Measuring bluff erosion part 2: pairing aerial photographs and terrestrial laser scanning to create a watershed scale sediment budget

Effectively managing and reducing high suspended sediment loads in rivers requires an understanding of the magnitude of major sediment sources as well as erosion and transport processes that deliver excess fine sediments to the channel network. The focus of this research is to determine the magnitude of erosion from tall bluffs, a primary sediment source in the 2880 km² Le Sueur watershed, Minnesota, USA. We coupled analyses of seven decades of aerial photographs with four years of repeat terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to determine erosion rates on bluffs. Together, these datasets provide decadal‐scale retreat rates throughout the entire watershed and high‐resolution geomorphic change detection on a subset of bluffs to both constrain erosion rates and document how environmental conditions affect bluff retreat. Erosion rates from aerial photographs and TLS were extrapolated from 243 and 15 measured bluffs, respectively, to all 480 bluffs in the Le Sueur watershed using multiple techniques to obtain estimates of sediment loading from these features at the watershed‐scale. Despite different spatial and temporal measurement scales, the aerial photograph and TLS estimates yielded similar results for bluff retreat rate and total mass of sediment derived from bluffs, with bluffs in the Le Sueur watershed yielding 135 000 ± 39 000 Mg/yr of fine sediment. Comparing this value to the average annual total suspended solids (TSS) load determined from gauging from 2000 to 2010, we determined that bluffs comprise 57 ± 16% of the total TSS load, making bluffs the single most abundant fine sediment source in the basin. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes to sediment sources following wildfire in a forested upland catchment,southeastern Australia

Few investigations link post‐fire changes to sediment sources and erosion processes with sediment yield response at the catchment scale. This linkage is essential if downstream impacts on sediment transport after fire are to be understood in the context of fire effects across different forest environments. In this study, we quantify changing source contributions to fine sediment (<63 µm) exported from a eucalypt forest catchment (136 ha) burnt by wildfire. The study catchment is one of a pair of research catchments located in the East Kiewa River valley in southeastern Australia that have been the subject of a research program investigating wildfire effects on runoff, erosion, and catchment sediment/nutrient exports. This previous research provided the opportunity to couple insights gained from a range of measurement techniques with the application of fallout radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex to trace sediment sources. It was found that hillslope surface erosion dominated exports throughout the 3·5‐year post‐fire measurement period. During this time there was a pronounced decline in the proportional surface contribution from close to 100% in the first six months to 58% in the fourth year after fire. Over the study period, hillslope surface sources accounted for 93% of the fine sediment yield from the burnt catchment. The largest decline in the hillslope contribution occurred between the first and second years after fire, which corresponded with the previously reported large decline in sediment yield, breakdown of water repellency in burnt soils, substantial reduction in hillslope erodibility, and rapid surface vegetation recovery. Coupling the information on sediment sources with hillslope process measurements indicated that only a small proportion of slopes contributed sediment to the catchment outlet, with material derived from near‐channel areas dominating the post‐fire catchment sediment yield response. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment sources and transport pathways in a rural catchment,Herefordshire, UK

The relative significance of primary and secondary suspended sediment sources has been identified in a small (15 km²) agricultural catchment through the application of a linear unmixing model using mineral magnetic, geochemical and radionuclide signatures of fine sediments. Roads appear to be important as a secondary source of suspended sediment and in the conveyance of topsoils to the river channel. Roads also alter the source signatures of sediment in transport, especially that derived from agricultural topsoils. Modelling suggests that c. 30% of the suspended sediment collected from suspended sediment traps in the River Leadon were derived from, or transported via, roads. Relative contributions from primary sources of c. 43% and c. 27% were estimated from a combined (subsoil and channel bank) subsurface source, and a combined (arable and grassland) topsoil source, respectively. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using radiometric fingerprinting and phosphorus to elucidate sediment transport dynamics in an agricultural watershed

