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.     

Using sediment rating parameters to evaluate the changes in sediment transport regimes in the middle Yellow River basin,China

This study analyses the changes in sediment transport regimes in the middle Yellow River basin (MYRB) using sediment rating parameters. Daily streamflow and suspended sediment concentration data were collected at 35 hydrological stations from the 1950s to 2016, which can be divided into three periods based on the type and intensity of human activities: the base stage before 1970, the restraining stage from 1971 to 1989, and the restoration stage after 2002. Data within each period were fitted by log‐linear sediment rating curves and the sediment rating parameters were utilized to analyse the spatial and temporal variations in sediment transport regimes. The results show that sediment rating parameters are indicative of sediment transport regimes. In the base stage and the restraining stage, the hydrological stations can be categorized into four groups based on their locations on the rating parameter plot. The stations with small drainage basins were characterized by the highest sediment transport regime, followed by those located in the coarse‐particle zone, the loess zone, and the mountainous/forest zone. In the restoration stage, the difference in sediment transport regimes between different geomorphic zones became less distinguishable than in previous stages. During the transition from the base stage to the restraining stage, sediment rating parameters showed no significant changes in sediment transport regimes in all four geomorphic groups. During the transition from the restraining stage to the restoration stage, significant changes were observed in the coarse‐particle zone and the mountain/forest zone, indicating that the revegetation programme and large reservoirs imposed a stronger influence on sediment transport regimes in these two zones than in the rest of the MYRB. This study provides theoretical support for evaluating sediment transport regimes with sediment rating parameters.     

Sediment transport due to tree root throw: integrating tree population dynamics,wildfire and geomorphic response

A field study was conducted to analyze root throw and associated sediment transport in Hawk Creek Watershed, Canadian Rockies. A large crown fire in 2003 allowed the opportunity to study pre‐fire and post‐fire root throw. Based on field data, a significant relation was found between gradient and root plate volume, as well as individual root plate dimensions. Given that tree diameters increase as trees age and that a relation in the field data was found between tree diameter and root plate volumes, sediment transport due to root throw is expected to change in response to forest disturbance and stand age. Sediment disturbance, which is the amount of sediment upheaved during tree topple and does not take into account transport distance, shows higher values on steeper gradients. Sediment transport was notable for the steepest plots, with pre‐fire values of 0·016 cm³ cm^–1 a^–1 and post‐fire values of 0·18 cm³ cm^–1 a^–1. A tree population dynamics model is then integrated with a root throw transport model calibrated for the Canadian Rockies to examine the temporal dynamics of sediment transport. Fire is incorporated as a disturbance that initiates development of a new forest, with the model cycling through generations of forest. Trees fall according to an exponential rate that is based on time since death, resulting in a time lag between tree mortality and sediment transport. When values of time‐since‐previous‐fire are short, trees are generally <13 cm, and minimal sediment is upheaved during toppling. If trees reach a critical diameter at breast height (dbh) at time of fire, a pulse of sediment occurs in the immediate post‐fire years due to falling of killed trees, with tree fall rates decreasing exponentially with time‐since‐fire. A second pulse of root throw begins at about 50 years after the previous fire, once new recruits reach a critical dbh and with initiation of competition‐induced mortality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of storms during drought on post‐wildfire recovery of channel sediment dynamics and habitat in the southern California chaparral,USA

