Fuzzy Logic Modeling of Land Degradation in a Loess Plateau Watershed, China

• Published in: Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 14; no. 19; p. 4779
• Main Authors: Lu, Ang, Tian, Peng, Mu, Xingmin, Zhao, Guangju, Feng, Qingyu, Guo, Jianying, Xu, Wenlong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Aridity; Carbon; Desertification; Ecological effects; Environmental degradation; Environmental impact; Environmental restoration; Erosion rates; Food security; Fuzzy logic; fuzzy logic modeling; Geographic information systems; Huangfuchuan watershed; Land degradation; land degradation index; Land use; Loess Plateau; Modelling; Organic carbon; Organic soils; Remote sensing; River ecology; Sediments; Soil degradation; Soil erosion; spatial and temporal distribution; Spatial data; Vegetation; Vegetation cover; Watersheds; China; Loess Plateau; Yellow River
• ISSN: 2072-4292; 2072-4292
• DOI: 10.3390/rs14194779

Various land degradation processes have led to land productivity reduction, food insecurity and ecosystem destruction. The Loess Plateau (LP) suffered from severe land degradation, such as vegetation degradation, soil erosion and desertification. This study assessed land degradation changes by considering different land degradation types including vegetation degradation, soil erosion, aridity, loss of soil organic carbon and desertification in the Huangfuchuan watershed of the northern LP. A comprehensive land degradation index (LDI) was developed by combining different degradation processes using the fuzzy logic modeling method. Our results showed significant land use transitions from bare land and sandy area to grass land and forest land from 1990 to 2018, which were consistent with an obvious increase in vegetation cover from 31.24% to 40.72%. The soil erosion rate predicted by the RUSLE model decreased by 51.95% during 1990–2018. The basin-average LDI decreased from 0.68 in 1990 to 0.51 in 2018, suggesting the great success of land degradation prevention in a fragile ecological environment region on the LP during the past decades. This study proposed an integrated framework for land degradation assessment in the high erodible area. The results can provide good references for the improvement of ecological environment in the future.