Water Erosion and Its Controlling Factors in the Anthropocene

doi:10.1017/9781108787291.007

5 - Water Erosion and Its Controlling Factors in the Anthropocene

from Part I - Water-Related Risks under Climate Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2022

Ximeng Xu and

Qiuhong Tang

Edited by

Qiuhong Tang and

Guoyong Leng

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Qiuhong Tang: Affiliation:
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
Guoyong Leng: Affiliation:
Oxford University Centre for the Environment

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Summary

Water erosion is one of most important global environmental problems which has been widely researched but remains poorly understood because of the complexity of its underlying mechanisms driven by interacting environmental factors. Water erosion is highly sensitive to climate change and associated events such as increasing extreme rainfall events and global warming. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the research progress on water erosion processes, as well as how they can be influenced by the natural and anthropogenic factors. The main water erosion control practices are introduced, which need better spatial and temporal allocations under future climate risk. We also reviewed the literature that has quantified direct and indirect climate change impacts on water erosion. Future avenues of research might include: deeper investigation of the natural and anthropogenic factors associated with water erosion, high resolution predictions of water erosion at larger scale and evaluation of economic models associated with erosion control practices to help policymakers develop and implement measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Keywords

Soil erosion Climate change Erosion control practice Rainfall erosivity Land use change Anthropocene

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Type: Chapter
Information: Climate Risk and Sustainable Water Management , pp. 82 - 109

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108787291.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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