Variation in the sediment deposition behind check‐dams under different soil erosion conditions on the Loess Plateau,China

To maintain a reasonable sediment regulation system in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, it is critical to determine the variation in sediment deposition behind check‐dams for different soil erosion conditions. Sediment samples were collected by using a drilling machine in the Fangta watershed of the loess hilly–gully region and the Manhonggou watershed of the weathered sandstone hilly–gully (pisha) region. On the basis of the check‐dam capacity curves, the soil bulk densities and the couplet thickness in these two small watersheds, the sediment yields were deduced at the watershed scale. The annual average sediment deposition rate in the Manhonggou watershed (702.0 mm/(km²·a)) from 1976 to 2009 was much higher than that in the Fangta watershed (171.6 mm/(km²·a)) from 1975 to 2013. The soil particle size distributions in these two small watersheds were generally centred on the silt and sand fractions, which were 42.4% and 50.7% in the Fangta watershed and 60.6% and 32.9% in the Manhonggou watershed, respectively. The annual sediment deposition yield exhibited a decreasing trend; the transition years were 1991 in the Fangta watershed and 1996 in the Manhonggou watershed (P < 0.05). In contrast, the annual average sediment deposition yield was much higher in the Manhonggou watershed (14011.1 t/(km²·a)) than in the Fangta watershed (3149.6 t/(km²·a)). In addition, the rainfalls that induced sediment deposition at the check‐dams were greater than 30 mm in the Fangta watershed and 20 mm in the Manhonggou watershed. The rainfall was not the main reason for the difference in the sediment yield between the two small watersheds. The conversion of farmland to forestland or grassland was the main reason for the decrease in the soil erosion in the Fangta watershed, while the weathered sandstone and bare land were the main factors driving the high sediment yield in the Manhonggou watershed. Knowledge of the sediment deposition process of check‐dams and the variation in the catchment sediment yield under different soil erosion conditions can serve as a basis for the implementation of improved soil erosion and sediment control strategies, particularly in semi‐arid hilly–gully regions. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DEM-based numerical modelling of runoff and soil erosion processes in the hilly–gully loess regions

For sake of improving our current understanding on soil erosion processes in the hilly–gully loess regions of the middle Yellow River basin in China, a digital elevation model (DEM)-based runoff and sediment processes simulating model was developed. Infiltration excess runoff theory was used to describe the runoff generation process while a kinematic wave equation was solved using the finite-difference technique to simulate concentration processes on hillslopes. The soil erosion processes were modelled using the particular characteristics of loess slope, gully slope, and groove to characterize the unique features of steep hillslopes and a large variety of gullies based on a number of experiments. The constructed model was calibrated and verified in the Chabagou catchment, located in the middle Yellow River of China and dominated by an extreme soil-erosion rate. Moreover, spatio-temporal characterization of the soil erosion processes in small catchments and in-depth analysis between discharge and sediment concentration for the hyper-concentrated flows were addressed in detail. Thereafter, the calibrated model was applied to the Xingzihe catchment, which is dominated by similar soil erosion processes in the Yellow River basin. Results indicate that the model is capable of simulating runoff and soil erosion processes in such hilly–gully loess regions. The developed model are expected to contribute to further understanding of runoff generation and soil erosion processes in small catchments characterized by steep hillslopes, a large variety of gullies, and hyper-concentrated flow, and will be beneficial to water and soil conservation planning and management for catchments dealing with serious water and soil loss in the Loess Plateau.     

黄土高原大理河流域水沙耦合模型应用研究

水沙模型是定量描述水沙关系及水沙规律的重要工具,现阶段国内外对于水沙模型的研究大都为基于某个典型流域的经验统计模型或基于流域大量基础资料的物理模型,极大限制了其使用范围及模拟精度.本文建立了结构与参数均具有物理意义的流域水沙耦合物理概念模型,其优点是物理概念清楚,模拟精度高,实用性强,易于深入研究泥沙基本规律.该模型将概念性水文模型和泥沙模型耦合,提出水流挟沙能力和土壤抗侵蚀能力概念,用对数曲线近似描述流域土壤抗侵蚀能力的空间变异性,在拜格诺河道水流悬移质泥沙公式基础上建立概念性沟蚀产沙公式,参照水流汇集相似性建立泥沙汇集演算公式.选取黄河中游大理河流域4个不同流域尺度的实际流域对模型进行应用检验,模拟结果表明,该模型的水流泥沙两部分均有很高的模拟精度,可以很好地模拟黄河中游地区不同流域尺度和年际尺度上的洪水过程和泥沙产生及输移过程,充分证明了该模型结构、参数和计算方法的合理性,可用于定量分析流域内各项水保措施的减水减沙效益及水沙关系变化趋势,对该模型的推广应用可做进一步分析研究.     

