[Objective] A comprehensive control model of soil and water loss at the reserve zone of the upstream area in Niulan River basin was analyzed to provide new ideas for a water and soil loss control in the basin.[Methods] The subbasins were extracted automatically using ArcGIS based on digital elevation model data. Then

the subbasin was merged and revised manually with the assistance of remote-sensing images. Every subbasin that was determined with the human-computer interaction method was scored using qualitative and quantitative methods to calculate a comprehensive score. The zones of soil and water conservation and their dominant functions were obtained according to the comprehensive scoring of each subbasin. The control model of a "four-type" small watershed was proposed by analyzing the dominant functions of all the zones of soil and water conservation.[Results] The reserve zone of the Niulan River upstream area was divided into nine subbasins and four areas. The "four-type" small watershed management model was set up in the reserve zone of Niulan River upstream area; moreover

the four partitions of soil and water conservation were matched with the "four-type" control model

comprising the types of ecological security

ecological landscape

ecological economy

and ecological cleanness.[Conclusion] The subbasin can be used as the basic unit of the "four-type" small watershed in the upstream protection area of Niulan River basin

and the dominant functions of soil and water conservation can be used as the basis for the configuration of the "four-type" small watershed model. It provides a scientific control model for soil and water conservation in accordance with the type and precision of the partition.