 1996, forest and grassland increased by 36% and 5%, respectively, and slope farmland decreased by 43%. The land use changes decreased annual soil erosion by 24%. The amounts of total N, total P, available N, available P and organic matter of surface soil (0–20 cm) and of moisture in the 0–70 cm soil suggest that a farmland/grassland/forest land use structure from hill foot to hill top has a better capacity for soil conservation and retention of nutrients than other land use structures. The contents of soil nutrients are in the order forest>grassland>slope farmland, and those of soil water are forest<grassland<slope farmland.