Current global warming projections suggest a possible increase in wildfire and drought, augmenting the need to understand how drought following wildfire affects the recovery of stream channels in relation to sediment dynamics. We investigated post‐wildfire geomorphic responses caused by storms during a prolonged drought following the 2013 Springs Fire in southern California (USA), using multi‐temporal terrestrial laser scanning and detailed field measurements. After the fire, a dry‐season dry‐ravel sediment pulse contributed sand and small gravel to hillslope‐channel margins in Big Sycamore Creek and its tributaries. A small storm in WY 2014 generated sufficient flow to mobilize a portion of the sediment derived from the dry‐ravel pulse and deposited the fine sediment in the channel, totaling ~0.60 m³/m of volume per unit length of channel. The sediment deposit buried step‐pool habitat structure and reduced roughness by over 90%. These changes altered sediment transport characteristics of the bed material present before and after the storm; the ratio of available to critical shear stress (τ_o/τ_c) increased by five times. Storms during WY 2015 contributed additional fine sediment from tributaries and lower hillslopes and hyperconcentrated flow transported and deposited additional sediment in the channel. Together these sources delivered sediment on the order of six times that in 2014, further increasing τ_o/τ_c. These storms during multi‐year drought following wildfire transformed channel dynamics. The increased sediment transport capacity persisted during the drought period characterized by the longer residence time of relatively fine‐grained post‐fire channel sedimentation. This contrasts with wetter years, when post‐fire sediment is transported from the fluvial system during the same season as the post‐fire sediment pulse. Results of this short‐term study highlight the complex and substantial effects of multi‐year drought on geomorphic responses following wildfire. These responses influence pool habitat that is critical to longer‐term post‐wildfire riparian ecosystem recovery. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An evaluation of sediment rating curves for estimating suspended sediment concentrations for subsequent flux calculations

In the absence of actual suspended sediment concentration (SSC) measurements, hydrologists have used sediment rating (sediment transport) curves to estimate (predict) SSCs for subsequent flux calculations. Various evaluations of the sediment rating‐curve method were made using data from long‐term, daily sediment‐measuring sites within large (>1 000 000 km²), medium (<1 000 000 to >1000 km²), and small (<1000 km²) river basins in the USA and Europe relative to the estimation of suspended sediment fluxes. The evaluations address such issues as the accuracy of flux estimations for various levels of temporal resolution as well as the impact of sampling frequency on the magnitude of flux estimation errors. The sediment rating‐curve method tends to underpredict high, and overpredict low SSCs. As such, the range of errors associated with concomitant flux estimates for relatively short time‐frames (e.g. daily, weekly) are likely to be substantially larger than those associated with longer time‐frames (e.g. quarterly, annually) because the over‐ and underpredictions do not have sufficient time to balance each other. Hence, when error limits must be kept under ±20%, temporal resolution probably should be limited to quarterly or greater. The evaluations indicate that over periods of 20 or more years, errors of <1% can be achieved using a single sediment rating curve based on data spanning the entire period. However, somewhat better estimates for the entire period, and markedly better annual estimates within the period, can be obtained if individual annual sediment rating curves are used instead. Relatively accurate (errors <±20%) annual suspended sediment fluxes can be obtained from hydrologically based monthly measurements/samples. For 5‐year periods or longer, similar results can be obtained from measurements/samples collected once every 2 months. In either case, hydrologically based sampling, as opposed to calendar‐based sampling is likely to limit the magnitude of flux estimation errors. Published in 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suspended sediment transport regime in a debris‐flow gully on Vancouver Island,British Columbia

In debris‐flow‐prone channels, normal fluvial sediment transport occurs (nearly exclusively in suspended mode) between episodic debris‐flow events. Observations of suspended sediment transport through a winter season in a steepland gully in logged terrain revealed two event types. When flows exceeded a threshold of 270 l s⁻¹, events yielded significant quantities of sediment and suspended sediment concentration increased with flow. Smaller events were strongly ‘supply limited’; sediment concentration decreased as flow increased. Overall, there is no consistent correlation between runoff and sediment yield. Within the season, three subseasons were identified (demarcated by periods of freezing weather) within which a pattern of fine sediment replenishment and evacuation occurred. Finally, a signature of fine sediment mobilization and exhaustion was observed within individual events. Fine sediment transport occurred in discrete pulses within storm periods, most of the yield occurring within 5 to 15% of storm runoff duration, so that it is unlikely that scheduled sampling programs would identify significant transport. Significant events are, however, generally forecastable on the basis of regional heavy rainfall warnings, providing a basis for targeted observations. Radiative snowmelt events and rain‐on‐snow remain difficult to forecast, since the projection of temperatures from the nearest regular weather station yields variable results. Copyright © 2004 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.     

