The unique stratigraphic structure of the loess in China has attracted the attention of studies of various countries and in various disciplines. The year of 1949 marks a new phase of the studies of the loess of more systematical nature. From the loess census in the 1950s and the 1960s, a large amount of first-hand materials is obtained about the loess areas, and several researches of loess of important influence were published in this period. In the 1970s, new scientific technologies and methods were developed, covering new areas and with improved precision. Since the 1980s, many achievements have been made in the comprehensive control of the soil erosion in the Loess Plateau, and more importantly, the results of the loess studies have been more and more used to understand the global climate change, with the decoding of the paleoclimate codes recorded in the loess strata. Through the joint efforts of several generations of scholars, the studies of the loess in China have reached the leading level in the world.

loess studies  /  water and soil conservation  /  loess deposit  /  paleoclimate  /  global climate change