Abstract
In Mongolia, nomadic herders have successfully been grazing livestock for more than a millennium. However, in recent years, concerns have increased that changes in management and higher livestock stocking rates may negatively affect vegetation and increase soil erosion, overland flow and sediment load of rivers. In addition, ambitious agricultural policies increase the intensity of agricultural land use thus enforcing a conversion of grassland to agricultural land which is far more susceptible to erosion. In this study, we tackle the question how recent land-use dynamics influence erosion risks and which implications these require on water resources management. The study was part of a larger research effort, studying implementation options for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM); in this paper, specifically impacts of land use and land-use change on water resources are studied. The study has been carried out in the Kharaa river basin (KRB) in Northern Mongolia, in which grazing and agriculture play key roles. As several erosion and run-off-relevant factors such as slope, soil type or land use and land cover are widely varying in the KRB, sub-regions of the catchment have been analysed to identify susceptible combinations of environmental and land management factors. In our study we identified that erosion risks in the sub-catchments under current land use and management calculated with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation sum up to approximately 2–4 Mg ha−1 year−1 for steppe and 4–9 Mg ha−1 year−1 for croplands, while erosion rates calculated using 137CS measurements resulted in 2–3 Mg ha−1 year−1 on steppe and 15 Mg ha−1 year−1 on cropland. Erosion risk scenarios indicate that land use change as well as management and climate factors can reduce (−30 %) or aggravate erosion risks up to sevenfold and contribute to additional challenges in water and soil management in the KRB. Strategies have to be developed to limit land conversion and implement soil protection in erosion prone sub-regions. IWRM has the potential to bridge sectorial measures, e.g. in agriculture, rural development or nature protection, but erosion and runoff-related impacts currently are addressed in different institutions, legal frameworks and regulations, which may slow down or hamper efficient measures.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bayar S (2008) The Prime Minister of Mongolia—Statement at the GENERALDEBATE of the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 24, New York
Begzsuren S, Ellis JE, Ojima DS, Coughenour MB, Chuluun T (2004) Livestock responses to droughts and severe winter weather in the Gobi Three Beauty National Park, Mongolia. J Arid Environ 59:785–796
Chappell A (1999) The limitations of using 137Cs for estimating soil redistribution in semi-arid environments. Geomorphology 29:135–152. doi:10.1016/S0169-555X(99)00011-2
Chen Y, Lee G, Lee P, Oikawa T (2007) Model analysis of grazing effect on above-ground biomass and above-ground net primary production of a Mongolian grassland ecosystem. J Hydrol 333:155–164
Chuluun T, Ojima D (2001) Sustainability of pastoral systems in Mongolia. In: Open Symposium on “Change and Sustainability of Pastoral Land Use Systems in Temperate and Central Asia”, Ulaanbaatar, p 52–57
Di Stefano C, Ferro V, Porto P (1999) Linking sediment yield and caesium-137 spatial distribution at Basin Scale. J Agric Eng Res 74:41–62. doi:10.1006/jaer.1999.0436
Dorjgotov D (2003) Soils of Mongolia. Admon Publishing, Ulaanbaatar
Erasmi S, Priess J (2007) Satellite and survey data: a multiple source approach to study regional land-cover/land-use change in Indonesia. Geovisualisierung in der Humangeographie Kartographische Schriften 13:101–114
Fernandez-Gimenez ME, Batkhishig B, Batbuyan B (2012) Cross-boundary and cross-level dynamics increase vulnerability to severe winter disasters (dzud) in Mongolia. Glob Environ Change 22:836–851
Freeman TG (1991) Calculating catchment area with divergent flow based on a regular grid. Comput Geosci 17:413–422
Giese M, Brueck H, Gao YZ et al (2013) N balance and cycling of inner Mongolia typical steppe: a comprehensive case study of grazing effects. Ecol Monogr 83:195–219