The major goals of this study were to determine stream bed sediment erosion/deposition rates, sediment age, percent ‘new’ sediment, and suspended sediment origin during two storm events of contrasting magnitudes (11.9 mm over 5 h and 58.9 mm over 39 h) using fallout radionuclides (excess lead 210 – ²¹⁰Pb_xs and beryllium 7 – ⁷Be) and link the nature and type of sediment source contributions to potential phosphorus (P) off‐site transport. The study was conducted in cropland‐dominated and mixed land use subwatersheds in the non‐glaciated Pleasant Valley watershed (50 km²) in South Central Wisconsin. Fine sediment deposition and erosion rates on stream beds varied from 0.76 to 119.29 mg cm^?2 day^?1 (at sites near the watershed outlet) and 1.72 to 7.72 mg cm^?2 day^?1 (at sites in the headwaters), respectively, during the two storm events. The suspended sediment age ranged from 123 ± 12 to 234 ± 33 days during the smaller storm event; however, older sediment was more prevalent (p = 0.037) in the streams during the larger event with suspended sediment age ranging from 226 ± 9 to 322 ± 114 days. During the small and large storm event, percent new sediment in suspended sediment ranged from 5.3 ± 2.1 to 21.0 ± 2.9% and 5.3 ± 2.7 to 6.7 ± 5.7%, respectively. In the cropland‐dominated subwatershed, upland soils were the major source of suspended sediment, whereas in the mixed land use subwatershed, both uplands and stream banks had relatively similar contributions to suspended sediment. In‐stream (suspended and bed) sediment P levels ranged from 703 ± 193 to 963 ± 84 mg kg^?1 during the two storm events. The P concentrations in suspended and bed sediment were reflective of the dominant sediment source (upland or stream bank or mixed). Overall, sediment transport dynamics showed significant variability between subwatersheds of different land use characteristics during two contrasting storm events. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling localized sources of sediment in mountain catchments for provenance studies

A hydrology–sediment modelling framework based on the model Topkapi-ETH combined with basin geomorphic mapping is used to investigate the role of localized sediment sources in a mountain river basin (Kleine Emme, Switzerland). The periodic sediment mobilization from incised areas and landslides by hillslope runoff and river discharge is simulated in addition to overland flow erosion to quantify their contributions to suspended sediment fluxes. The framework simulates the suspended sediment load provenance at the outlet and its temporal dynamics, by routing fine sediment along topographically driven pathways from the distinct sediment sources to the outlet. We show that accounting for localized sediment sources substantially improves the modelling of observed sediment concentrations and loads at the outlet compared to overland flow erosion alone. We demonstrate that the modelled river basin can shift between channel-process and hillslope-process dominant behaviour depending on the model parameter describing gully competence on landslide surfaces. The simulations in which channel processes dominate were found to be more consistent with observations, and with two independent validations in the Kleine Emme, by topographic analysis of surface roughness and by sediment tracing with ¹⁰ Be concentrations. This research shows that spatially explicit modelling can be used to infer the dominant sediment production process in a river basin, to inform and optimize sediment sampling strategies for denudation rate estimates, and in general to support sediment provenance studies. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interannual variation of suspended sediment load and sediment yield in an alpine catchment

Abstract

The results are described of 16 years operation of a measuring station for the automatic recording of water discharge, bed load and suspended sediment transport in the Rio Cordon catchment, a small alpine basin (5 km²) located in northeastern Italy. Hillslope erosion processes were investigated by surveying individual sediment sources repeatedly. Annual and seasonal variations of suspended sediment load during the period 1986–2001 are analysed along with their contribution to the total sediment yield. The results show that suspended load accounted for 76% of total load and that most of the suspended sediment transport occurred during two flood events: an extreme summer flash flood in September 1994 (27% of the 16-years total suspended load) and a snowmelt-induced event in May 2001 accompanied by a mud flow which fed the stream with sediments. The role of active sediment source areas is discussed in relation to the changes in flood peak—suspended load trends which became apparent after both the 1994 and the 2001 events.     

