Abstract:The Loess Plateau covers a wide area where soil erosion is significantly different from region to region. To effectively control soil erosion and evaluate the effectiveness of soil erosion control technology, mode, and ecological restoration construction project, it is necessary to divide the Loess Plateau into several ecological regions. Given the regional characteristics and differences in the natural conditions of soil erosion control techniques and models, this study used the data in the National Fundamental Geographic Information System as references and re-divided the County boundary for appropriate ecological regionalization. The zonal characteristics of climate, topography, vegetation, and soil erosion status were analyzed to provide references for the improvement and optimization of soil erosion control technology and modes. The major findings are as follows. (1) The Loess Plateau was divided into five regions, namely, loess sorghum gully region, loess hilly and gully region, sandy land and agricultural irrigation region, earth-rocky mountainous region, and river valley plain region. The loess sorghum gully region and the loess hilly and gully region were then subdivided into two sub-regions. (2) The climate, vegetation, and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau showed clear regional differences. Precipitation and vegetation coverage decreased from southeast to northwest and were consistent in spatial distribution; regions with high precipitation showed high vegetation coverage. In terms of interannual variation, precipitation in the B2 sub-region of the hilly and gully region tended to increase, while it tended to decrease in the other regions, but the changes were not significant. Since the 1980s, vegetation coverage of the Loess Plateau and its regions have been increasing gradually, the most significant increase lying in the loess hilly and gully region. The area-averaged temperature in each region showed a non-significant increase, and a clear temperature increase has occurred since the 1990s. (3) Since 1970, erosion intensity of the Loess Plateau has been remarkably weakened. The average sediment transport modulus ranged from 0.13 to 3924 t km-2 a-1 until 2002 to 2015, and the maximum erosion intensity was moderate (2500-5000 t km-2 a-1), but the eroded area was small and lied in the Jinghe River basin, an area belonging to the B2 sub-region of the loess sorghum gully region.