Abstract:
Study on the Holocene soil erosion provides critical information of human-environment interaction in the past and helps predict future environmental change. In this research, a modified RUSLE model was used with loess profile data to quantify the Holocene soil erosion rates and loess deposition rates in the Weihe River Basin, thereby elucidating the basin’s erosion and deposition dynamics and assessing the relative weights of natural and anthropogenic factors. Results indicate that during the Early Holocene (11.0~7.9 kaBP), both erosion rates (12.22 t·ha
−1·a
−1) and deposition rates (1~2 cm/100a) were relatively low, which were controlled primarily by a cool, arid climate and dense vegetation cover. In the Mid-Holocene (7.9~3.1 kaBP), the climate became warmer and more humid, with more frequent and intense fluctuations, coinciding with the advent of early agricultural activity. Erosion and deposition rates exhibited moderate changes and pronounced spatial variability, reflecting regional differences in sensitivity to climatic oscillations and the degree of human influence. Since the Late Holocene (3.1 kaBP to present), intensified human activities have markedly altered these dynamics. In particular, around 1.0 kaBP, widespread anthropogenic disturbance led to increased erosion rates across most of the basin. The revised RUSLE model integrate stratigraphic and climatic data, and could capture these phase-specific erosion patterns effectively, supporting long-term erosion assessment and guiding the development of sustainable land-management strategies.