Erosion-control mechanism of sediment check dams on the Loess Plateau

Severe soil erosion occurs on the Loess Plateau in China, which makes the Yellow River the most sediment-laden river in the world. Construction of about 60,000 sediment check dams has remarkably controlled soil erosion on the Loess Plateau and reduced the sediment load of the middle and lower Yellow River. Nonetheless, little is known about the mechanism of erosion control and vegetation development of sediment check dams. The function of a single check dam mainly is trapping sediment, while the function of a train of check dams comprising dozens of or over hundreds of check dams in a gully encompasses controlling bed incision and reducing erosion energy. A formula was proposed to calculate the potential energy of bank failure and slope failure in a gully, which essentially constitutes the erosion energy. The erosion energy increases when gully incision occurs, which is induced by the incision of the Yellow River and its tributaries on the Loess Plateau. Sediment deposition in many gullies due to construction of check dams reduces the erosion energy to almost zero, which in turn greatly reduces soil erosion and sediment yield. Construction of check dams promotes vegetation development. The vegetation-erosion dynamics model was used to study the effect of check dams on vegetation development. Simulation results show that reforestation without check dam construction might result in an increase of vegetation cover in the first ten years and then a drop of vegetation cover to less than 10% in the later years. The check dams provide a foundation for vegetation development.     

Loess erosion change modeling during heavy rainfall

A typical gully sub-basin with a complex geomorphological form is used to do a model test of gravity erosion of loess by considering the sequence of slopes in a prototype gully creating a sequence of underlying surface forms in the upper reaches. The results show that the runoff from heavy rainfall is the main external force for the erosion of loess, and also is an important influencing factor to stimulate and intensify the development of gravity erosion. The soil structure and the height of the...     

Identification of soil erosion and fluvial sediment problems

A computer model has been used to estimate soil loss and sediment yield from irregular field-size units of small watersheds. Input to the model includes spring data (i.e. relating to February through May) for the independent variables of the Universal Soil Loss Equation, and for factors such as surface roughness, an index of overland runoff, and proximity to the stream. Output from the model includes maps of seasonal estimates of potential soil losses, field sediment delivery ratios, and expected sediment yields. On the basis of selected erosion and sediment yield tolerances, the output information has been analysed to identify watershed areas which (1) exhibit both erosion and sediment yield problems; (2) exhibit only erosion problems; (3) exhibit only sediment yield problems; and (4) exhibit neither erosion nor sediment yield problems. The percentage of the watershed area in each category and the percentage of the watershed soil loss and sediment loads contributed by each category are also identified. Application of the procedure for planning remedial control programs for five watersheds is discussed.     

PHYSICAL PROCESS BASED SOIL EROSION MODEL IN A SMALL WATERSHED IN THE HILLY LOESS REGION

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Impact of hillslope vegetation restoration on gully erosion induced sediment yield

As a result of serious soil erosion on the Loess Pla-teau of China, about 1.6 billion tons of silt discharge into the downstream and 0.4 billion tons deposit on the riverbed every year, causing serious threat to the life and property of the local people on both banks of the lower Yellow River[1]. Since the 1950s, the Chinese government has initiated the work on soil and water conservation and environmental management on the Loess Plateau and formulated the guiding principle of hillslope and …     

Water and sediment evolution in areas with high and coarse sediment yield of the Loess Plateau

In the past few years, the amount of sediment entering the Yellow River decreased significantly in areas with high and coarse sediment yield of the Loess Plateau. Some researchers considered that it was owing to the soil and water conservation project, while others believed that it was caused by the low precipitation. The observation data showed -2 that the ultimate sod erosion modulus m 1960s could reach 150,000 t km . However some experts preferred to believe that the ultimate soil erosion modulus in 1960s was wrong due to some uncertain mistakes. This paper quantitatively analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution pattern of sediment yield in areas with high and coarse sediment yield of the Loess Plateau over the past 50 years, by simulating the precipitation-runoff and soil erosion in 12 sample years with the digital watershed model. Some preliminary conclusions have been drawn as following： since the 1960s and 1970s, the rainstorm center had moved southward and the intensity of rainfall center became weaker and spread into dispersed rainfall distribution in areas with high and coarse sediment yield; the decrease of the amount of sediment entering the Yellow River was caused by the changes of rainfall type in recent years; the rainstorm of 1967 was concentrated in the re~ion nearby ＂Shenmu-Fugu＂ in Shaanxi Province, and the annual maximum transport modulus （150,000 t km-2 ） measured in Bullpen Ditch of the left bank tributary between ＂Shenmu＂ and ＂Fugu＂ in 1967 is reasonable.     