Shift from transport limited to supply limited sediment concentrations with the progression of monsoon rains in the Upper Blue Nile Basin

Long‐term erosion monitoring data in the Ethiopian highlands are only available from the Soil Conservation Research Program (SCRP) watersheds including the Anjeni watershed. The 113 ha Anjeni watershed was established in 1984 and fanya juu terraces were installed in 1986. Runoff and erosion data are available from three different plot sizes and at the watershed outlet. The objective of this study was to investigate how erosion processes and sediment rating parameters vary with plot size and the progression of the rainy monsoon phase. We analyzed runoff and sediment loss data from 40 plots and the watershed outlet. The dataset included erosion data from 24 newly constructed plots (3 m length) during the rainy monsoon phase of 2012 and 2013, and 16 long‐term plots (with 12, 16, 22, and 24% slopes and 3, 15 and 30 m lengths) and the watershed outlet during the period between 1986 to 1990. Sediment concentration (C) was fitted to runoff (Q) using a power regression equation (C = aQ^b). Sediment concentration and yield increased with increasing plot length from 3 m to 15 m, but sediment yield decreased as plot length increased to 30 m.The coefficients (a and b) were affected by plot size and the progression of the rainy monsoon phase. As plot size increases, the a value increased, while the b value decreased. Greater a values were observed during the beginning of the monsoon phase, while values of b were greater towards the end of the monsoon phase. Overall findings suggest that erosion from cultivated fields is primarily controlled by transport limitations at the beginning of the monsoon phase, while towards the end of the monsoon phase, as surface covers emerge, sediment availability will be reduced, and thus sediment source would be a limitation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of sample scheduling and sample numbers on estimates of the annual fluxes of suspended sediment in fluvial systems

Since the 1970s, there has been both continuing and growing interest in developing accurate estimates of the annual fluvial transport (fluxes and loads) of suspended sediment and sediment‐associated chemical constituents. This study provides an evaluation of the effects of manual sample numbers (from 4 to 12 year^?1) and sample scheduling (random‐based, calendar‐based and hydrology‐based) on the precision, bias and accuracy of annual suspended sediment flux estimates. The evaluation is based on data from selected US Geological Survey daily suspended sediment stations in the USA and covers basins ranging in area from just over 900 km² to nearly 2 million km² and annual suspended sediment fluxes ranging from about 4 Kt year^?1 to about 200 Mt year^?1. The results appear to indicate that there is a scale effect for random‐based and calendar‐based sampling schemes, with larger sample numbers required as basin size decreases. All the sampling schemes evaluated display some level of positive (overestimates) or negative (underestimates) bias. The study further indicates that hydrology‐based sampling schemes are likely to generate the most accurate annual suspended sediment flux estimates with the fewest number of samples, regardless of basin size. This type of scheme seems most appropriate when the determination of suspended sediment concentrations, sediment‐associated chemical concentrations, annual suspended sediment and annual suspended sediment‐associated chemical fluxes only represent a few of the parameters of interest in multidisciplinary, multiparameter monitoring programmes. The results are just as applicable to the calibration of autosamplers/suspended sediment surrogates currently used to measure/estimate suspended sediment concentrations and ultimately, annual suspended sediment fluxes, because manual samples are required to adjust the sample data/measurements generated by these techniques so that they provide depth‐integrated and cross‐sectionally representative data. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Post‐fire hydrological response and suspended sediment transport of a terraced Mediterranean catchment