Göttlicher D, Obregon A, Homeier J et al (2009) Land-cover classification in the Andes of southern Ecuador using Landsat ETM + data as a basis for SVAT modelling. Int J Remote Sens 30:1867–1886. doi:10.1080/01431160802541531
Hartwig M, Theuring P, Rode M, Borchardt D (2012) Suspended sediments in the Kharaa River catchment (Mongolia) and its impact on hyporheic zone functions. Environ Earth Sci 65:1535–1546. doi:10.1007/s12665-011-1198-2
Hickmann S (2006) Conservation agriculture in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome
Hofmann J, Hürdler J, Ibisch R et al (2011) Analysis of recent nutrient emission pathways, resulting surface water quality and ecological impacts under extreme continental climate: the Kharaa River Basin (Mongolia). Int Rev Hydrobiol 96:484–519. doi:10.1002/iroh.201111294
Horlemann L, Dombrowsky I (2012) Institutionalising IWRM in developing and transition countries: the case of Mongolia. Environ Earth Sci 65:1547–1559. doi:10.1007/s12665-011-1198-2
Hoyos N (2005) Spatial modeling of soil erosion potential in a tropical watershed of the Colombian Andes. Catena 63:85–108
Hülsmann L, Geyer T, Schweitzer C et al. (2014) The effect of subarctic conditions on water resources: initial results and limitations of the SWAT model applied to the Kharaa River Catchment in Northern Mongolia. Environ Earth Sci (this issue). doi:10.1007/s12665-014-3173-1
Kalbus E, Kalbacher T, Kolditz O, Krüger E, Seegert J, Röstel G, Teutsch G, Borchardt D, Krebs P (2012) Integrated Water Resources Management under different hydrological, climatic and socio-economic conditions. Environ Earth Sci 65:1363–1366. doi:10.1007/s12665-011-1330-3
Karaburun A (2010) Estimation of C factor for soil erosion modeling using NDVI in Buyukcekmece watershed. Ozean J Appl Sci 3:77–85
Karnieli A, Bayarjargal Y, Bayasgalan M et al (2013) Do vegetation indices provide a reliable indication of vegetation degradation? A case study in the Mongolian pastures. Int J Remote Sens 34:6243–6262. doi:10.1080/01431161.2013.793865
Karthe D, Heldt S, Houdret A, Borchardt D (2014) IWRM in a country under rapid transition: lessons learnt from the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia. Environmental Earth Sciences (this issue)
Kato H, Onda Y, Tanaka Y (2010) Using 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements to estimate soil redistribution rates on semi-arid grassland in Mongolia. Geomorphology 114:508–519
Korytny LM, Bazhenova OI, Martianova GN, Ilyicheva EA (2003) The influence of climatic change and human activity on erosion processes in sub-arid watersheds in southern East Siberia. Hydrol Process 17:3181–3193. doi:10.1002/hyp.1382
Lehner B, Verdin K, Jarvis A (2008) New global hydrography derived from spaceborne elevation data. EOS Trans Am Geophys Union (AGU) 89:93–94. doi:10.1029/2008EO100001
Mao R, Ho C-H, Feng S et al (2013) The influence of vegetation variation on Northeast Asian dust activity. Asia-Pac J Atmos Sci 49:87–94. doi:10.1007/s13143-013-0010-5
Menzel L, aus der Beek T, Törnros T et al. (2008) Hydrological impact of climate and land-use change—results from the MoMo project. International Conference “Uncertainties in water resource management: causes, technologies and consequences” IHP Technical Documents in Hydrology No 1, UNESCO Office, Jakarta 1:15–20
Nazimova DI, Nozhenkova LF, Pogrebnaya NA (1999) Use of the neuro-network technology for classification and prognosis of changes of landscape zonal conditions on climate indications. Geogr Nat Resour 2:117–122
NSO (2000–2011) Statistical yearbooks 2000–2011. National Statistical Office of Mongolia (NSO)
NSO (2010) Statistical yearbook 2010. National Statistical Office of Mongolia (NSO)
Onda Y, Kato H, Tanaka Y et al (2007) Analysis of runoff generation and soil erosion processes by using environmental radionuclides in semiarid areas of Mongolia. J Hydrol 333:124–132
Parliament of Mongolia (1995) Law of Mongolia on natural plants. Parliament of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
Parliament of Mongolia (2002) Law of Mongolia on land. Parliament of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
Parliament of Mongolia (2004) Law of Mongolia on water. Parliament of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