Tracing suspended sediment and particulate phosphorus sources in catchments

Information on suspended sediment and particulate P (PP) sources is an important requirement in many catchment-based diffuse source pollution studies, in order to assist with model validation and to provide information to support the development of effective sediment and phosphorus control strategies. Such information is, however, frequently unavailable or difficult to assemble. In the study reported, source fingerprinting procedures were successfully used to assemble this information for seven sub-catchments in the Hampshire Avon catchment and five sub-catchments in the Middle Herefordshire Wye catchment. The results provide important new information on the relative importance of the contributions from surface and channel/subsurface sources to the suspended sediment and PP fluxes from the catchments. In the Wye sub-catchments channel/subsurface sources contributed 40–55% of the overall suspended sediment flux and 21–43% of the PP flux from the catchments. Equivalent values for the Avon were 1–41% and 1–54%, respectively. Combination of the information on the relative importance of surface and channel/subsurface sources with measured suspended sediment fluxes has provided the first estimates of the specific fluxes of sediment and PP attributable to channel/subsurface sources for UK catchments. The former are as high as 15–20 t km⁻² year⁻¹ in some of the Wye sub-catchments, whereas the latter exceeded 0.1 kgP ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in the same sub-catchments. The results emphasize the need to take account of potential contributions from channel/subsurface sources when using measured suspended sediment and PP flux data to validate predictions derived from models incorporating only surface contributions.     

Suspended sediment dynamics at high and low storm flows in two small watersheds

A record spanning almost 20 years of suspended sediment and discharge measurements on two reaches of an agricultural watershed is used to assess the influence of in‐channel sediment supplies and bed composition on suspended sediment concentrations (SSC). We analyse discharge‐SSC relationships from two small streams of similar hydrology, climate and land use but widely different bed compositions (one dominated by sand, the other by gravel). Given that sand‐dominated systems have more fine sediment available for transport, we use bed composition and the relative proportion of surface sand and gravel to be representative of in‐channel sediment supply. Both high flow events and lower flows associated with onset and late recessional storm flow (‘low flows’) are analysed in order to distinguish external from in‐channel sources of sediment and to assess the relationship between low flows and sediment supply. We find that SSC during low flows is affected by changes to sediment supply, not just discharge capacity, indicated by the variation in the discharge‐SSC relationship both within and between low flows. Results also demonstrate that suspended sediment and discharge dynamics differ between reaches; high bed sand fractions provide a steady supply of sediment that is quickly replenished, resulting in more frequent sediment‐mobilizing low flow and relatively constant SSC between floods. In contrast, SSC of a gravel‐dominated reach vary widely between events, with high SSC generally associated with only one or two high‐flow events. Results lend support to the idea that fine sediment is both more available and more easily transported from sand‐dominated streambeds, especially during low flows, providing evidence that bed composition and in‐channel sediment supplies may play important roles in the mobilization and transport of fine sediment. In addition, the analysis of low‐flow conditions, an approach unique to this study, provides insight into alternative and potentially significant factors that control fine sediment dynamics. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variations in sediment sources and yields in the Finger Lakes and Catskills regions of New York

The proportional contributions of stream bank and surface sources to fine sediment loads in watersheds in New York State were quantified with uncertainty analysis. Eroding streamside glacial drift, including glaciolacustrine deposits, were examined to help explain variations in the proportional contributions made by bank erosion. Sediment sources were quantified by comparing concentrations of the bomb‐derived radionuclide ¹³⁷Cs in fluvial sediment with sediment from potential source areas such as agricultural soils, forest soils and stream banks. To compare sediment sources in streams containing abundant deposits of fine‐grained glacial drift with watersheds that lacked moderate or extensive streamside deposits, samples were taken from 15 watersheds in the region. The mean contribution of bank erosion to sediment loads in the six streams with glaciolacustrine deposits was 60% (range 46–76%). The proportional contribution of bank erosion was also important in one stream lacking glaciolacustrine deposits (57%) but was less important in the remainder, with contributions ranging from 0 to 46%. Data from this study on the varying contributions of bank erosion and data from past studies of sediment yield in 15 watersheds of New York State suggest that eroding streamside glacial deposits dominate sediment yield in many watersheds. In other watersheds, past impacts to streams, such as channelization, have also resulted in high levels of bank erosion. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing a new stream metric for comparing stream function using a bank–floodplain sediment budget: a case study of three Piedmont streams

