Recent Sedimentation Rates of Shallow Lakes in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River: Patterns, Controlling Factors and Implications for Lake Management

Xu, Min; Dong, Xuhui; Yang, Xiangdong; Chen, Xu; Zhang, Qinghui; Liu, Qian; Wang, Rong; Yang, Min; Davidson, Thomas A.; Jeppesen, Erik

doi:10.3390/w9080617

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…According to works by Dearing et al (1981), Oldfield and Dearing (2003), Foster et al (2011Foster et al ( , 2012, and Foster and Boardman (2018), very similar patterns have been found in quite different areas. Several reviews on the recent evolution of sedimentation rates in the regions analyzed in this work also show, in most cases, a significant increase in rates, particularly in the second half of the twentieth century (van der Post et al, 1997;Rose et al, 2011;Xu et al, 2017). Van der Post et al (1997) carried out an analysis of 37 lakes and reservoirs in Great Britain with 210Pb-dated records and found that in 84% of them sedimentation rates increased, especially after 1945, whereas in 11% decreased and in 5% remained stable.…”

Section: 1029/2019ef001305supporting

confidence: 52%

Anthropocene Geomorphic Change. Climate or Human Activities?

et al. 2020

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An analysis of the evolution of sedimentation rates and disasters caused by surface geologic processes during the last century, at a global scale, is presented. Results show that erosion/sedimentation processes and frequency of such disasters increased substantially, especially after midtwentieth century, coinciding with the period of intense change known as the "Great Acceleration." Increases for this type of disasters are significantly greater than for other disasters related to natural processes, and about 1 order of magnitude in little more than half a century. This implies an important "global geomorphic change." Comparisons and correlations between changes observed in those processes and potential natural (rainfall) and human (degree of land surface transformation) drivers showed a strong relationship with the latter, and not so clear with the former. This suggests that the intensification of surface geologic processes is most likely due to a greater extent to a land transformation/geomorphic processes coupling than a climate/geomorphic processes one.Plain Language Summary It is usually assumed that geologic processes change extremely slowly, and this is in general the case when considered within a human time frame. However, geologic activity affecting land surface appears to be changing very rapidly. Data gathered in very different parts of the world show that since the end of the nineteenth century, very especially after midtwentieth century, sediment is accumulating more and more rapidly in very different sedimentation environments. This indicates that erosion (and soil loss) is becoming more intense in all sorts of environments and under very varied climate conditions. Also, the frequency of disasters caused by floods and landslides is increasing in a similar manner. Over tenfold increases seem to have taken place in less than a century. Of course, population growth implies greater exposure and therefore higher probability of disasters, but the magnitude of the increase observed can hardly be explained by this. Results point to an intensification of processes due to the interaction between water and land surface (geomorphic processes), as well as related (not so "natural") hazards. It appears to be one of characteristics of the so called Anthropocene (the age of humans). An analysis of the variations experienced by rainfall and by indicators of the intensity of human activities suggests that this expression of global change (global geomorphic change) is very likely caused mainly by land surface modification, rather than by climate change. If this were confirmed, it would have important implications. It would probably be better to focus mitigation of both undesirable effects not only on climate change (surely necessary) but mainly on land use management and practices. Whereas results on the former require international, global action, in the latter case results could be obtained through national or local policies.

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Section: 1029/2019ef001305supporting

confidence: 52%

Anthropocene Geomorphic Change. Climate or Human Activities?

et al. 2020

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“…This emergence of vegetation at the bottom of the slope at the expense of heights is widely observed in many landscapes [36,37]. Lateral drainage and accumulation of sediment, nutrients, and water at the bottom of slopes are favourable to plant germination, survival, and development [38,39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Land-Use Practices on Woody Plant Cover Dynamics in Sahelian Agrosystems in Burkina Faso since the 1970s–1980s Droughts

2019

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The 1970s–1980s droughts in the Sahel caused a significant degradation of land and plant cover. To cope with this situation, populations have developed several biophysical and social adaptation practices. Many of these are agroforestry practices and contribute to the maintenance of agrosystems. Unfortunately, they remain insufficiently documented and their contributions to the resilience of agrosystems insufficiently evaluated. Many authors widely link the regreening in the Sahel after droughts to the resumption of rainfall. This study examines the contribution of agroforestry practices to the improvement of woody plant cover in the North of Burkina Faso after the 1970s–1980s droughts. The examination of practices is carried out by integrating the rainfall, soil, and geomorphology variables. Landsat images are used to detect changes in woody plant cover: increasing, decreasing, and no-change in the Enhanced Vegetation Index. In addition, 230 field observations, coupled with interviews conducted on the different categories of change, have allowed to characterize the biophysical environment and identify land-use practices. The results show a variability of vegetation index explained to 9% (R2 = 0.09) by rainfall. However, Chi-Squared independence tests show a strong dependence between changes in woody plant cover and geomorphology (p = 0.0018 *), land use, land cover (p = 0.0001 *), and land-use practices (p = 0.0001 *). Our results show that rainfall alone is not enough to explain the dynamics of agrosystems’ woody plant cover. Agricultural and social practices related to the dynamics of farmer perceptions play a key role.

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“…Therefore, it is important to understand how the attributes of lake ecosystems are affected by land use patterns. Xu et al [39] studied 14 lakes located in the Yangtze River Basin and quantified recent rates of sediment deposition, and then evaluated their results in the context of a variety of features of the lakes and their watersheds. Their finding is that conversion of land to agriculture for growing crops or to urban uses can lead to substantial increases in the sedimentation rate.…”

Section: Related Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%