Terrain relief periods of loess landforms based on terrain profiles of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi Province, China

doi:10.1007/s11707-018-0732-x

Front. Earth Sci.

2019, Vol. 13

Issue (2) : 410-421 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-018-0732-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Terrain relief periods of loess landforms based on terrain profiles of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi Province, China

Jianjun CAO^1,², Guoan TANG¹, Xuan FANG^1,²(

), Jilong LI¹, Yongjuan LIU², Yiting ZHANG², Ying ZHU², Fayuan LI¹(

)

¹. Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
². School of Environment Science, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 211171, China

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Abstract

The Loess Plateau is densely covered by numerous types of gullies which represent different soil erosion intensities. Therefore, research on topographic variation features of the loess gullies is of great significance to environmental protection and ecological management. Using a 5 m digital elevation model and data from a national geographic database, this paper studies different topographical areas of the Loess Plateau, including Shenmu, Suide, Yanchuan, Ganquan, Yijun, and Chunhua, to derive representative gully terrain profile data of the sampled areas. First, the profile data are standardized in MATLAB and then decomposed using the ensemble empirical mode decomposition method. Then, a significance test is performed on the results; the test confidence is 95% to 99%. The most reliable decomposition component is then used to calculate the relief period and size of the gullies. The results showed that relief periods of the Chunhua, Shenmu, Yijun, Yuanchuan, Ganquan, and Suide gullies are 1110.14 m, 1096.85 m, 1002.49 m, 523.48 m, 498.12 m, and 270.83 m, respectively. In terms of gully size, the loess landforms are sorted as loess fragmented tableland, aeolian and dune, loess tableland, loess ridge, loess hill and loess ridge, and loess hill, in descending order. Taken together, the gully terrain features of the sample areas and the results of the study are approximately consistent with the actual terrain profiles. Thus, we conclude that ensemble empirical mode decomposition is a reliable method for the study of the relief and topography of loess gullies.

Keywords loess gully DEM terrain profile EEMD Loess Plateau

Corresponding Author(s): Xuan FANG,Fayuan LI

Just Accepted Date: 29 November 2018 Online First Date: 27 December 2018 Issue Date: 16 May 2019

Cite this article:

Jianjun CAO,Guoan TANG,Xuan FANG, et al. Terrain relief periods of loess landforms based on terrain profiles of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi Province, China[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2019, 13(2): 410-421.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-018-0732-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2019/V13/I2/410

Fig.1 The study area and sampling sites.

Sampling sites	Geographic location	Landform types	Location description
Shenmu	109°40′00″–110°54′00″E 38°50′00″–38°55′00″N	Aeolian and dune	In Shenmu sample area, elevation is 1060–1322 m, with an average slope of 9° and gully density of 3.4 km/km². Contiguous low hills covered by thin layers of sand and gently inclined dunes are found throughout this region
Suide	110°15′00″–110°22′30″E 37°32′30″–37°37′30″N	Loess hill	In Suide sample area, elevation is 847–1163 m, with an average slope of 29° and gully density of 6.52 km/km². The area is hilly and crisscrossed with gullies, with extremely severe soil erosion
Yanchuan	109°52′30″–110°00′00″E 36°42′30″–36°47′30″N	Loess ridge-hill	In Yanchuan sample area, elevation is 953–1252 m, with an average slope of 31° and gully density of 6.78 km/km². Rills and ephemeral gullies have developed on the ridges, and gulches, ditches, and streams have incised deeply below the loess ridges and hills
Ganquan	109°30′00″–109°37′30″E 36°10′00″–36°15′00″N	Loess ridge	In Ganquan sample area, elevation is 1149–1445 m, with an average slope of 27° and gully density of 5.6 km/km². Ridge slopes are eroded, and intense down-incising gulches and streams occur between ridges
Yijun	109°18′45″–109°26′15″E 35°25′00″–35°30′00″N	Loess tableland	In Yijun sample area, elevation is 797–1134 m, with an average slope of 19° and gully density of 4.2 km/km². Headward gully erosion is extremely severe, and gravitational erosion is active in this area
Chunhua	108°22′30″–108°30′00″E 34°50′00″–34°55′00″N	Loess fragmented tableland	In Chunhua sample area, elevation is 768–1164 m, with an average slope of 12° and gully density of 3.13 km/km². The loess tableland and residual tableland are the primary landforms of this area, but these have been deeply incised by a number of large gullies

Tab.1 Geographic description of the study sites

Fig.2 The six types of loess landform and the profile of gully, (a) Shenmu; (b) Suide; (c) Yanchuan; (d) Ganquan; (e) Yijun; (f) Chunhua.

Fig.3 The decomposition by EEMD of gully topographic in Shenmu site.

Fig.4 The decomposition by EEMD of gully topographic in Suide site.

Fig.5 The decomposition by EEMD of gully topographic in Yanchuan site.

Fig.6 The decomposition by EEMD of gully topographic in Ganquan site.

Fig.7 The decomposition by EEMD of gully topographic in Yijun site.

Fig.8 The decomposition by EEMD of gully topographic in Chunhua site.

Tab.2 The parameters of significance test by Monte Carlo of six study sites in Loess Plateau

Fig.9 The significance test by Monte Carlo of gully topographic relief periods in six study sites. (a) Shenmu; (b) Suide; (c) Yanchuan; (d) Ganquan; (e) Yijun; (f) Chunhua.

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