Abstract: Eucommia ulmoides is an important economic and soil and water conservation tree species in hilly red soil region of South China. In 2002-2005, runoff plots were installed in a typical E. ulmoides plantation to make observations, aimed to illustrate the relationships of surface runoff and soil erosion under E. ulmoides plantation with rainfall characteristics. In the observation period, the rainfall (R) and rainfall intensity (I) in most rain events were <25 mm and <5 mm·h^-1, respectively, and the runoff and soil erosion showed significant linear relationships with R, R·I, and rainfall erosivity (R₃₀). In a given rain event, R₃₀ could be a better factor than R·I to predict slope erosion, and more approached to the connotation of Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation. The product of runoff depth (Rd) and R₃₀,Rd·R₃₀, had a very significant linear correlation with the soil erosion under E. ulmoides plantation (r=0.685,P<0.01), suggesting its better ability than Rd for predicting slope erosion.

Key words: Wild Chinese alligator, Habitat, Vegetation, Diversity