Soil erosion and sediment transport in Tanzania: Part I – sediment source tracing in three neighbouring river catchments

Water bodies in Tanzania are experiencing increased siltation, which is threatening water quality, ecosystem health, and livelihood security in the region. This phenomenon is caused by increasing rates of upstream soil erosion and downstream sediment transport. However, a lack of knowledge on the contributions from different catchment zones, land-use types, and dominant erosion processes, to the transported sediment is undermining the mitigation of soil degradation at the source of the problem. In this context, complementary sediment source tracing techniques were applied in three Tanzanian river systems to further the understanding of the complex dynamics of soil erosion and sediment transport in the region. Analysis of the geochemical and biochemical fingerprints revealed a highly complex and variable soil system that could be grouped in distinct classes. These soil classes were unmixed against riverine sediment fingerprints using the Bayesian MixSIAR model, yielding proportionate source contributions for each catchment. This sediment source tracing indicated that hillslope erosion on the open rangelands and maize croplands in the mid-zone contributed over 75% of the transported sediment load in all three river systems during the sampling time-period. By integrating geochemical and biochemical fingerprints in sediment source tracing techniques, this study demonstrated links between land use, soil erosion and downstream sediment transport in Tanzania. This evidence can guide land managers in designing targeted interventions that safeguard both soil health and water quality.     

Soil erosion and sediment transport in Tanzania: Part II – sedimentological evidence of phased land degradation

Soil resources in parts of Tanzania are rapidly being depleted by increased rates of soil erosion and downstream sediment transport, threatening ecosystem health, water and livelihood security in the region. However, incomplete understanding to what effect the dynamics of soil erosion and sediment transport are responding to land-use changes and climatic variability are hindering the actions needed to future-proof Tanzanian land-use practices. Complementary environmental diagnostic tools were applied to reconstruct the rates and sources of sedimentation over time in three Tanzanian river systems that have experienced changing land use and climatic conditions. Detailed historical analysis of sediment deposits revealed drastic changes in sediment yield and source contributions. Quantitative sedimentation reconstruction using radionuclide dating showed a 20-fold increase in sediment yield over the past 120 years. The observed dramatic increase in sediment yield is most likely driven by increasing land-use pressures. Deforestation, cropland expansion and increasing grazing pressures resulted into accelerating rates of sheet erosion. A regime shift after years of progressive soil degradation and convergence of surface flows resulted into a highly incised landscape, where high amounts of eroded soil from throughout the catchment are rapidly transported downstream by strongly connected ephemeral drainage networks. By integrating complementary spatial and temporal evidence bases, this study demonstrated links between land-use change, increased soil erosion and downstream sedimentation. Such evidence can guide stakeholders and policy makers in the design of targeted management interventions to safeguard future soil health and water quality.     

A critical zone observatory dedicated to suspended sediment transport: The meso-scale Galabre catchment (southern French Alps)

The 20 km² Galabre catchment belongs to the French network of critical zone observatories (OZCAR; Gaillardet et al., Vadose Zone Journal, 2018, 17(1), 1–24). It is representative of the sedimentary lithology and meteorological forcing found in Mediterranean and mountainous areas. Due to the presence of highly erodible and sloping badlands on various lithologies, the site was instrumented in 2007 to understand the dynamics of suspended sediments (SS) in such areas. Two meteorological stations including measurements of air temperature, wind speed and direction, air moisture, rainfall intensity, raindrop size and velocity distribution were installed both in the upper and lower part of the catchment. At the catchment outlet, a gauging station records the water level, temperature and turbidity (10 min time-step). Stream water samples are collected automatically to estimate SS concentration-turbidity relationships, allowing quantification of SS fluxes with known uncertainty. The sediment samples are further characterized by measuring their particle size distributions and by applying a low-cost sediment fingerprinting approach using spectrocolorimetric tracers. Thus, the contributions of badlands located on different lithologies to total SS flux are quantified at a high temporal resolution, providing the opportunity to better analyse the links between meteorological forcing variability and watershed hydrosedimentary response. The set of measurements was extended to the dissolved phase in 2017. Both stream water electrical conductivity and major ion concentrations are measured each week and every 3 h during storm events. This extension of measurements to the dissolved phase will allow progress in understanding both the origin of the water during the events and the partitioning between particulate and dissolved fluxes of solutes in the critical zone. All data sets are available at https://doi.osug.fr/public/DRAIXBLEONE_GAL/index.html .     

Spatio-temporal suspended sediment fingerprinting under different land management practices

Understanding spatio-temporal suspended sediment dynamics is more important in large watersheds due to the decisive role of local source apportionment in sediment transport and yield. The Talar River with a large mountainous watershed in northern Iran, which plays a vital role in water supply for agriculture and drinking, recently has faced quality degradation. The current study explores the relative contribution of suspended sediment sources using geochemical tracers and fingerprinting techniqu...     