Evaluating spatial variation of suspended sediment rating curves in the middle Yellow River basin,China

Abstract The suspended sediment load in the middle Yellow River basin (YRB) cannot be well predicted by capacity‐based transport formulas because a large fraction of suspended sediment load is composed of wash load. This study evaluated the spatial variations of sediment rating curves (SRCs) in the middle YRB. Both power and linear SRCs were used to fit daily flow and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) historical data at 49 gauging stations throughout the middle YRB. The spatial variation in regression coefficients was investigated, and the relationship between regression coefficients and the physical characteristics of watersheds was discussed. The results indicate that SRC regression coefficients vary with drainage area and basin slope, but their responses to these parameters are remarkably different in watersheds with different underlying surfaces, which indicates the significance of sediment availability, erodibility, and grain size distribution. For power SRCs representing sediment transport in unsaturated flows, the regression coefficients are more closely correlated with the drainage area in loess regions and with the basin slope in rock mountain regions. For linear SRCs representing sediment transport in saturated flows, saturated SSCs vary with coarse (particle size > 0.05 mm) and fine (particle size < 0.01 mm) fractions in suspended sediment. The maximum saturated SSC among the different gauging stations is associated with the optimal grain size composition of suspended sediment, which has been proposed for loess regions in previous studies. This study provides theoretical support for estimating the regression parameters for sediment transport modelling, especially in ungauged basins.     

Spatiotemporal variations of suspended sediment transport in the upstream and midstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper Brahmaputra), China

The Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows from west to east across the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, is the longest river on the plateau and an important center for human habitation in Tibet. Suspended sediment in the river can be used as an important proxy for evaluating regional soil erosion and ecological and environmental conditions. However, sediment transport in the river is rarely reported due to data scarcity. Results from this study based on a daily dataset of 3 years from four main stream gauging stations confirmed the existence of great spatiotemporal variability in suspended sediment transport in the Yarlung Tsangpo River, under interactions of monsoon climate and topographical variability. Temporally, sediment transport or deposition mainly occurred during the summer months from July to September, accounting for 79% to 93% of annual gross sediment load. This coincided with the rainy season from June to August that accounted for 51% to 80% of annual gross precipitation and the flood period from July to September that accounted for approximately 60% of annual gross discharge. The highest specific sediment yield of 177.6 t/km²/yr occurred in the upper midstream with the highest erosion intensity. The lower midstream was dominated by deposition, trapping approximately 40% of total sediment input from its upstream area. Sediment load transported to the midstream terminus was 10.43 Mt/yr with a basin average specific sediment yield of 54 t/km²/yr. Comparison with other plateau‐originated rivers like the upper Yellow River, the upper Yangtze River, the upper Indus River, and the Mekong River indicated that sediment contribution from the studied area was very low. The results provided fundamental information for future studies on soil and water conservation and for the river basin management. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detecting soil disturbance/restoration effects on stream sediment loading in the Lake Tahoe Basin,USA—modelling predictions

Establishment and ‘crediting’ for total maximum daily loads (TMDL) of sediment require development of stream monitoring programs capable of detecting changes in land use and erosion ‘connectivity’ conditions across the watershed. As a ‘proof of concept’ directed at developing such an effective stream monitoring program considering only the effects of soil disturbances or restoration in the Lake Tahoe Basin, variability in daily stream sediment load predictions from a local‐scale, field data–based distributed runoff and erosion model developed previously is analysed for the west‐shore watersheds of Homewood (HMR) and Madden Creeks. The areal extent effects of forest fuel reductions (slight soil disturbances in Madden) and soil restoration efforts (e.g. dirt road removal and ski‐run rehabilitation in HMR) on watershed daily sediment loads for the 1994–2005 period are considered. Based on model predictions, forest fuel management in the Madden Creek watershed must occur across more than 30% of the basin area to result in a detectable increase in daily sediment loads at the >95% confidence level. Similarly, a daily load reduction that could be assessed with >95% confidence within the HMR basin required substantial dirt road removal (50% by roaded area) and restoration of 20% of the ski‐run area (combined for ~5% of the basin area) for the 11‐year record but was also possible within 2–3 years following restoration. These modelling results suggest that despite considerable flow–load variability, it may be possible to detect cumulative changing land‐use conditions within several years of project completion such that quantitative TMDL ‘crediting’ may be developed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing the vulnerability to soil erosion of the Ukai Dam catchments using remote sensing and GIS

