Evaluation of land‐use change effects on runoff and soil erosion of a hilly basin — the Yanhe River in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Yang, Kaijie; Lu, Chunxia

doi:10.1002/ldr.2873

Cited by 77 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…When this parameter was involved, R 2 , NS, and RSR were improved to 0.85, 0.83, and 0.41 for calibration and 0.89, 0.88, and 0.34 for validation, respectively (Table 4). Our sensitivity analysis results showed that SOL_BD was the most sensitive parameter, a finding that differs from the previous conclusion that CN2 is the most sensitive parameter for streamflow simulation supported by the long hold infiltration excessive overland flow runoff generation mechanism in the Loess region [3,20,28,51]. Superior performance of SOL_BD was likely caused by a combination of lateral and vertical movement of water in the loess soils, as it was also observed in the Yanhe River Basin of the Loess Plateau [31].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Twenty-four input parameters for running SWAT model were selected for sensitivity analysis according to the literature review from watersheds with similar characteristic to Xinshui watershed of the Loess Plateau (Table 1) [10,20,28,30,35].…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the frequently used calibrated parameters that have been considered as the most sensitive parameters in controlling hydrological processes are SCS runoff curve number (CN2), soil evaporation compensation factor (ESCO), available water capacity (SOL_AWC), groundwater delay (GW_DELAY), snowfall temperature (SFTMP), baseflow alpha factor (ALPHA_BF), and surface runoff lag time (SURLAG) [6,14,15,17,23,[25][26][27][28]. Most of the previous studies suggested that CN2 is the most sensitive parameter for simulating streamflow on the Loess Plateau as the infiltration excessive runoff generation mechanisms prevail for small watersheds in the region [3,20,28,29]. Nevertheless, recent studies have noted that rarely used parameters, such as moist bulk density (SOL_BD), may also be more sensitive in streamflow simulation, not only for the small watershed in humid region [30], but also for large-scale watersheds on the Loess Plateau.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulating the Hydrological Processes of a Meso-Scale Watershed on the Loess Plateau, China

Leng

Wang

et al. 2020

Water

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The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is widely used to simulate watershed streamflow by integrating complex interactions between climate, geography, soil, vegetation, land use/land cover and other human activities. Although there have been many studies involving sensitivity analysis, uncertainty fitting, and performance evaluation of SWAT model all over the world, identifying dominant parameters and confirming actual hydrological processes still remain essential for studying the effect of climate and land use change on the hydrological regime in some water-limited regions. We used hydro-climate and spatial geographical data of a watershed with an area of 3919 km2, located on the Loess Plateau of China, to explore the suitable criterion to select parameters for running the model, and to elucidate the dominant ones that govern the hydrological processes for achieving the sound streamflow simulation. Our sensitivity analysis results showed that parameters not passing the sensitive check (p-value < 0.05) could play a significant role in hydrological simulation rather than only the parameters with p-value lower than 0.05, indicating that the common protocol is not appropriate for selecting parameters by sensitivity screening only. Superior performance of the rarely used parameter SOL_BD was likely caused by a combination of lateral and vertical movement of water in the loess soils due to the run-on infiltration process that occurred for meso-scale watershed monthly streamflow modeling, contrasting with traditionally held infiltration excessive overland flow dominated runoff generation mechanisms that prevail on the Loess Plateau. Overall, the hydrological processes of meso-scale watershed in the region could be well simulated by the model though underestimates of monthly streamflow could occur. Simulated water balance results indicated that the evapotranspiration in the region was the main component leaving the watershed, accounting for 88.9% of annual precipitation. Surface runoff contributed to 63.2% of the streamflow, followed by lateral flow (36.6%) and groundwater (0.2%). Our research highlights the importance for selecting more appropriate parameters for distributed hydrological models, which could help modelers to better comprehend the meso-scale watershed runoff generation mechanism of the Loess Plateau and provide policy makers robust tool for developing sustainable watershed management planning in water-limited regions.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulating the Hydrological Processes of a Meso-Scale Watershed on the Loess Plateau, China