In July 2013, a wildfire severely affected the western part of the island of Mallorca (Spain). During the first three post‐fire hydrological years, when the window of disturbance tends to be more open, the hydrological and sediment delivery processes and dynamics were assessed in a representative catchment intensively shaped by terracing that covered 37% of its surface area. A nested approach was applied with two gauging stations (covering 1.2 km² and 4.8 km²) built in September 2013 that took continuous measurements of rainfall, water and sediment yield. Average suspended sediment concentration (1503 mg L^?1) and the maximum peak (33 618 mg L^?1) were two orders of magnitude higher than those obtained in non‐burned terraced catchments of Mallorca. This factor may be related to changes in soils and the massive incorporation of ash into the suspended sediment flux during the most extreme post‐fire event; 50 mm of rainfall in 15 min, reaching an erosivity of 2886 MJ mm ha^?1 h^?1. Moreover, hysteretic counter‐clockwise loops were predominant (60%), probably related to the increased sensitivity of the landscape after wildfire perturbation. Though the study period was average in terms of total annual precipitation (even higher in intensities), minimal runoff (2%) and low sediment yield (6.3 t km^?2 y^?1) illustrated how the intrinsic characteristics of the catchment, i.e. calcareous soils, terraces and the application of post‐fire measures, limited the hydrosedimentary response despite the wildfire impact. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Internal erosion of soil pipes: Sediment rating curves for soil pipes

The collapse of soil pipes due to internal erosion can result in fully mature gullies. Few studies have measured the rates of sediment detachment and transport through soil pipes in situ. The objectives of this work were to determine suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in soil pipes as a function of pipeflow rate to develop sediment rating curves (SRC) and measure the bedload transport as a function of cumulative flow per storm event. H-flumes were installed in seven discontinuous gullies formed by pipe collapse and instrumented for pipe discharge measurements and suspended sediment sampling. The typical response to pipeflow was an initial flush of high concentration of suspended sediment followed by a decrease as pipeflow increased (rising limb of hydrograph). Pipeflows were often so dynamic that it was difficult to consistently capture the initial flush of sediment, resulting in weak to non-existent SRCs. The falling limb of the hydrograph tended to have a relatively low SSC. Thus, soil pipe SRCs tended to be better represented by hysteretic SRCs, although relationships between SSC and flow rate were poorly represented by SRCs. A power law equation given by SSC = aQ^b was adopted to represent the SRC relationships. Fitting this equation to data showed a correlation between the offset, a, and the slope, b, with the slope decreasing as the offset increases. Both SRC parameters (a and b) were correlated to the contributing area of the individual pipe. Bedload appeared to be an important contributor to sediment transport, with bedload – expressed as an average event sediment concentration (mg l⁻¹) – decreasing as the volume of the event discharge (m³) increased. A significant portion (11–31%) of the bedload material was gravel and aggregates (>2 mm diameter material). While this work was the first to determine SRCs for soil pipes, refined sampling and measurement techniques are needed. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the effect of soil burn severity on soil erosion at hillslope scale in the first year following wildfire in NW Spain

Fire severity is recognized as a key factor in explaining post‐fire soil erosion. However, the relationship between soil burn severity and soil loss has not been fully established until now. Sediment availability may also affect the extent of post‐fire soil erosion. The objective of this study was to determine whether soil burn severity, estimated by an operational classification system based on visual indicators, can significantly explain soil loss in the first year after wildfire in shrubland and other areas affected by crown fires in northwest (NW) Spain. An additional aim was to establish indicators of sediment availability for use as explanatory variables for post‐fire soil loss. For these purposes, we measured hillslope‐scale sediment production rates and site characteristics during the first year after wildfire in 15 experimental sites using 65 plots. Sediment yields varied from 0.2 Mg ha^?1 to 50.1 Mg ha^?1 and soil burn severity ranged from low (1.8) to very high (4.5) in the study period. A model that included soil burn severity, annual precipitation and a land use factor (as a surrogate for sediment availability) as explanatory variables reasonably explained the erosion losses measured during the first year after fire. Model validation confirmed the usefulness of this empirical model. The proposed empirical model could be used by forest managers to help evaluate erosion risks and to plan post‐fire stabilization activities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Streamflow and suspended sediment yield following the 2000 Bobcat fire,Colorado