Parliament of Mongolia (2007) Law of Mongolia on forest. Parliament of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
Prasuhn V, Liniger H, Gisler S et al (2013) A high-resolution soil erosion risk map of Switzerland as strategic policy support system. Land Use Policy 32:281–291
Priess JA, Schweitzer C, Wimmer F et al (2011) The consequences of land-use change and water demands in Central Mongolia—an assessment based on regional land-use policies. Land Use Policy 28:4–10. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2010.03.002
Ranzi R, Le TH, Rulli MC (2012) A RUSLE approach to model suspended sediment load in the Lo river (Vietnam): effects of reservoirs and land use changes. J Hydrol 422–423:17–29
Renard KG, Freimund JR (1994) Using monthly precipitation data to estimate the R-factor in the revised USLE. J Hydrol 157:287–306
Renard KG, Foster GR, Weesies GA et al. (1997) Predicting soil erosion by water: a guide to conservation planning with the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). Agriculture Handbook (Washington)
Römkens MJM, Prasadu SN, Poesen JWA (1986) Soil erodibility and properties. Transactions of the XIII. In: Congress of the International Society of Soil Science. pp 492–504
Schweitzer C, Ruecker GR, Conrad C et al (2005) Knowledge-based land use classification combining expert knowledge, GIS, multi-temporal Landsat 7 ETM + and MODIS time series data in Khorezm, Uzbeskistan. Göttinger Geographische Abhandlungen 113:116–123
Shi Z, Cai C, Ding S et al (2004) Soil conservation planning at the small watershed level using RUSLE with GIS: a case study in the three Gorge Area of China. Catena 55:33–48
Theuring P, Rode M, Behrens S et al. (2013) Identification of fluvial sediment sources in the Kharaa River catchment, Northern Mongolia. Hydrological Processes, p 845–856. doi:10.1002/hyp.9684
Van der Knijff JM, Jones RJA, Montanarella L (2000) Soil erosion risk assessment in Europe. European Comission Directorate General, Joint Research Centre (JCR), Space Applications Institute, European Soil Bureau
Walling DE, He Q (1999) Improved models for estimating soil erosion rates from cesium-137 measurements. J Environ Qual 28:611–622
Walling DE, Quine TA (1993) Use of Caesium-137 as a tracer of erosion and sedimentation—handbook for the application of the Caesium-137 technique
Weedon GP, Gomes S, Viterbo P et al (2011) Creation of the WATCH forcing data and its use to assess global and regional reference crop evaporation over land during the twentieth century. J Hydrometeorol 12:823–848
Wimmer F, Schlaffer S, aus der Beek T, Menzel L (2008) Distributed modelling of climate change impacts on snow sublimation in Northern Mongolia. Adv Geosci 21:117–124. doi:10.5194/adgeo-21-117-2009
Wischmeier WH, Smith DD (1978) Predicting rainfall erosion losses—a guide to conservation planning. US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture
WRB—World reference base for soil resources (2006) World soil resources reports No. 103. FAO, Rome (ISBN 92-5-105511-4), p 145
Xu L, Xu X, Meng X (2013) Risk assessment of soil erosion in different rainfall scenarios by RUSLE model coupled with information diffusion model: a case study of Bohai Rim, China. CATENA 100:74–82
Zhang H, Yang Q, Li R et al (2013) Extension of a GIS procedure for calculating the RUSLE equation LS factor. Comput Geosci 52:177–188
Zoljargal M (2013) Sowing season set to begin in May. The UBPost. http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=3641. Accessed May 15 2013. UB Post
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their comments considerably improving the quality of this paper, the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) for funding this study in the framework of the FONA (Research for Sustainable Development) initiative (Grant No. 033L003). We highly appreciate the comments of A. Houdret and I. Dombrowski (both German Development Institute, Bonn, Germany) on the legal framework in Mongolia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Priess, J.A., Schweitzer, C., Batkhishig, O. et al. Impacts of agricultural land-use dynamics on erosion risks and options for land and water management in Northern Mongolia. Environ Earth Sci 73, 697–708 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3380-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3380-9