A bank and floodplain sediment budget was created for three Piedmont streams tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. The watersheds of each stream varied in land use from urban (Difficult Run) to urbanizing (Little Conestoga Creek) to agricultural (Linganore Creek). The purpose of the study was to determine the relation between geomorphic parameters and sediment dynamics and to develop a floodplain trapping metric for comparing streams with variable characteristics. Net site sediment budgets were best explained by gradient at Difficult Run, floodplain width at Little Conestoga Creek, and the relation of channel cross‐sectional area to floodplain width at Linganore Creek. A correlation for all streams indicated that net site sediment budget was best explained by relative floodplain width (ratio of channel width to floodplain width). A new geomorphic metric, the floodplain trapping factor, was used to compare sediment budgets between streams with differing suspended sediment yields. Site sediment budgets were normalized by floodplain area and divided by the stream's sediment yield to provide a unitless measure of floodplain sediment trapping. A floodplain trapping factor represents the amount of upland sediment that a particular floodplain site can trap (e.g. a factor of 5 would indicate that a particular floodplain site traps the equivalent of 5 times that area in upland erosional source area). Using this factor we determined that Linganore Creek had the highest gross and net (floodplain deposition minus bank erosion) floodplain trapping factor (107 and 46, respectively) that Difficult Run the lowest gross floodplain trapping factor (29) and Little Conestoga Creek had the lowest net floodplain trapping factor (–14, indicating that study sites were net contributors to the suspended sediment load). The trapping factor is a robust metric for comparing three streams of varied watershed and geomorphic character, it promises to be a useful tool for future stream assessments. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Suspended sediment yield and transfer processes in a small High-Arctic glacier basin,Svalbard

Observations of suspended sediment concentration and discharge at two sites on the proglacial river network draining from a predominantly cold-based, High-Arctic glacier (Austre Brøggerbreen) are described. Analysis of these observations illustrates: (i) the relatively low suspended sediment yield from this basin in comparison with many other glacier basins reported in the open literature; (ii) sustained and possibly increasing availability of suspended sediment to the fluvial system as the ablation season progresses; and (iii) the role of the proglacial sandur as both a sediment source and sink. Field observations coupled with the results of the data analysis are used to make inferences concerning the changing nature and relative importance of sediment sources within the basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling changes in suspended sediment from forest road surfaces in a coastal watershed of British Columbia

Erosion from logging road surfaces, cut slopes, banks, and ditches represents a chronic source of sediment input to streams that can degrade aquatic habitats. Road surface erosion is of particular concern because the magnitude of sediment generation when traffic levels are high can be large. Current models for predicting sediment production from roads require information on area‐specific sediment delivery, which is not often available. Here, we developed a model to quantify suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) generated by forest roads surfaces under different conditions of use and density. This model is designed for a typical medium‐size coastal watershed of British Columbia or the American Pacific Northwest, and was applied to the Chilliwack River watershed as a case study. The results illustrate that intensive use of forest roads combined with high road density can increase the number of extreme sedimentation events over a predetermined threshold. A comparison of the effects of road density and the level of road use suggests that the level of road use is more important than the road density for the generation of fine sediment from road surfaces. However, the model omits the impact of roads on mass movements in a watershed, which represent a major source of sediment in steep watersheds, so the effect of road density is likely more substantial than the model predicts. The model is an attempt to overcome field data limitations by using an empirical relation between SSC and traffic variables, and presents a starting point for more intensive field studies that could be used to validate it. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Streambank sediment loading rates at the watershed scale and the benefit of riparian protection