Abstract

The investigation of basins for planning soil conservation requires a selective approach to identify smaller hydrological units, which would be suitable for more efficient and targeted conservation management programmes. One criterion, generally used to determine the vulnerability of catchments to erosion, is the sediment yield of a basin. In India, sediment yield data are generally not collected for smaller sub-catchments and it becomes difficult to identify the most vulnerable areas for erosion that can be treated on a priority basis. An index-based approach, based on the surface factors mainly responsible for soil erosion, is suggested in this study. These factors include soil type, vegetation, slope and various catchment properties such as drainage density, form factor, etc. The method is illustrated with a case study of sub-catchments immediately upstream of the Ukai Reservoir located on the River Tapi in Gujarat State, India. The area is divided into 16 watersheds and different soil, vegetation, topography and morphology-related parameters are estimated separately for each watershed. Satellite data are used to evaluate the soil and vegetation indices, while a GIS system is used to evaluate the topography and morphology-related indices. The integrated effect of all the parameters is evaluated to find different areas vulnerable to soil erosion. Two watersheds were identified as being most susceptible to soil erosion. Based on the integrated index, a priority rating of the watersheds for soil conservation planning is recommended.     

Analysis of the sediment sources of flood driven erosion and deposition in the river channel of the Fu River Basin

Studying the characteristics of runoff and sediment processes and revealing the sources of sediment provide key guidance for the scientific formulation of relevant soil erosion protection measures and water conservancy development plans. In the current study, the flow and sediment data of five hydrological stations on the main stream of the Fu River Basin (FRB) from 2007 to 2018 were selected to identify flood events, explore the variation of sediment transport along the FRB, and clarify the sediment sources. The results found that the Jiangyou–Fujiangqiao section is the main source of sediment in the FRB during the flood season. The runoff volume and sediment load during flood events in the Jiangyou–Fujiangqiao section accounted for 35% and 145% respectively of that of Xiaoheba station. These results combined with the change of the sediment load before and after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake (May 12) show that the sediment in this section mainly comes from the Fu River tributary–the Tongkou River watershed. The calculation results for the sediment carrying capacity of the Fu River show that the main stream was in a state of erosion in theory. However, according to the calculation results for the interval sediment yield during flood events, the sediment load at the Xiaoheba station was smaller than that at the Shehong station upstream. The analysis indicates that this was not because of sediment deposition in the river channel, but because of sand mining in the river channel and sediment interception by water conservancy projects. If heavy rainfall occurs in the FRB, the sediment accumulated upstream will move downstream with the resulting flood, and the sediment yield in the FRB may further increase. These research conclusions can provide reference information for improving the prediction and management ability of soil and water loss in the FRB and scientific regulation of the Three Gorges Reservoir.     

Exploring the role of topography in small channel erosion

Erosion caused by concentrated flows in agricultural areas is responsible for important soil losses, and rapid sediment transfer through the channel network. The main factors controlling concentrated flow erosion rates include the erodibility of soil materials, soil use and management, climate and watershed topography. In this paper, two topographic indices, closely related to mathematical expressions suggested by different authors, are used to characterize the influence of watershed topography on gully erosion. The AS1 index is defined as the product of the watershed area and the partial area‐weighted average slope. The AS2 index is similar to the AS1 but uses the swale slope as the weighting factor. Formally, AS2 is the product of the watershed area and the length‐weighted average swale slope. From studies made using different ephemeral gully erosion databases, it is shown that a high correlation consistently exists between the topographic indices and the volume of eroded soil. The resulting relationships are therefore useful to assess soil losses from gully erosion, to identify the most susceptible watersheds within large areas, and to compare the susceptibility to gully erosion among different catchments. This information is also important in studying the response of natural drainage network systems to different rainfall inputs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Piecewise prediction model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events on the Loess Plateau,China

