Quantitative reconstruction of soil erosion process in a crater lake catchment during the Holocene, Southwest China

Quantifying soil denudation, sediment transport, and deposition processes in watersheds over millennial timescales is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of soil erosion dynamics. However, most current studies on soil erosion over such timescales primarily rely on the qualitative interpretation of field-based sedimentary records. Southwest China underwent substantial environmental changes during the Holocene, with soil erosion being notably influenced by long-term human activities. In this study, we selected a crater lake catchment with a straightforward sediment source as the case study area. The Landlab landscape evolution model was employed to simulate and reconstruct temporal and spatial soil erosion processes. Higher erosion rates were observed during 10.9–10.3 ka, 8.8–7.9 ka, 3.9–3.2 ka, and after 1.0 ka, with the lowest level recorded between 7.7 and 4.2 ka. During the Holocene, approximately 64 % of the catchment area underwent denudation in gullies and mountains, while 36 % of the area, including flatlands and lakes, was deposited. Our findings indicate that vegetation exerted a significantly greater impact on soil erosion compared than precipitation. The simulated erosion rate increased rapidly after ∼ 1.0 ka with an average increase of 1.2 times, driven by human activities. This study highlights the need for additional field geological evidence to validate the model.