Estimating the erosion and deposition rates in a small watershed by the 137Cs tracing method

Understanding the erosion and deposition rates in a small watershed is important for designing soil and water conservation measures. The objective of this study is to estimate the net soil loss and gain at points with various land use types and landform positions in a small watershed in the Sichuan Hilly Basin of China by the 137Cs tracing technique. Among various land use types, the order of erosion rate was bare rock > sloping cultivated land > forest land. The paddy field and Caotu (a kind of cultivated land located at the foot of hills) were depositional areas. The erosion rate under different landform was in this order: hillside > saddle > hilltop. The footslope and the valley were depositional areas. The 137Cs technique was shown to provide an effective means of documenting the spatial distribution of soil erosion and deposition within the small watershed.