Benggang erosion leads to significant soil and water loss in the red soil hilly regions of southern China, with shear strength identified as a crucial indicator of the stability of collapsing walls. This study first undertook a bibliometric analysis of 146 relevant publications sourced from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WoS) covering the period from 2000 to 2025. Subsequently, 40 publications containing high-quality experimental data were selected for meta-analysis. This analysis systematically quantified the effects of multiple factors on shear strength and ranked their respective weights. The findings indicated that the bibliometric analysis demonstrated exponential growth in research focused on soil shear strength of Benggang. The Journal of Soil and Water Conservation and Catena were identified as the leading Chinese and international journals, respectively, in terms of publication volume. The research teams directed by Yanhe Huang at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and Shuwen Ding at Huazhong Agricultural University constituted the two principal collaboration networks. An analysis of keyword co-occurrence and thematic evolution revealed that ”influencing factors” consistently constituted a central theme within the research. Meta-analysis revealed the contribution of multiple factors to soil shear strength was ranked as follows: soil moisture content > plant roots > cementing agents > dry-wet cycling > soil texture. It was found that soil moisture content exhibits a distinct threshold; specifically, within the range of 5% to 30%, it has a significant effect on cohesion force (effect value = 1.243) and the internal friction angle (effect value = 1.088). Beyond 30%, the effects diminish sharply, resulting in effect values of 0.267 and 0.170, respectively. The increase in the number of dry-wet cycling results in a cumulative deterioration effect. When the frequency of dry-wet cycling is fewer than five, the cohesion force is only weakly affected, exhibiting an effect value of 0.167. However, as the frequency of dry-wet cycling increases to the range of five to ten, there is a significant reduction in the soil shear strength, with the effect values for the cohesion force and the internal friction angle reaching 1.749 and 1.863, respectively. Additionally, root densitys enhance shear strength through root length and surface area, positioning them just below soil moisture content in terms of contribution. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the prevention and management of disasters related to the collapsing walls of Benggang.

Soil and water conservation measures, especially reforestation and check dam construction, have been progressively implemented on the coarse sandy hilly catchment region of the Yellow River basin for several decades, and climate conditions are also dynamic. Therefore, it is very urgent to understand how the precipitation variation, land use changes and check dams affect soil erosion and sediment yield in a large watershed. The sediment delivery distributed (SEDD) model was employed to quantitatively identify the impacts of the three factors on soil erosion and sediment yield in the Kuye River watershed. Significant land use changes, with the conversion of arable land and bare land to vegetation cover and construction land, occurred in the study watershed from 1987 to 2016. In addition, 306 key dams were built in the watershed, with a total storage capacity of 316.64 Mm3, according to the statistical data of 2011. Hot spot analysis showed that the high-risk regions for soil erosion and sediment yield were mainly concentrated in the middle reaches of the watershed. The simulation results showed that the check dams were the dominant factor, reducing total sediment load by 53.77% in 2006. However, from 1987 to 2016, the contribution of these three factors (precipitation variation, land use changes and check dams) to sediment reduction was 29.10%, 40.09% and 30.81%, respectively, which indicated that all of them had significant influence on sediment load. The results can serve as a reference for watershed management and policy implementation.

Reforestation and check dam construction have been progressively implemented on the Loess Plateau for several decades. However, it is still unclear how the two major sediment control strategies affect soil erosion and sediment yield in a large watershed. A combination of field investigation and model simulation was employed to quantitatively identify the impacts of the two measures on soil erosion and sediment yield in the Kuye River watershed. Significant land use changes, with the conversion of arable land and bare land to vegetation cover and construction land, occurred in the study watershed from 1987 to 2016. In addition, 306 key dams were built in the watershed, with a total storage capacity of 316.64 Mm3, according to the statistical data of 2011. Hot spot analysis showed that the high-risk regions for soil erosion and sediment yield were mainly concentrated on the periphery of Shenmu County and the outlet of the watershed. The simulation results showed that the land use changes from 1987 to 2016 remarkably reduced sediment yield by 51.14% without considering the action of check dams. In the 1987 scenario, the sediment yield was reduced by 50.44% when considering the action of check dams compared with the yield that was estimated without consideration of check dams. Under the combined effect of the two factors, the sediment yield decreased by 73.91% in 2016. More attention should be paid to check dams, and corresponding measures should be taken to protect them, especially in the flood period.