The features of soil erosion and soil leakage in karst peak-cluster areas of Southwest China

Through utilizing water flow monitoring, rock scratching, soil wood piles and radionuclide Cs-137 tracing in the Longhe karst ecological experimental site (hereinafter referred to "Longhe site"), Pingguo County, Guangxi Province, the features and values of soil erosion and soil leakage in different geomorphologic locations and land uses in the karst peak-cluster depressions are showed clearly. There are four kinds of geomorphologic locations in the karst peak-cluster depression, namely peaks, strip, slopes and depression. The soil leakage modulus in the peaks and strips respectively occupy 92.43% and 96.24% of the total mean soil erosion modulus at experimental sites. On the slope, soil leakage accounted for about 75%. At the bottom of depression, surface water was the main factor of soil erosion, and at last most soil leaked into underground rivers from sinkholes. The total soil erosion modulus and the contribution rates of relative surface soil erosion in regard of peaks, slopes and depressions gradually increased. There are also five major types of land use in the karst peak-cluster depressions, farmland, Kudingcha tea plantations, young Lignum Sappan fields, shrub-grassland and pastures. The soil erosion modulus of slope farmland has the highest value with an increasing trend year by year. But soil erosion modulus of other four land use types decreased by year, which shows the "grain for green" will result in better soil protection. By handling with rocky desertification and ecological rehabilitation in Longhe site, the mean soil erosion modulus of the karst peak-cluster depression has decreased about 80% from 2003 to 2015.