Streambank erosion is a pathway for sediment and nutrient loading to streams, but insufficient data exist on the magnitude of this source. Riparian protection can significantly decrease streambank erosion in some locations, but estimates of actual sediment load reductions are limited. The objective of this research was to quantify watershed‐scale streambank erosion and estimate the benefits of riparian protection. The research focused on Spavinaw Creek within the Eucha‐Spavinaw watershed in eastern Oklahoma, where composite streambanks consist of a small cohesive topsoil layer underlain by non‐cohesive gravel. Fine sediment erosion from 2003 to 2013 was derived using aerial photography and processed in ArcMap to quantify eroded area. ArcMap was also utilized in determining the bank retreat rate at various locations in relation to the riparian vegetation buffer width. Box and whisker plots clearly showed that sites with riparian vegetation had on average three times less bank retreat than unprotected banks, statistically significant based on non‐parametric t‐tests. The total soil mass eroded from 2003 to 2013 was estimated at 7.27 × 10⁷ kg yr.^?1, and the average bank retreat was 2.5 m yr.^?1. Many current erosion models assume that fluvial erosion is the dominant stream erosion process. Bank retreat was positively correlated with stream discharge and/or stream power, but with considerable variability, suggesting that mass wasting plays an important role in streambank erosion within this watershed. Finally, watershed monitoring programs commonly characterize erosion at only a few sites and may scale results to the entire watershed. Selection of random sites and scaling to the watershed scale greatly underestimated the actual erosion and loading rates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ascribing soil erosion types for sediment yield using composite fingerprinting technique

Abstract

Soil erosion and eroded sediment are serious threats to sound land management. However, less attention has been given to quantifying the importance of different soil erosion features based on appropriate control measures that could be designated. Accordingly, this research was planned to quantify the contribution of potential sediment sources, i.e. sheet, rill and gully erosion, in Idelo watershed in Zanjan Province, Iran, using composite fingerprinting. Toward this aim, 16 geochemical and organic tracers were detected in sediment sources and sediment deposited at the outlet. The results of applying the composite fingerprinting technique, with a relative error of 16%, showed that sheet, rill and gully sources contributed 56%, 44% and 0%, respectively, to sediment yield. It was also apparent from the results that the composite fingerprinting approach could be successfully utilized to assess the provenance of sediment deposited at the main outlet of the study watershed by soil erosion type.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz     

Assessment of intermediate fine sediment storage in a braided river reach (southern French Prealps)

This paper presents a field investigation on river channel storage of fine sediments in an unglaciated braided river, the Bès River, located in a mountainous region in the southern French Prealps. Braided rivers transport a very large quantity of bedload and suspended sediment load because they are generally located in the vicinity of highly erosive hillslopes. Consequently, these rivers play an important role because they supply and control the sediment load of the entire downstream fluvial network. Field measurements and aerial photograph analyses were considered together to evaluate the variability of fine sediment quantity stored in a 2·5‐km‐long river reach. This study found very large quantities of fine sediment stored in this reach: 1100 t per unit depth (1 dm). Given that this reach accounts for 17% of the braided channel surface area of the river basin, the quantities of fine sediment stored in the river network were found to be approximately 80% of the mean annual suspended sediment yields (SSYs) (66 200 t year^?1), comparable to the SSYs at the flood event scale: from 1000 t to 12 000 t depending on the flood event magnitude. These results could explain the clockwise hysteretic relationships between suspended sediment concentrations and discharges for 80% of floods. This pattern is associated with the rapid availability of the fine sediments stored in the river channel. This study shows the need to focus on not only the mechanisms of fine sediment production from hillslope erosion but also the spatiotemporal dynamics of fine sediment transfer in braided rivers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing damaged road verges as a suspended sediment source in the Hampshire Avon catchment,southern United Kingdom

