Soil degradation of sloping cropland in the typical black soil region in
northeast China: risk assessment and uncertainty analysis
Abstract
Soil degradation is an essential environmental problem that threatens
agricultural productivity and sustainability in the typical black soil
region in northeast China. Assessing the degradation status and risks of
sloping cropland is necessary to restore and reconstruct degraded soil.
This study aimed to map soil degradation status based on a newly
developed soil degradation index (SDI) and assess the uncertainty
associated with degradation risk mapping using Ordinary Kriging and
Sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS). The results showed that SDI ranged
from 0.013 to 0.864, with a mean value of 0.445. The realization with
200 times by SGS was the best, with an increasing pattern of SDI from
north to south in the study area. Mildly degraded and moderately
degraded sloping cropland accounted for 35.3% and 52.4% of the total
area of sloping cropland, respectively. High-risk areas were mainly
distributed in the Greater Xingan Mountains and Changbai Mountains to
the Songnen Plain. Proactive measures are necessary to control and
mitigate further degradation by developing soil management and weakening
the interaction between slope gradient and ridge-slope angle. The
developed risk assessment maps provide baseline information for regional
sustainable development.