Postfire runoff and erosion are a concern, and more data are needed on the effects of wildfire at the watershed‐scale, especially in the Colorado Front Range. The goal of this study was to characterize and compare the streamflow and suspended sediment yield response of two watersheds (Bobcat Gulch and Jug Gulch) after the 2000 Bobcat fire. Bobcat Gulch had several erosion control treatments applied after the fire, including aerial seeding, contour log felling, mulching, and straw wattles. Jug Gulch was partially seeded. Study objectives were to: (1) measure precipitation, streamflow, and sediment yields; (2) assess the effect of rainfall intensity on peak discharges, storm runoff, and sediment yields; (3) evaluate short‐term hydrologic recovery. Two months after the fire, a storm with a maximum 30 min rainfall intensity I₃₀ of 42 mm h^?1 generated a peak discharge of 3900 l s^?1 km^?2 in Bobcat Gulch. The same storm produced less than 5 l s^?1 km^?2 in Jug Gulch, due to less rainfall and the low watershed response. In the second summer, storms with, I₃₀ of 23 mm h^?1 and 32 mm h^?1 generated peak discharges of 1100 l s^?1 km^?2 and 1700 l s^?1 km^?2 in the treated and untreated watersheds respectively. Maximum water yield efficiencies were 10% and 17% respectively, but 18 of the 23 storms returned ≤2% of the rainfall as runoff, effectively obscuring interpretation of the erosion control treatments. I₃₀ explained 86% of the variability in peak discharges, 74% of the variability in storm runoff, and >80% of the variability in sediment yields. Maximum single‐storm sediment yields in the second summer were 370 kg ha^?1 in the treated watershed and 950 kg ha^?1 in the untreated watershed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed discharge and sediment concentration predictions in the sub‐humid Ethiopian highlands: the Debre Mawi watershed

Experimental research in the Ethiopian highlands found that saturation excess induced runoff and erosion are common in the sub‐humid conditions. Because most erosion simulation models applied in the highlands are based on infiltration excess, we, as an alternative, developed the Parameter Efficient Distributed (PED) model, which can simulate water and sediment fluxes in landscapes with saturation excess runoff. The PED model has previously only been tested at the outlet of a watershed and not for distributed runoff and sediment concentration within the watershed. In this study, we compare the distributed storm runoff and sediment concentration of the PED model against collected data in the 95‐ha Debre Mawi watershed and three of its nested sub‐watersheds for the 2010 and 2011 rainy seasons. In the PED model framework, the hydrology of the watershed is divided between infiltrating and runoff zones, with erosion only taking place from two surface runoff zones. Daily storm runoff and sediment concentration values, ranging from 0.5 to over 30 mm and from 0.1 to 35 g l^?1, respectively, were well simulated. The Nash Sutcliffe efficiency values for the daily storm runoff for outlet and sub‐watersheds ranged from 0.66 to 0.82, and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency for daily sediment concentrations were greater than 0.78. Furthermore, the model uses realistic fractional areas for surface and subsurface flow contributions, for example between saturated areas (15%), degraded areas (30%) and permeable areas (55%) at the main outlet, while close similarity was found for the remaining hydrology and erosion parameter values. One exception occurred for the distinctly greater transport limited parameter at the actively gullying lower part of the watershed. The results suggest that the model based on saturation excess provides a good representation of the observed spatially distributed runoff and sediment concentrations within a watershed by modelling the bottom lands (as opposed to the uplands) as the dominant contributor of the runoff and sediment load. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring urban impacts on suspended sediment,trace element,and nutrient fluxes within the City of Atlanta,Georgia, USA: program design,methodological considerations,and initial results