Diffuse sediment pollution impairs water quality, exerts a key control on the transfer and fate of nutrients and contaminants and causes deleterious impacts on freshwater ecology. A variety of catchment sediment sources can contribute to such problems. Sediment control strategies and effective targeting of mitigation options therefore require robust quantitative information on the key sources of the sediment problem at catchment scale. Recent observations by Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers (CSFO's) in England have highlighted road verges damaged and eroded by passing vehicles, particularly large farm machinery, and livestock herd movement as visually important potential sources of local sediment problems. A study was therefore undertaken to assess the relative importance of damaged road verges as a suspended sediment source in three sub‐catchments of the Hampshire Avon drainage basin, southern UK. Road verge sediment contributions were apportioned in conjunction with those from agricultural topsoils and channel banks/subsurface sources. Time‐integrating isokinetic samplers were deployed to sample suspended sediment fluxes at the outlets of two control sub‐catchments drained by the Rivers Chitterne and Till selected to characterize areas with a low road network density and limited visual evidence of verge damage, as well as the River Sem sub‐catchment used to represent areas where road verge damage is more prevalent. The findings of a sediment source fingerprinting investigation based on a combination of intermittent sampling campaigns spanning the period 22/5/02–27/4/08 suggested that the respective overall mean relative sediment contributions from damaged road verges were 5 ± 3%, 4 ± 2% and 20 ± 2%. Relative inputs from damaged road verges for any specific sampling period in the River Sem sub‐catchment were as high as 33 ± 2%. Reconstruction of historical sources in the same sub‐catchment, based on the geochemical record stored in a floodplain depth profile, suggested that the significance of damaged road verges as a sediment source has increased over the past 15–20 years. The findings provide important information on damaged road verges as a primary source of suspended sediment and imply that catchment sediment control strategies and mitigation plans should consider such verges in addition to those agricultural and channel sources traditionally taken into account when attempting to reduce sediment pressures on aquatic resources. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of suspended sediment sources using 137Cs and 210Pbex in unmanaged Japanese cypress plantation watersheds in southern Japan

To analyse suspended sediment sources in unmanaged Japanese cypress plantation watersheds, field measurements and fingerprinting of the suspended sediment was conducted in the Shimanto River basin in southern Japan. For sediment fingerprinting, ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex were detected by means of gamma‐ray spectrometry in the surface soil of the forest floor, stream bank and truck trail and mobilized sediment by interrill erosion. The ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex activities associated with the forest floor materials were considerably higher than those of the stream bank and truck trail. The ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex activities associated with the suspended sediment were found to vary with the sampling period. Evidently, the suspended sediment can comprise materials generated from the forest floor by interrill erosion and those from the truck trail and/or stream bank. The multivariate sediment‐mixing model using ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex showed that the contribution of the forest floor varied periodically, ranging from 23–56% in the Hinoki 156 subwatershed and from 18–85% in the Hinoki 155 subwatershed. The difference in the average contribution of the forest floor between Hinoki 156 (46%) and Hinoki 155 (69%) may relate to the presence of truck trail networks in the watershed. The truck trail network can play roles of sediment source and pathway for sediment from forest floor to stream channel due to the concentrated overland flow on the truck trail during heavy rainfall events. These results indicate that the forest floor should be recognized as a major source of suspended sediment in unmanaged Japanese cypress plantation watersheds. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed evaluation of the contribution of soil erosion to the sediment yield from a watershed

