简介：ThereasonsfortheYangtzeRiverfloodcalamityin1998arebrieflyintroduced.Theauthorsbelievethatusinga'soilreservoir'conceptisanimportantmeanstohelpcontrolfloodingoftheYangtzeRiver.A'soilreservoir'hasalargepotentialstoragecapacityanditswatercanberapidly'discharged'intotheundergroundwaterinatimelyfashion.Theeroded,infertilesoilsoftheYangtzeRiverWatershedarecurrentlyanobstacletoefficientoperationofthe'soilreservoir'.Thestoragecapacityofthis'soilreservoir'hasbeenseverelyhamperedduetointensivesoilerosionandtheformationofsoilcrusts.Therefore,possiblemeasurestocontrolfloodsintheYangtzeRiverWatershedinclude:rehabilitatingthevegetationtopreservesoilandwaterontheerodedinfertilesoils,enhancinginfiltrationofthedifferentsoiltypes,andutilizingthelarge'soilreservoir'oftheupperreachesoftheYangtzeRiver.