HIGH QUALITY DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH FOR SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGICAL PROTECTION ON THE LOESS PLATEAU

Highlights

● Analyse the effects of ecological management measures undertaken so far.

● Point out the main problems that confront effective ecological management.

● Suggest some measures to guide ecological management and high-quality development.

● Develop some models to improve the quality of clear waters and green mountains.

● Provide scientific and technological support for green and eco-friendly development.

Abstract

The Loess Plateau is the core area in the Yellow River basin for implementing environmental protection and high-quality development strategies. A series of ecological projects has implemented aimed at soil and water conservation and ecological management on the Loess Plateau over the past 70 years. The effects of the ecological projects are apparent mainly through a marked increase in vegetation cover, controlled soil erosion and reduced flow of sediment into the Yellow River, continual optimization of the industrial structure and increased production from arable land, poverty alleviation and greater prosperity, and optimal allocation of space for biological organisms. Major problems have also been analyzed in ecological management including the fragile ecosystem of the region, maintaining the stability of vegetation, lower agricultural productivity and continued risk from natural disasters. Some suitable schemes and models have been developed for the coordinated development of the region through research and demonstration, striking the optimum balance between rural industry and ecology, and increased regional capacity to supply high-quality ecological products. Countermeasures to address the problems are suggested to guide ecological management and high-quality development in the future.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

ecological management / high quality development / industrial structure / soil erosion / soil and water conservation / Loess Plateau

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Shaanxi Forestry Academy of Sciences (SXLK2021-0206), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB40000000), the Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi Province (2021ZDLSF05-02), and the Funding of Special Support Plan of Young Talents Project of Shaanxi Province and National Forestry and Grassland Administration in China (20201326015).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Lei Deng and Zhouping Shangguan declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any study with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2021. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)