Journal
GEOMORPHOLOGY
Volume 241, Issue -, Pages 343-352Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.04.020
Keywords
Check dam; Loess Plateau; Modified WATEM/SEDEM model; Sediment sources; Sediment yield
Funding
- National Natural Sciences Foundation of China [41201266]
- Chinese Academy of Sciences [KZZD-EW-04-03]
- West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Science [2011ZD03]
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [QN2013071]
- Program for Excellent Youth Scholars in the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation [A315021394]
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Soil erosion is a major form of land degradation throughout the world and the key environmental problem that threatens the ecosystem of the Chinese Loess Plateau. In this study, we determined the sediment yield from a small dam-controlled watershed in the Huangfuchuan watershed, northern Loess Plateau, with a drainage area of 0.64 km(2). The dam infill sediment provided evidence of at least 31 flood couplets, which corresponded to rain storms during 1958-1972. In total, 1.65 x 10(5) t sediment was accumulated within the whole check dams in this period. The annual sediment yield ranged from null in 1965 to 59,990 t in 1959. We used the modified WATEM/SEDEM model to simulate soil erosion and the sediment yield in the watershed and the sedimentation records were used for model verification. The model produced satisfactory results; the total soil erosion and sediment delivery ratio were estimated to be 1.97 x 10(5) t and 83.6%, respectively. Bare weathered stone in the steep gullies contributed >90% of the sediment yield, while the remainder was derived mainly from bare loess slopes and the alluvial plain. This study suggests that analyzing sedimentation behind check dams and applying the WATEM/SEDEM model are useful for the quantitative analysis of sediment dynamics in ungauged basins on the Loess Plateau. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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