Soil conservation and sustainable agriculture on the Loess Plateau: Challenges and prospects

The Loess Plateau with its deep loess and severe soil erosion constitutes a special region of the world. This paper discusses soil conservation, sustainable agriculture, and the prospectives for the Loess Plateau in relation to the Chinese economic development that is expected in the next century. The Loess Plateau region, covers 5 provinces, and stretches over an area of 0.62 million km(2). Erosion has affected 45% of the area, with an average soil loss of 3720 tonnes (t) km(-2) yr(-1). The soil depth is 50-200 m which is typical for undeveloped areas in China. In the past 20 years, the Chinese government has given special attention to the integrated control of soil erosion and development of sustainable agriculture on the Plateau. Sustainable agriculture in this region should be based on rational land use including self-sufficiency in grain production, the protection of woodlands, and commercial fruit trees, and animal industry, in order to make full use of natural resources. Scientists have presented a 28 characters strategy and conservation eco-agriculture criteria for the watershed. Research on water erosion, and on soil and water conservation have led to the development of agricultural systems that are sustainable, Watershed-scale comprehensive management schemes, and reforestation have led to the conservation of water and to improved productivity and an increase in farmers' income. By 2000, the Plateau will be able to produce 50 million tonnes of grain to feed the people in the region. The Plateau with its land resources, agricultural resources, and rich mineral reserves (coal, oil), will play an important role in China's economic development in the 21th century.