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• This paper provides a new idea for the genesis and evolution of loess tunnels in the Loess Plateau. • There are significant differences in the loess tunnel development density in the different topographic and micro-topographic units. • Spatial statistical modelling was employed to justify and predict the observed spatial distribution tendency of the loess tunnels. • The loess tunnel evolution process can be divided into five stages: the incubation stage, formation stage, development stage, failure stage, and withered stage. Loess tunnels are very common in the Loess Plateau, and they pose unique geological threats. Loess tunnels are often difficult to detect and control due to their concealment and sudden appearance. Thus far, research on the genesis and evolution of loess tunnels remains scarce. In this paper, the genesis and evolution mechanism of the loess tunnels in the Loess Plateau is studied in depth, and the location, shape, and size information are obtained via field investigations. The potential correlations between the loess sediment, the basic physical properties (depth, water content, particle size composition, collapsibility coefficient, and self-weight collapsibility coefficient), and the tunnel density are inferred based on the Pearson's correlation coefficients and tests on the physical and mechanical properties of the loess sediments. In addition, spatial statistical modelling is employed to justify and predict the observed spatial distribution of the loess tunnels assuming Gaussian Markov random fields. The formation of loess tunnels is due to a combination of factors, including the formation thickness, soil properties, joints and fissures, topography, hydrogeology, and climatic conditions. The thickness of the loess, loess sediment properties, and their spatial relationship jointly determine the material basis of the formation of the loess tunnels. The loess tunnels at different depths have different main controlling factors that are hierarchical by depth. The evolution process of loess tunnels can be divided into five stages: the incubation stage, formation stage, development stage, failure stage, and withered stage. The characteristics of each stage are discussed in detail. Our work provides novel insights into subsurface erosion from the aspect of soil tunnels. It improves our understanding of hill slope geomorphological evolution and also provides effective techniques for tunnel erosion control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hillslope erosion dynamic model integrating vegetation effect was established. • Unified baseline parameters were obtained across different land uses. • Effect of vegetation on soil detachment and sediment transport was revealed. • Contribution rates of vegetation to sediment reduction along slopes were quantified. Developing a process-based soil erosion model that comprehensively considers the effects of vegetation is complex but crucial for evaluating sediment reduction during vegetation restoration. Current understanding of the effect of vegetation on sediment reduction along hillslopes across different land uses is limited. In this paper, we developed a dynamic model of hillslope erosion that integrates the effects of vegetation on soil detachability and hydrodynamics (VED) based on the feedback mechanism between soil detachment and sediment transport. The VED was calibrated and validated with runoff plot data for woodland, grassland, and farmland in the Wuding, Yan, Jing and Wei Rivers of the Loess Plateau in China. Unified baseline parameters and decay coefficients of vegetation were obtained. The model validation results indicated that the coefficient of determination, Nash–Sutcliffe simulation efficiency and relative error ranged from 0.59 to 0.99, 0.56 to 0.90, and −45.99 % to 46.36 %, respectively. The decay coefficients for soil detachment capacity (Φ), sediment transport capacity (T c), and the sediment reduction effect of vegetation exhibited the following order: woodland > grassland > farmland. Compared with VED, existing process-based soil erosion models failed to effectively characterize the influence of vegetation on Φ and T c on the Loess Plateau, with differences of several orders of magnitude. The individual contributions of runoff, soil detachability, and hydrodynamics with vegetation impact on sediment yield were quantified by VED. The contribution rates of vegetation to sediment reduction decreased gradually with increasing slope length because the soil detachment capacity of bare slopes exceeded that of vegetated slopes, resulting in a faster increase in sediment yield. The contribution rates of vegetation to sediment reduction for woodland, grassland, and farmland with 20 %–60 % vegetation covers were 66.75 %–99.95 %, 57.43 %–99.63 %, and 27.91 %–88.63 % in the boundary conditions of this study, respectively. The results reveal the potential for integrating VED into other distributed watershed hydrological and sediment models to assess the effects of vegetation restoration on sediment reduction at a watershed scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]