Abstract:

Taking the Maotiao river watershed as the area for a case study, based on environmental economic theories and methods, this paper calculated the soil erosion economic loss under different land use structures in different years in the study area, and analyzed the current situations of soil erosion economic loss, the dynamic change chanracteristics of soil erosion loss, and its relationship with land use structure. The results showed that (1) the total economic loss from soil erosion reached 37381.64×10⁴ yuan in 2007 in the study area, and the loss of nitrogen, phosphorus, kalium and organic matter acounted for 90.26% of the total economic loss, which was 33739.98×10⁴ yuan. Among different land use types, soil erosion economic loss was the highest in dry land and grass land, accounting for 47.08% and 44.24%of the total loss, respectively. The economic loss was higher in the north and southwest of the study area. (2) The soil erosion economic loss changed dramatically during recent 30 years, with an intimate relationship with land use structure. The soil erosion economic loss increased by 3092.98×10⁴ yuan during 1973-1990, or 8.74%, and decreased by 11162.43×10⁴ yuan during 1990-2007, or 22.99%. Dry farmlands and grasslands were the main land-use types that caused soil erosion economic loss. Qingzhen, Pingba and Xiuwen are the main regions that should take measures to prevent soil erosion in the study area.

Key words: environmental economics, Guizhou province, land use structure, Maotiao River watershed, soil erosion economic loss