Loess Plateau in China is well known in the world for its unique landscape and severe soil erosion. To meet the needs of decision-makers, the Soil and Water Conservation Monitoring Information System (SWCMIS) was developed, which is oriented to the current situation of soil erosion and assists decision-making on soil conservation for this region. The system consists of two parts: database of soil erosion and conservation including data collection and processing and a knowledge library. The Multi-level Remote Sensing Monitoring Information System in the Loess Plateau consists of three levels. Because soil erosion is a complex process and is affected by many factors, such as climate, landform, soil, vegetation and human activities, it is necessary to integrate remotely sensed data and other data, such as DEM (digital elevation model), observed data, the fluvial sediments and runoff plot data, as well as social economy.

Based on the database and results of related research, a model of soil erosion at a regional scale was developed. It is an exponential function correlating erosive ability with rainfall in the rainy season, gully density, ratio of slope land, content of soil particles > 0.25 mm, and vegetation cover. The main 180procedures of modeling include making base-maps by overlaying maps of the main factors to extract parameters from remote sensing data and thematic maps or observations, establishing a statistical regression model, and evaluating and predicting the regional situation of soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau. The results are surprisingly statistically significant.