Establishing a universal watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield prediction model represents a frontier field in erosion and soil/water conservation. The research presented here was conducted on the Chabagou watershed, which is located in the first sub‐region of the hill‐gully area of the Loess Plateau, China. A back‐propagation artificial neural model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield was established, with the accuracy of the model, then compared with that of multiple linear regression. The sensitivity degree of various factors to erosion and sediment yield was quantitatively analysed using the default factor test. On the basis of the sensitive factors and the fractal information dimension, the piecewise prediction model for erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events was established and further verified. The results revealed the back‐propagation artificial neural network model to perform better than the multiple linear regression model in terms of predicting the erosion modulus, with the former able to effectively characterize dynamic changes in sediment yield under comprehensive factor conditions. The sensitivity of runoff erosion power and runoff depth to the erosion and sediment yield associated with individual rainfall events was found to be related to the complexity of surface topography. The characteristics of such a hydrological response are thus closely related to topography. When the fractal information dimension is greater than the topographic threshold, the accuracy of prediction using runoff erosion power is higher than that of using runoff depth. In contrast, when the fractal information dimension is smaller than the topographic threshold, the accuracy of prediction using runoff depth is higher than that of using runoff erosion power. The developed piecewise prediction model for watershed‐scale erosion and sediment yield of individual rainfall events, which introduces runoff erosion power and runoff depth using the fractal information dimension as a boundary, can be considered feasible and reliable and has a high prediction accuracy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impacts of projected climate change on sediment yield and dredging costs

Changes in climate may significantly affect how sediment moves through watersheds into harbours and channels that are dredged for navigation or flood control. Here, we applied a hydrologic model driven by a large suite of climate change scenarios to simulate both historical and future sediment yield and transport in two large, adjacent watersheds in the Great Lakes region. Using historical dredging expenditure data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we then developed a pair of statistical models that link sediment discharge from each river to dredging costs at the watershed outlet. Although both watersheds show similar slight decreases in streamflow and sediment yield in the near‐term, by Mid‐Century, they diverge substantially. Dredging costs are projected to change in opposite directions for the two watersheds; we estimate that future dredging costs will decline in the St. Joseph River by 8–16% by Mid‐Century but increase by 1–6% in the Maumee River. Our results show that the impacts of climate change on sediment yield and dredging may vary significantly by watershed even within a region and that agricultural practices will play a large role in determining future streamflow and sediment loads. We also show that there are large variations in responses across climate projections that cause significant uncertainty in sediment and dredging projections.     

Spatial discretization of large watersheds and its influence on the estimation of hillslope sediment yield

The combined use of water erosion models and geographic information systems has facilitated soil loss estimation at the watershed scale. Tools such as the Geo‐spatial interface for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (GeoWEPP) model provide a convenient spatially distributed soil loss estimate but require discretization to identify hillslopes and channels. In GeoWEPP, the TOpographic PArameteriZation (TOPAZ) model is used as an automated procedure to extract a watershed boundary, hillslopes and channels from a digital elevation model (DEM). Previous studies in small watersheds have shown that the size of the hillslopes and the channel distribution affect the model estimates, but in large watersheds, the effects on the soil loss estimates have yet to be tested. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of discretization on the hillslope sediment yield estimates using GeoWEPP in two large watersheds (>10 km²). The watersheds were selected and discretized varying the TOPAZ parameters [critical source area (CSA) and minimum source channel length (MSCL)] in a 30‐m resolution digital elevation model. The drainage networks built with TOPAZ were compared with each other using the drainage density index. The results showed that the discretization affected hillslope sediment yield estimates and their spatial distribution more than the total runoff. The drainage density index and the hillslope sediment yield were proportional but inversely related; thus, soil loss estimates were highly affected by the spatial discretization. As a result of this analysis, a method to choose the CSA and MSCL values that generates the greatest fraction of hillslopes having profile lengths less than 200 m was developed. This slope length condition is particularly crucial when using the WEPP and GeoWEPP models, in order for them to produce realistic estimates of sheet and rill erosion. Finally, and as a result of this analysis, a more reliable method was developed for selecting the TOPAZ channel network parameters (CSA and MSCL). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EVALUATION OF TOPOGRAPHIC INDICES FOR EPHEMERAL-GULLY EROSION ASSESSMENT

1 INTRODUCTION Erosion caused by ephemeral flows is a frequent phenomenon in nature and contributes to the shape of the landscape. This type of erosion may cause great soil losses in agricultural areas, which are quickly transferred to the watershed outlets through the rill and gully network (Bennett et al., 2000; Poesen et al., 2003). Concentrated flow erosion is controlled by the erodibility of surface materials, climate, soil use and management, and watershed topography. Several metho…     

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