Why are the vegetation on the Loess Plateau destroyed?

Because of deforestation, the Loess Plateau has experienced three climaxes of deforestation since Qin and Han Dynasties.

The first time was the large-scale reclamation immigrants in Qin and Han dynasties, which caused large-scale destruction of forests in northern Shanxi and northern Shaanxi.

The second time was the large-scale reclamation in the Ming Dynasty, which caused unprecedented havoc to the ecological environment in the northern part of the Loess Plateau. According to textual research, in the early Ming Dynasty, the system of land reclamation was vigorously promoted in northern Shaanxi and northern Shaanxi of the Loess Plateau, and the task of land reclamation was imposed on every border guard.

The third reclamation was in the Qing dynasty, and the system of rewarding reclamation was implemented. The scope of reclamation moved from northern Shaanxi and northern Shanxi to southern Inner Mongolia, and millions of acres of grassland in the northern Loess Plateau and Ordos Plateau were reclaimed for agriculture.