摘要：Soil erosion continues to be one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. The information on erosion process, the spatially-distributed erosion and deposition is the key to develop soil erosion prediction models that can provide a scientific basis for soil and water conservation planning. However, conventional erosion monitoring techniques did not provide enough such information. Numerous trace materials have been applied in recent decades and been successfully utilized in soil erosion research and rare earth elements (REEs) were considered as ideal tracer materials due to their special properties. The development and improvement process of REE trace method is summarized briefly in this paper. The applications of REE trace method in studying the erosion process and the spatial distribution of erosion and deposition from slope and watershed are systematically reviewed; and its application in revealing soil erosion mechanism is also overviewed. The systematic review on REE trace method in this paper could provide scientific references for understanding the REE trace method and extending its application in wider research areas.
关键词：Soil erosion;Rare earth elements;Slope and watershed;REE trace method
