Biogeosciences
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Articles | Volume 13, issue 16
Articles | Volume 13, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4735-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4735-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 13, issue 16
Research article
 | 
23 Aug 2016
Research article |  | 23 Aug 2016

Moderate topsoil erosion rates constrain the magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink and agricultural productivity losses on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Jianlin Zhao, Kristof Van Oost, Longqian Chen, and Gerard Govers

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Short summary
We used a novel approach to reassess erosion rates on the CLP. We found that both current average topsoil erosion rates and the maximum magnitude of the erosion-induced carbon sink are overestimated on the CLP. Although average topsoil losses on the CLP are still high, a major increase in agricultural productivity occurred since 1980. Hence, erosion is currently not a direct threat to agricultural productivity on the CLP but the long-term effects of erosion on soil quality remain important.
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