Atlanta, Georgia (City of Atlanta, COA), is one of the most rapidly growing urban areas in the US. Beginning in 2003, the US Geological Survey established a long‐term water‐quantity/quality monitoring network for the COA. The results obtained during the first 2 years have provided insights into the requirements needed to determine the extent of urban impacts on water quality, especially in terms of estimating the annual fluxes of suspended sediment, trace/major elements, and nutrients. During 2004/2005, suspended sediment fluxes from the City of Atlanta (COA) amounted to about 150 000 t year^?1; ≥ 94% of the transport occurred in conjunction with storm‐flow, which also accounted for ≥ 65% of the annual discharge. Typically, storm‐flow averaged ≤20% of the year. Normally, annual suspended sediment fluxes are determined by summing daily loads based on a single calculation step using mean‐daily discharge and a single rating curve‐derived suspended sediment concentration. Due to the small and ‘flashy’ nature of the COAs streams, this approach could produce underestimates ranging from 25% to 64%. Accurate estimates ( ± 15%) require calculation time‐steps as short as every 2–3 h. Based on annual median base‐flow/storm‐flow chemical concentrations, the annual fluxes of ≥ 75% of trace elements (e.g. Cu, Pb, Zn), major elements (e.g. Fe, Al), and total P occur in association with suspended sediment; in turn, ≥ 90% of the transport of these constituents occur in conjunction with storm‐flow. As such, base‐flow sediment‐associated and dissolved contributions represent relatively insignificant portions of the total annual load. An exception is total N, whose sediment‐associated fluxes range from 50% to 60%; even so, storm‐related transport typically exceeds 80%. Hence, in urban environments, non‐point‐sources appear to be the dominant contributors to the fluxes of these constituents. Published in 2007by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time‐varying suspended sediment‐discharge rating curves to estimate climate impacts on fluvial sediment transport

This study presents time‐varying suspended sediment‐discharge rating curves to model suspended‐sediment concentrations (SSCs) under alternative climate scenarios. The proposed models account for hysteresis at multiple time scales, with particular attention given to systematic shifts in sediment transport following large floods (long‐term hysteresis). A series of nested formulations are tested to evaluate the elements embedded in the proposed models in a case study watershed that supplies drinking water to New York City. To maximize available data for model development, a dynamic regression model is used to estimate SSC based on denser records of turbidity, where the parameters of this regression are allowed to vary over time to account for potential changes in the turbidity‐SSC relationship. After validating the proposed rating curves, we compare simulations of SSC among a subset of models in a climate change impact assessment using an ensemble of flow simulations generated using a stochastic weather generator and hydrologic model. We also examine SSC estimates under synthetic floods generated using a peaks‐over‐threshold model. Our results indicate that estimates of extreme SSC under new climate and hydrologic scenarios can vary widely depending on the selected model and may be significantly underestimated if long‐term hysteresis is ignored when simulating impacts under sequences of large storm event. Based on the climate change scenarios explored here, average annual maximum SSC could increase by as much as 2.45 times over historical values.     

Identifying threshold storm events and quantifying potential impacts of climate change on sediment yield in a small upland agricultural watershed of Ontario

