Economic loss of soil erosion in Linyi City

Soil erosion causes both on-site and off-site impacts that contribute to economic loss of different extent. On-site impacts include losses of sediments, soil nutrients and water; whereas off-site impacts include soil detainment and siltation, respectively. Based on the date of the remote sensing survey on the soil erosion in Linyi City, monetary loss caused by soil erosion were calculated using different methods derived from environmental economics. Results indicate that economic loss caused by soil erosion in Linyi reaches 327.7069×106yuan in 2008. The loss of soil sediment accounts for 37% of the total loss. Results indicate that physical factors, mainly county size, topography and location are decisive in determining the economic loss due to soil erosion, although human factors may also play an important role.