Research progress on mechanism of grassland vegetation regulating soil erosion in Loess Plateau

As one of the most serious soil erosion areas in China, grassland vegetation is priority for vegetation construction in the Loess Plateau area by its unique geographical conditions and limited water. Grassland vegetation has already contributed a lot to control soil water erosion. Based on the relationships between different parts of grassland vegetation and soil erosion, the present paper drew a conclusion that grassland aboveground parts can weaken rainfall energy and runoff erosion power, and grass roots were able to enhance soil penetrability and soil anti-erodibility by improving soil properties and winding soil mass. In order to provide references for vegetation preventing and controlling soil erosion in Loess Plateau, two aspects of current research progress were summarized including the grassland aboveground part controlling soil erosion power and grass roots enhancing soil anti-erodibility and the exiting problem were discussed.