| Abstract: | Soil erosion at the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau has obvious vertical erosion zonation from watershed boundary to gully edge. Meanwhile, upslope runoff and sediment have a significant impact on the downslope erosion process. But due to the limits of research methods, there is not much data available to quantify the effects of upslope runoff and sediment on the downslope erosion process under different conditions. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of upslope runoff and sediment on the downslope erosion process using a dual-box system with a 15° gradient consisting of a 2 m-long feeder box and a 5 m-long test box under different runoff rates and sediment concentrations in upslope runoff, rainfall intensities and soil surface conditions. The results showed that the sediment regime was detachment-transport dominant at steep hillslopes. The net sediment delivery S caused by upslope runoff was controlled by sediment concentration in upslope runoff, especially by interaction of the rainfall intensity, runoff rate, surface condition and dominant erosion process. The net sediment delivery S accounted for the total sediment delivery Sft at downslope 31.7% to 97.3% and 27.8 to 89.7% for both loose and compact surface treatments, respectively. Rainfall intensity, slope gradient, surface condition, and rill erosion development had important influences on the downslope erosion process. |
