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Plate 4.3 The Loess Plateau, China
Source: Wikimedia Creative Commons, Till Niermann
the project grain yields on the Plateau have
increased, as have average incomes and employ-
ment rates. The short-term gains of the Loess
Plateau Project reveal the increasing power of
humans, operating within the Anthropocene, to
transform the environment in order to address
emerging environmental problems. Political
ecologists would, however, point out that without
associated political and economic reform (both
in the nature of land ownership and trade), there
is a real danger that land degradation could re-
emerge on the Plateau once project funding
runs out.
This World Bank video provides infor-
mation on the history of soil erosion in the
Loess Plateau and how restoration efforts
are attempting to reverse these problems:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NQBeYffZ_SI
4.5 CONCLUSIONS
In this chapter we have explored the impacts
that humans are having on the planet's soils. From
the first forest clearances associated with the rise
of agriculture, to the modern use of artificial
fertilizers, humans have transformed soil ecologies
throughout the world. The human transformation
of the soil has taken four basic forms. First, through
the over-utilization of soils to grow crops and
rear livestock, humans have facilitated a decline
More information on the Loess Plateau
Project is available at:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/200
7/03/15/restoring-chinas-loess-plateau
 
 
 
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