Chapter 6
A Close Look of the Gravity Erosion
on the Loess Plateau of China
Abstracts Landslide plays an important role in landscape evolution, delivers huge
amounts of sediment to rivers and seriously affects the structure and function of
ecosystems and society. Here, a statistical analysis together with a field investigation
was carried out on the Loess Plateau of China. Since the 1980s, 53 fatal landslides
have occurred, causing 717 deaths. As the most important trigger, rainfall induced
40% of the catastrophic landslides, while other factors, i.e., human activities, freezethaw and earthquake, accounted for 36, 23 and 1%, respectively. Furthermore, the
landslide frequency and death toll related to human activities were increasing as
time went on. Landslide also plays an important role in sediment delivery, especially
in the areas with steep terrain. In some catchments of the Loess Plateau, landslides
contributed over 50% of the total sediment discharge. The result shows that landslide
is a widespread geologic hazard in the rural area of the Loess Plateau, China.
Keywords Geological hazards · Landslides · Soil yield · Triggering mechanism
6.1 Gravity Erosion: Natural Hazard and Soil Erosion
A landslide is the downslope movement of soil, rock and organic materials under the
effects of gravity and also the landform that results from such movement (Highland
and Bobrowsky 2008). Serious landslides occur in nearly all areas of the world, and
they could cause serious natural hazards and major ecological and environmental
issues such as soil erosion on steep slopes, billions of dollars of damage and many
casualties (Zhang et al. 2014; Keefer and Larsen 2007). In the period from 2004 to
2010, there were 2620 fatal landslides worldwide, resulting in 32,322 deaths (Qiu
2014). For instance, a landslide in the southern Philippines led to 122 deaths and
1328 missing (Stone 2006). Landslides are also especially prevalent in the rural area
of the Loess Plateau of China. According to investigations and statistics, landslides
have resulted in approximately 1000 fatalities per year over the past 20 years in China
(Huang 2009), and one-third of them occurred on the Loess Plateau (Zhuang and
Peng 2014). For example, catastrophic landslides on the Loess Plateau occurred on
March 7, 1983 in Dongxiang County, September 17, 2011 in Xi’an City and August
© Science Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
X. Xu et al., Experimental Erosion,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3801-8_6
75
A Close Look of the Gravity Erosion
on the Loess Plateau of China
Abstracts Landslide plays an important role in landscape evolution, delivers huge
amounts of sediment to rivers and seriously affects the structure and function of
ecosystems and society. Here, a statistical analysis together with a field investigation
was carried out on the Loess Plateau of China. Since the 1980s, 53 fatal landslides
have occurred, causing 717 deaths. As the most important trigger, rainfall induced
40% of the catastrophic landslides, while other factors, i.e., human activities, freezethaw and earthquake, accounted for 36, 23 and 1%, respectively. Furthermore, the
landslide frequency and death toll related to human activities were increasing as
time went on. Landslide also plays an important role in sediment delivery, especially
in the areas with steep terrain. In some catchments of the Loess Plateau, landslides
contributed over 50% of the total sediment discharge. The result shows that landslide
is a widespread geologic hazard in the rural area of the Loess Plateau, China.
Keywords Geological hazards · Landslides · Soil yield · Triggering mechanism
6.1 Gravity Erosion: Natural Hazard and Soil Erosion
A landslide is the downslope movement of soil, rock and organic materials under the
effects of gravity and also the landform that results from such movement (Highland
and Bobrowsky 2008). Serious landslides occur in nearly all areas of the world, and
they could cause serious natural hazards and major ecological and environmental
issues such as soil erosion on steep slopes, billions of dollars of damage and many
casualties (Zhang et al. 2014; Keefer and Larsen 2007). In the period from 2004 to
2010, there were 2620 fatal landslides worldwide, resulting in 32,322 deaths (Qiu
2014). For instance, a landslide in the southern Philippines led to 122 deaths and
1328 missing (Stone 2006). Landslides are also especially prevalent in the rural area
of the Loess Plateau of China. According to investigations and statistics, landslides
have resulted in approximately 1000 fatalities per year over the past 20 years in China
(Huang 2009), and one-third of them occurred on the Loess Plateau (Zhuang and
Peng 2014). For example, catastrophic landslides on the Loess Plateau occurred on
March 7, 1983 in Dongxiang County, September 17, 2011 in Xi’an City and August
© Science Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
X. Xu et al., Experimental Erosion,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3801-8_6
75