基于水质荧光指纹法的湖泊污染溯源研究——以太湖流域滆湖为例

随着社会经济和城市化进程的快速发展,湖泊水环境污染问题日益突出,加剧了湖泊原有功能的退化和丧失,因此污染治理成为了湖泊功能恢复和可持续发挥的必要条件,但如何实现污染精准溯源又是污染治理的重要前提。为此,本文以太湖流域滆湖为例,采用一种新兴技术——水质荧光指纹法开展湖泊污染溯源。于2021年累计采集滆湖周边70个农业、13个生活、3个企业排口的瞬时出水构建污染源荧光指纹库,连续12个月采集滆湖湖体8个样点水样分析水体荧光组分。通过平行因子分析共解析出4种污染源指纹和滆湖5种水体组分,经荧光相似度(塔克同余系数)分析进一步明确滆湖主要受到种植业面源、生活源和工业源的影响。此外,荧光强度与叶绿素a浓度和藻密度的强相关性表明藻类繁殖活动也会影响滆湖。从不同污染源对滆湖的时空影响特征来看,种植业面源主要在春、夏季影响西部、中部水域,生活源主要在夏、冬季影响西部、北部水域,工业源主要在特定月份(3 4月、10 12月)影响西部水域,藻类繁殖活动主要在夏季影响湖体。通过荧光组分与水质参数的时空相关性分析得到农业源和总磷、总氮,生活源和氨氮、有机物参数(BOD₅、COD_...     

High‐temporal resolution fluvial sediment source fingerprinting with uncertainty: a Bayesian approach

This contribution addresses two developing areas of sediment fingerprinting research. Specifically, how to improve the temporal resolution of source apportionment estimates whilst minimizing analytical costs and, secondly, how to consistently quantify all perceived uncertainties associated with the sediment mixing model procedure. This first matter is tackled by using direct X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRFS) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) analyses of suspended particulate matter (SPM) covered filter papers in conjunction with automatic water samplers. This method enables SPM geochemistry to be quickly, accurately, inexpensively and non‐destructively monitored at high‐temporal resolution throughout the progression of numerous precipitation events. We then employed a Bayesian mixing model procedure to provide full characterization of spatial geochemical variability, instrument precision and residual error to yield a realistic and coherent assessment of the uncertainties associated with source apportionment estimates. Applying these methods to SPM data from the River Wensum catchment, UK, we have been able to apportion, with uncertainty, sediment contributions from eroding arable topsoils, damaged road verges and combined subsurface channel bank and agricultural field drain sources at 60‐ and 120‐minute resolution for the duration of five precipitation events. The results presented here demonstrate how combining Bayesian mixing models with the direct spectroscopic analysis of SPM‐covered filter papers can produce high‐temporal resolution source apportionment estimates that can assist with the appropriate targeting of sediment pollution mitigation measures at a catchment level. © 2015 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Sediment transport on the Freiston Shore managed realignment site: An investigation using environmental magnetism

This paper presents the first attempt to use environmental magnetism to quantify sediment provenance on a managed realignment (MR) site. MR is one technique for creating/restoring intertidal habitats and improving the standard of coastal flood protection. Monitoring of MR sites is essential for determining how successful they are at achieving these aims, and normally includes measurement of sedimentation rates through the use of accretion plates and sediment erosion tables (SETs). One limitation of this technique is that the provenance of sediment accreting on realigned surfaces cannot readily be quantified. Our results demonstrate that magnetics-based fingerprinting can successfully apportion sediment source contributions to created/restored coastal saltmarshes with an efficiency similar to that of existing un-mixing models applied to other habitats (82.87%). Analysis of mineral magnetic properties (χ_FD, IRM_soft and SIRM) demonstrated that the majority of sediment accreting on the Freiston Shore MR Site (Lincolnshire, UK) is derived from established saltmarshes seaward of the breached embankment. This indicates that the MR site may be growing at the expense of neighbouring saltmarshes—thereby undermining the habitat-creation objectives used to justify MR. It is recommended that future MR monitoring programmes consider the provenance of post-breach deposits to help identify any adverse impacts that wetland creation/restoration may have on existing habitats. Further testing of environmental magnetism in coastal saltmarshes and MR sites is necessary to validate wider use of the technique.     

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.     

湖泊(水库)沉积物分析在土壤侵蚀研究中的运用

土壤侵蚀研究对于防治自然灾害,实现土地的可持续利用具有重要的现实意义。由于一些地区长期以来水文观测资料较为匮乏,针对过去时间段内的土壤侵蚀研究通常需要寻找替代指标。湖泊(水库)作为流域内侵蚀产物的“汇”,其沉积物可不同程度地记录较长时期土壤侵蚀的具体特征,因此,基于湖泊(水库)沉积物分析的土壤侵蚀研究具有较强的应用价值和发展潜力。本文主要围绕确定土壤侵蚀年代,反演侵蚀过程,探寻沉积物来源的研究主线,详细论述了湖泊(水库)沉积物中放射性同位素、矿物磁性、粒度以及地球化学指标的应用原理和方法,分别总结了国内外学者利用湖泊(水库)沉积物在上述3个领域所取得的研究成果,在此基础上讨论了目前研究中存在的不确定性,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。