Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 1223–1231, 2018 https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-1223-2018 © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Factors influencing development of cracking–sliding failures of loess across the eastern Huangtu Plateau of China Yanrong Li1, Jiarui Mao2, Xiqiong Xiang2, and Ping Mo1 1Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China 2Key Laboratory of Karst Environment and Geohazard Prevention, Ministry of Land and Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China Correspondence: Yanrong Li (
[email protected]) and Xiqiong Xiang (
[email protected]) Received: 26 October 2016 – Discussion started: 19 December 2016 Revised: 27 March 2018 – Accepted: 2 April 2018 – Published: 26 April 2018 Abstract. Loess is a porous, weakly cemented, and unsat- and they are most abundant in arid or semiarid regions in urated Quaternary sediment deposited by the wind in arid inner Eurasia and North America; they are characterized by and semiarid regions. Loess is widely and thickly distributed high porosity, weak cementation, and unsaturation (Smalley in China, making the Huangtu Plateau the largest bulk ac- et al., 2011). cumulation of loess on Earth. However, the fragile geoen- The Huangtu (Loess) Plateau in China (LPC) is a key vironment in the loess areas of China causes frequent and region for the comprehensive development of agriculture, various geohazards, such as cracking–sliding failure (“beng- forestry, animal husbandry, and industrial resources with an hua” in Chinese), which is a typical geohazard that causes arable land area of 173 000 km2, which accounts for more the largest number of casualties each year.