The attempts which apply the alternative methods for estimating rapidl soil erosion rates to elusidate the relationship between the land use types and land degradation has been made. The ¹³⁷Cs measurement, magnetic susceptibility, aggregate stability, and the soil properties have been employed in Dongxi River Basin, a mountainous area of western Fujian. The results reveal that: (a)A plot of ¹³⁷Cs inventory(Y) against slope angle(X) showing a strong inverse log log relationship(r=-0 83) indicates that much stronger soil erosion occurs on steeper slopes;(b)average soil loss(in thichness of top soil per year) in the past 30 years for arable slope crest, arable slopes and tea plantation slopes are 1.6, 10.4 and 8.0 mm/year respectively; (c)the surface layer enrichment factor of magnetic susceptibility(Y) in soil also shows an inverse log log relationship(r=-0 63) which indicates a similar tendency with the relationship between the ¹³⁷Cs inventory(Y) against slope angle(X); and (d)the physical and chemical properties of soil among different land use types show different degraded characteristics at different significance levels.