Multi‐temporal scale changes of streamflow and sediment load in a loess hilly watershed of China

Gao, Guangyao; Ma, Ying; Fu, Bojie

doi:10.1002/hyp.10585

Cited by 48 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Covering soil with rock fragments has been used in agriculture on the Loess Plateau for more than 300 years. It is common for rock fragments to be exposed on soil surface in this region because of powerful soil erosion and frequent human activities (Gao, Ma, & Fu, 2016;Gargiulo, Mele, & Terribile, 2015;Wu, Liu, & Ma, 2016). Thus, between 0% and 50% of these loess soils are covered with rock fragments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of rock fragment cover on hydrological processes under rainfall simulation in a semi‐arid region of China

Xin-shi

Song

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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Rock fragment cover has long been an important agricultural crop production technique on the Loess Plateau, China. Although this approach plays an important role in controlling hydrological processes and preventing soil erosion, inconsistent results have been recovered in this field. In this study, we investigated the effects of rock fragment cover on infiltration, run‐off, soil erosion, and hydraulic parameters using rainfall simulation in the field in a semi‐arid region of China. Two field plots encompassing 6 rock fragment coverages (0%, 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, and 40%), as well as 2 rock fragment positions and sizes were exposed to rainfall at a particular intensity (60 mm h−1). The results of this study showed that increasing the rock fragment coverage with rock fragments resting on the soil surface increased infiltration but decreased run‐off generation and sediment yield. A contrasting result was found, however, when rock fragments were partially embedded into the soil surface; in this case, a positive relationship between rock fragment coverage and run‐off rate as well as a nonmonotonic relationship with respect to soil loss rate was recovered. The size of rock fragments also exerted a positive effect on run‐off generation and sediment yield but had a negative effect on infiltration. At the same time, both mean flow velocity and Froude number decreased with increasing rock fragment coverage regardless of rock fragment position and size, whereas both Manning roughness and Darcy–Weisbach friction factor were positively correlated. Results show that stream power is the most sensitive hydraulic parameter affecting soil loss. Combined with variance analysis, we concluded that the order of significance of rock fragment cover variables was position followed by coverage and then size. We also quantitatively incorporated the effects of rock fragment cover on soil loss via the C and K factors in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. Overall, this study will enable the development of more accurate modelling approaches and lead to a better understanding of hydrological processes under rock fragment cover conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of rock fragment cover on hydrological processes under rainfall simulation in a semi‐arid region of China

Xin-shi

Song

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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“…The Loess Plateau contributed approximately 90% of the sediment on average to the Yellow River [29,30]. In recent decades, the mean annual runoff and sediment load of the Yellow River have declined markedly due to reduced precipitation, increased water withdrawal, and the implementation of soil and water conservation and dams' construction [10,16,[31][32][33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Climate Variability and Human Activities on the Changes of Runoff and Sediment Load in a Catchment of the Loess Plateau, China

Tian

Liu

et al. 2016

Advances in Meteorology

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The objectives of this study are to investigate the changes of runoff and sediment load and their potential influencing factors in the Huangfuchuan catchment. The Mann-Kendall test and accumulative anomaly methods were, respectively, applied to examine the changing trends and abrupt changes. Both annual runoff and sediment load demonstrated significant reduction (p<0.05) with decreasing rates of −3.2 × 106 m3/a and −1.09 Mt/a, respectively. The abrupt changes were detected in 1979 and 1996 for the runoff and sediment load. All the runoff and sediment indices (runoff, sediment load, runoff coefficient, and sediment concentration) exhibited remarkable reduction (p<0.01). The climate variability contributed 24.4% and 25.1% during 1980–1996 and 1997–2010 to annual runoff decrease, respectively, and human activities accounted for the remaining 75.6% and 74.9%. In contrast, changes in precipitation accounted for 43.5% and 20.2% of sediment load reduction during 1980–1996 and 1997–2010, whereas the human activities contributed 56.5% and 79.8%, respectively. The relative contributions from climate variability and human activities to runoff and sediment load changes at annual scale were different from that at flood season scale. Results suggested the dominant role of soil and water conservations in the variation of runoff and sediment load in the catchment.

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“…In general, precipitation variation and human activity are the two main factors affecting watershed streamflow and sediment delivery [31][32][33]. In this study, precipitation did not show any significant change in the annual trend since the beginning year for each station, according to the Mann-Kendall and Pettitt test.…”

Section: Double Mass Curve Of Precipitation-streamflow and Precipitatmentioning

confidence: 50%

“…Domestic and overseas studies have shown that the key drivers of increased sediment loads include land clearance for agriculture, logging activity, and mining. While anthropogenic causes involving programs for soil conservation, land use change, and dam construction control the long-term decrease in sediment discharge [22,[31][32][33][34][35][36]. Some previous relevant studies have also reported on human activities that increased vegetation coverage or reduced soil erosion (from 1983-1997).…”

Section: Impacts Of Human Intervention In Sediment Discharge Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trend and Change-Point Analysis of Streamflow and Sediment Discharge of the Gongshui River in China during the Last 60 Years

Guo

Gao

et al. 2018

Water

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The Gongshui River basin exhibits one of the most serious soil erosion areas in southern China, and has always been the key control area of national soil and water conservation programs. This study used daily precipitation, streamflow, and sediment concentration data collected from 1957 to 2015 from the main hydrological stations of the Gongshui River to investigate streamflow and sediment discharge variations and their responses to precipitation and human activities. The Mann-Kendall and Pettitt’s test were used for trend and change-point detection. The double mass curve (DMC) method was employed to quantify the effects of precipitation change and human activities on hydrological regime shifts. The results showed insignificant trends of both annual precipitation and streamflow for all stations, while the sediment discharge of most stations exhibited significant decreasing trends. Change-point analyses revealed that all hydrologic stations except Mazhou had transition years. The estimation via DMC indicated that after the change point years, there was a rapid reduction in sediment discharge at Hanlinqiao, Fengkeng, Julongtan, Xiashan, and Chawu stations, but not at Mazhou, Ruijin, and Yangxinjian stations. Human activity provided a significantly greater contribution to sediment discharge than precipitation. The evidence clearly indicates that the degree and extension of conservation or destruction measures and the construction of large- and medium-sized reservoirs were the major factors significantly decreasing or increasing annual sediment discharge of the Gongshui River. This work could serve as the basis for decision making regarding river basin water resources management to estimate the effects of anthropogenic impacts on water and sediment discharge variations during the last few decades, thereby guiding adaptation and protection of the water resources of the Gongshui River flowing into the Poyang Lake.

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Multi‐temporal scale changes of streamflow and sediment load in a loess hilly watershed of China

Cited by 48 publications

References 49 publications

Effects of rock fragment cover on hydrological processes under rainfall simulation in a semi‐arid region of China

Effects of rock fragment cover on hydrological processes under rainfall simulation in a semi‐arid region of China

Impacts of Climate Variability and Human Activities on the Changes of Runoff and Sediment Load in a Catchment of the Loess Plateau, China

Trend and Change-Point Analysis of Streamflow and Sediment Discharge of the Gongshui River in China during the Last 60 Years

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