Abstract: Chengdu city is the political, economic, cultural, and population centre in southwest China. The water and soil conservation works are very important to the urban ecological environment of Chengdu city, which is regarded as a pilot example in southwest China. Based on the Sichuan soil loss equation, the soil erosion of Chengdu city was quantitatively assessed and analysed. Results show that the soil erosion situation of Chengdu city is not serious, and the soil erosion modulus and soil erosion ratio are lower than the average level in Sichuan province. The soil erosion of Chengdu city mainly distributes in the Longquan Mountains, Longmen Mountains and Qionglai Mountains, and the soil erosion situation of Longquan Mountains is more serious than that of Longmen Mountains and Qionglai Mountains. As the Longmen Mountains were affected by the “5.12” Wenchuan earthquake which occurred in 2008, the soil erosion intensity is very high in some areas of Longmen Mountains, and it is prone to suffer from sudden water and soil loss disasters such as debris flow and landsides. These areas should focus on the earthquake-induced soil erosion, and strengthen the monitoring and early warning.

Key words: soil erosion, quantitative assessment, soil loss equation, monitoring, Chengdu city