The correct determination of the sediment yield from a basin is of paramount importance in several hydraulic and environmental applications, such as the evaluation of the storage reduction of artificial reservoirs. However, due to the highly episodic nature of sediment supply and transport in many environments and to the extreme complexity of the processes involved, the evaluation of the sediment load in a river is still highly uncertain. When the time scale of interest is sufficiently long, and when the primary sediment source comes from distributed erosion in the watershed, the problem can be tackled in an indirect fashion, by computing the contribution to the annual suspended yield from soil erosion. In order to accomplish this task, we propose a distributed application of the widely used USLE formula. The formula is automatically applied along drainage networks derived from a digital elevation model and properly modified to take into account the presence of deposition zones in the watershed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on slope‐to‐channel fine sediment connectivity in a largely ice‐free valley,Hoophorn Stream,Southern Alps,New Zealand

There has been little work to date into the controls on slope‐to‐channel fine sediment connectivity in alpine environments largely ice‐free for most of the Holocene. Characterization of these controls can be expected to result in better understanding of how landscapes “relax” from such perturbations as climate shock. We monitored fine sediment mobilization on a slope segment hydrologically connected to a stream in the largely ice‐free 8·3 km² Hoophorn Valley, New Zealand. Gerlach traps were installed in ephemeral slope channels to trap surficial material mobilized during rainfall events. Channel sediment flux was measured using turbidimeters above and below the connected slope, and hysteresis patterns in discharge‐suspended sediment concentrations were used to determine sediment sources. Over the 96 day measurement period, sediment mobilization from the slope segment was limited to rainfall events, with increasingly larger particles trapped as event magnitude increased. Less than 1% of the mass of particles collected during these events was fine sediment. During this period, 714 t of suspended sediment was transported through the lower gauging station, 60% of it during rainfall events. Channel sediment transfer patterns during these events were dominated by clockwise hysteresis, interpreted as remobilization of nearby in‐channel sources, further suggesting limited input of fine sediment from slopes in the lower valley. Strong counterclockwise hysteresis, representing input of fine sediment from slope segments, was restricted to the largest storm event (JD2 2009) when surfaces in the upper basin were activated. The results indicate that the slopes of the lower Hoophorn catchment are no longer functioning as sources of fine sediment, but rather as sources of coarse material, with flux rates controlled by the intensity and duration of rainfall events. Although speculative, these findings suggest a shift to a coarse sediment dominated slope‐to‐channel transfer system as the influence of pre‐Holocene glacial erosion declines. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studying solute and particulate sediment transfer in a small Mediterranean mountainous catchment subject to land abandonment

The sediment budget of the small research catchment of Cal Parisa (Vallcebre, Eastern Pyrenees) was studied by hydrological monitoring and assessment of the erosion rates in the major sediment sources. This area is characterized by clayey mudrock prone to landsliding and badland erosion, but the catchment was selected in an area free of major badland features, as a representative of middle mountain regions where a system of terraces and drainage ditches had been built for agricultural use but is now abandoned. Streamwater chemistry is dominated by Ca²⁺ and HCO₃⁻ at concentrations close to calcite saturation. Total dissolved solids show dilution during runoff peaks and positive hysteresis loops that support a slow contribution of subsurface water. Relative dissolved ion concentrations are different for each event analysed. Particulate sediment yield is very low and represents only about 1 per cent of gross erosion in the catchment. Mineralogical analysis of suspended sediments shows an enrichment in calcite because of precipitation. Chemical analysis of suspended sediments, using common one-litre water samples, shows higher contents of Ca, P and Mn in transported sediment than in sediment source areas, attributed to the precipitation of calcite, and enrichment in organic particulate matter during events respectively for the two first elements, whereas enrichment in Mn remains uncertain. Solid matter yield is therefore clearly dominated by dissolved transport as a result of both high calcium bicarbonate concentrations in runoff waters and strong suspended sediment conveyance discontinuities. Land conservation structures are very effective because they are in good condition whereas the soil is covered by dense permanent vegetation. Nevertheless, this state is unstable because the network of drainage ditches needs maintenance; its spontaneous breakdown after abandonment may result in the rearrangement of the elementary stream network and gullying of old fields in hollows. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.