Leng

Wang

et al. 2020

Water

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“…However, most researchers focus on the contributions of the whole underlying surface to run‐off reduction; thus, the contributions of every soil and water conservation measure to run‐off reduction remain uncertain (Gao et al, ; Gu, Mu, Gao, Zhao, & Sun, ; Li et al, ; Liang et al, ). Certain studies have evaluated the hydrological responses to only one measure, such as reservoir construction or land use change caused by vegetation restoration, in only one watershed (Li, Liang, Bao, Wang, & Hu, ; Yang et al, ; Yang & Lu, ). More evidence is needed to better understand how each measure and climate change impact run‐off.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Yang

Sun

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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A rapid reduction in run-off has been observed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin in recent decades. Understanding the contributions of climate change and human activities, such as vegetation restoration and water consumption, to surface water resource reduction has become urgent and very important for future regional planning. Here, we use attribution approaches to explore the effects of climate change and human activities on run-off over the past six decades. The results showed that the observed annual run-off at Tongguan station, which is located within the mainstream of the Yellow River, exhibited a significant decreasing trend of −0.69 mm year −1 (p < .01) and varied from −0.28 to −1.46 mm year −1 (p < .01) in the eight selected tributaries from 1960 to 2015. Two relatively abrupt changes in the double mass curves occurred around 1979 and 1999; compared with Period 1 (P1; 1960-1979), the average catchment run-off decreased 32% during Period 2 (P2 ; 1980-1999) and up to 49% during Period 3 (P3;. We calculated that approximately 29% of the reduction in the run-off during P2 and 18% during P3 were attributed to climate change. Increased surface water consumption resulted in effective run-off reduction, with relative contributions of approximately 27% and 28% during P2 and P3, respectively. With the implementation of the "Grain-for-Green" project, the vegetation coverage rapidly increased from 36% in P1 to 52% in P3 and reduced run-off by 35% during P3. These findings explain the run-off reduction and benefit water resource management in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin.

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“…The dam at Nkula Falls that supplies water into the power station has, in recent times, been threatened with massive siltation, some studies attributing this to increased human population and agricultural activities [5,6,8]. The conceptual setting of this study originates from a strong link that exists between land use change and soil erosion [8,[11][12][13][14][15]. Land use and management practices are important factors in determining the extent of soil erosion [8,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on the Nkula Dam in the Middle Shire River Catchment, Malawi

Mzuza¹,

Zhang²,

Kapute³

et al. 2019

Earth Observation and Geospatial Analyses [Working Title]

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Land use and land cover changes over a 26-year period for the middle Shire River catchment, Malawi, in southern Africa, were assessed using geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques. The catchment area under study was divided into two sections, western and eastern sides of the Shire River. High rate of deforestation averaging 4.3% per annum was observed and more pronounced in the western side of the river. Rapid population growth and increase in gross domestic product (GDP) are identified as the major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation due to clearing of vast fields for agriculture, land expansion for urban settlement, and cutting down of trees for wood fuel energy. Deforestation in the middle Shire River catchment has resulted into increased soil loss through erosion causing huge accumulation of sediment at the Nkula B Hydroelectric Power Dam downstream and, consequently, causing serious problems with generation of hydroelectricity. Frequent droughts and floods in the area have drastically affected crop production forcing people into cutting down of trees for charcoal as a livelihood strategy. Combined techniques such as GIS, remote sensing, and socioeconomic factors used in this study could be applied in other places where similar challenges occur.

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Evaluation of land‐use change effects on runoff and soil erosion of a hilly basin — the Yanhe River in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Cited by 77 publications

References 41 publications

Simulating the Hydrological Processes of a Meso-Scale Watershed on the Loess Plateau, China

Simulating the Hydrological Processes of a Meso-Scale Watershed on the Loess Plateau, China

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

The Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on the Nkula Dam in the Middle Shire River Catchment, Malawi

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