Ecosystem degradation accompanied by soil erosion risk is caused by the interaction of many factors, including climate change and human activities. Therefore, before attempting the optimal form of ecological restoration, we must know the key factors responsible for soil erosion risk and determine their impacts on the ecosystem health. To test this approach, we conducted a case study in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area from 1980 to 2015, where extensive restoration (primarily afforestation) has been conducted. The results showed that climate was most important during Period I (1980 to 1984), and explained 84% of the variation in erosion. However, vegetation became equally important during Period II (1985 to 2006), when it accounted for 51% of the variation. Climate became as important as vegetation during Period III (2007 to 2015), when it accounted for 51% of the variation. The temporal variation in the dominant factors that controlled soil erosion risk suggests that the ecological effect of vegetation improvement resulting from ecological restoration in Three Gorges Reservoir Area has been gradually enhanced since the 1980s.

中文翻译：

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20世纪80年代以来生态修复措施对三峡库区水土流失风险的影响


伴随水土流失风险的生态系统退化是由气候变化和人类活动等多种因素相互作用造成的。因此，在尝试最佳的生态恢复形式之前，我们必须了解造成土壤侵蚀风险的关键因素，并确定其对生态系统健康的影响。为了检验这一方法，我们对1980年至2015年期间进行了大规模恢复（主要是植树造林）的三峡库区进行了案例研究。结果表明，气候在第一阶段（1980 年至 1984 年）最为重要，并解释了 84% 的侵蚀变化。然而，植被在第二阶段（1985 年至 2006 年）变得同样重要，占变异的 51%。在第三阶段（2007年至2015年），气候变得与植被一样重要，占了变化的51%。控制水土流失风险的主导因子的时间变化表明，自20世纪80年代以来，三峡库区生态修复所带来的植被改善的生态效应逐渐增强。