Agricultural zones are significant sediment sources, but it is crucial to identify critical source areas (CSAs) of sediment yield within these zones where best management practices (BMPs) can be applied to the best effect in reducing sediment delivery to receiving water bodies rather than the economically nonviable alternative of randomly or sweepingly implementing BMPs. A storm event of a specific magnitude and hyetograph profile may, at different times, generate a greater or lesser sediment yield. The widely used agricultural nonpoint source (AGNPS) model was used to identify CSAs for sediment losses in Southwestern Ontario's agriculture‐dominated 374‐ha Holtby watershed. A storm threshold approach was adopted to identify critical periods for higher sediment losses. An AGNPS model for the Holtby watershed was set up, calibrated, and validated for run‐off volume, peak flow rate, and sediment yield for several storms. The calibrated and validated model was run for storms of increasing return periods to identify threshold storm events that would generate sediment yield greater than an acceptable value for early and late spring, summer, and fall seasons. Finally, to evaluate the potential impacts of climate change, we shifted shorter duration summer storms into spring conditions and quantified the changes in sediment yield dynamics. A 6‐hr, 7.5‐year early spring storm would generate sediment losses exceeding the acceptable limit of 0.34 t ha^?1 for the season. However, summer storms (2 hr, up to 100 years) tended to generate sediment yields below those of an identifiable threshold storm. If such shorter duration summer storms occurred in spring, the sediment yield would increase by more than fivefold. A 5‐year future storm would generate an equivalent effect of a 100‐year current spring event. The high sediment delivery to be expected will have significant implications regarding the future management of water quality of receiving waters. Appropriate placement of BMPs at CSAs will thus be needed to reduce such high sediment delivery to receiving waters.     

SUSPENDED SEDIMENT AND PARTICULATE PHOSPHORUS TRANSPORT AND DELIVERY PATHWAYS IN AN ARABLE CATCHMENT,GELBÆK STREAM,DENMARK

Reliable quantification of suspended sediment (SS) and particulate phosphorus (PP) transport, and identification of the various delivery pathways at the catchment level, is an important and necessary aid to appropriate catchment management. In this study we measured storm event, seasonal and annual losses of SS and PP from a Danish arable catchment, Gelbæk Stream, using a multisampling strategy. SS losses for the study years May 1993–April 1994 and May 1994–April 1995 ranged from 71 to 88 kg ha⁻¹, while PP losses ranged from 0·32 to 0·36 kg P ha⁻¹. In both cases losses mainly occurred during infrequent storm events. In comparison with intensive storm sampling, infrequent (fortnightly) sampling underestimated annual transport during the two study years by −24 and −331%, respectively, for SS, and by −8·6 and −151%, respectively, for PP. Reliable estimation of the transport of sediment and sediment-associated nutrients and other substances thus necessitates the use of an intensive monitoring approach. Turbidimeters proved to be a good substitute for direct measurement of SS, especially during storm events, although careful calibration is needed at the seasonal and storm event levels. Experience shows that in artificially drained and geologically complex catchments such as Gelbæk, simultaneous comparative monitoring of different sources (e.g. subsurface drainage water) is an important means of reliably discriminating between the various diffuse sources of sediment and phosphorus. Subsurface drainage water was found to account for 11–15% of the annual SS export from the catchment; the corresponding figure for PP being 11–18%. Surface runoff was only a source of SS and PP during the first study year, when it accounted for 19% of SS and 7% of PP catchment export. Stream bank/bed erosion must therefore have been the major diffuse source of SS and PP in both study years. The study also revealed that analysis of the trace element content (e.g. ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb) of the SS transported in subsurface drainage water and stream water during storm events is a useful means of discriminating between diffuse losses of SS delivered from topsoil and subsoil compartments. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment transport in an alpine river before and after a dambreak flood event

Fluvial sediment transport in the high mountain Partnach River (Reintal Valley, Bavarian Alps) was investigated during a 10‐year observation period (2001–2010). During this period, the downstream reach of the Partnach River was decoupled from upstream sediment throughput by a rockslide deposit until 2005. In August 2005, the dam was partially breached during a flood event resulting in renewed sediment coupling between the upstream and downstream reaches. A comparison of pre‐ and post‐dambreak river sediment load data showed that the dissolved load dominated sediment transport prior to August 2005 with a switch to the dominance of bedload transport, post‐dambreak. The higher post‐dambreak bedload rates were particularly evident during the first years after the dam failure due to significant coarse material coupling between active sediment sources (undercut banks/talus cones) and the Partnach River. In the last years of the observation period (2009 and 2010) the dominance of dissolved load transport was re‐established. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.