2 Study area
Yan’an belongs to Shaanxi Province and is located in the central of the
Loess Plateau of China, with a total area of about 37,000
km2 (Figure 1). In 2018, the resident population of
Yan’an was about 2.5294 million, and the urbanization rate reached
62.31%. The terrain of Yan’an is high in the northwest and low in the
southeast, with an average elevation of about 1,200m. Yan’an has a
typical temperate continental monsoon climate with concentrated
precipitation. Special geological and climatic conditions are important
factors that cause soil erosion in this city. In recent years, due to
the implementation of GFG, the vegetation coverage in Yan’an has
significantly improved, and soil erosion has also been significantly
controlled (Government Website of Yan’an, 2019).
[Figure 1 near here]