Articles | Volume 30, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1675-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1675-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Elucidating loessal landslide initiation in wood- and shrub-land by hydro-mechanical heterogeneity
Ruijie Yang
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China
Xi Yang
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China
Yan Zhang
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China
Liqun Lyu
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China
Xinying Wang
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China
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Soil loss results from the hydrological and hydromechanical responses. The soil loss intensity theoretically relates to the soil water storage and the suction stress. This work contributes to exhibiting the close relationship between erosion intensity in the bed and on the slope and the soil water storage and suction stress. The results of this work highlight that antecedent precipitation should be considered in predicting soil loss in the permanent gully rather than solely from rainfall amount.
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In the study domain of soil and water conservation, the prediction of gravitational mass-wasting is often not satisfied. In fact, they occur by the mechanics of soil strength decrease due to water infiltration. Alternatively, this work adopts some basic concepts of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, together with the field observations of soil moisture, rainfall records and temperature, to examine the potential relationship between erosion intensity and hydrological and hydro-mechanical response.
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Short summary
Short summary
In a localized area with the same vegetation, an overwhelming propensity of shallow landslides on the south-facing slope over the north-facing slope could not be attributed to plant roots. We provide new evidence from the pore water pressure of failing mass, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water storage, and drainage and the hillslope stability fluctuation to prove that the infinite slope model may be suitable for elucidating the aspect-dependent landslide distribution in the study area.
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Short summary
We carried out a series of field studies on woodland and shrubland slopes on China’s Loess Plateau. We found that woodland slopes allow water to move deeper into the ground, which helps them remain more stable, whereas shrubland slopes tend to hold more water near the surface and are more likely to fail. This means that landslides may play a bigger role in moving soil than previously thought, so soil loss on the Loess Plateau should be re-evaluated rather than linked only to surface runoff.
We carried out a series of field studies on woodland and shrubland slopes on China’s Loess...