1 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; 2 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
Changes in sediment discharge in the sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010: implications for further soil erosion control
1 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; 2 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
摘要 The well-documented decrease in the discharge of sediment into the Yellow River has attracted con-siderable attention in recent years. The present study analyzed the spatial and temporal variation of sediment yield based on data from 46 hydrological stations in the sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010. The results showed that since 1970 sediment yield in the region has clearly decreased at different rates in the 45 sub-areas controlled by hydrological stations. The decrease in sediment yield was closely related to the intensity and extent of soil erosion control measures and rainstorms that occurred in different periods and sub-areas. The average sediment delivery modulus (SDM) in the study area decreased from 7,767.4 t/(km2•a) in 1951–1969 to 980.5 t/(km2•a) in 2000–2010. Our study suggested that 65.5% of the study area with the SDM below 1,000 t/(km2•a) is still necessary to control soil deterioration caused by erosion, and soil erosion control measures should be further strengthened in the areas with the SDM above 1,000 t/(km2•a).
Abstract: The well-documented decrease in the discharge of sediment into the Yellow River has attracted con-siderable attention in recent years. The present study analyzed the spatial and temporal variation of sediment yield based on data from 46 hydrological stations in the sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010. The results showed that since 1970 sediment yield in the region has clearly decreased at different rates in the 45 sub-areas controlled by hydrological stations. The decrease in sediment yield was closely related to the intensity and extent of soil erosion control measures and rainstorms that occurred in different periods and sub-areas. The average sediment delivery modulus (SDM) in the study area decreased from 7,767.4 t/(km2•a) in 1951–1969 to 980.5 t/(km2•a) in 2000–2010. Our study suggested that 65.5% of the study area with the SDM below 1,000 t/(km2•a) is still necessary to control soil deterioration caused by erosion, and soil erosion control measures should be further strengthened in the areas with the SDM above 1,000 t/(km2•a).
The Major Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZZD-EW-04-03-04), the National Science-technology Support Plan Project (2006BAD09B10), and the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Acad-emy of Sciences (KZCX2-EW-406).
通讯作者:
XingMin MU
E-mail: xmmu@ms.iswc.ac.cn
引用本文:
JuYing JIAO, ZhiJie WANG, GuangJu ZHAO, WanZhong WANG, XingMin MU. Changes in sediment discharge in the sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010: implications for further soil erosion control[J]. 干旱区科学, 2014, 6(5): 540-549.
JuYing JIAO, ZhiJie WANG, GuangJu ZHAO, WanZhong WANG, XingMin MU. Changes in sediment discharge in the sediment-rich region of the Yellow River from 1955 to 2010: implications for further soil erosion control. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(5): 540-549.
Cai Q G. 2001. Soil erosion and management on the Loess Plateau. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 11(1): 53–70.Chakrapani G J. 2005. Factors controlling variations in river sediment loads. Current Science, 33(3): 161–164.Chen H, Cai Q G. 2006. Impact of hillslope vegetation restoration on gully erosion induced sediment yield. Science in China: Earth Sci-ences, 49(2): 176–192. Dai S B, Yang S L, Li M. 2009. The sharp decrease in suspended sedi-ment supply from China's rivers to the sea: anthropogenic and natural causes. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 54(1): 135–146. Fan N N, Xue X N. 2010. Analysis on sediment movement characters in the Kuye River. Journal of Sediment Research, 35(2): 75–80.Fu G B, Chen S L, Liu C M, et al. 2004. Hydro-climatic trends of the Yellow River Basin for the last 50 years. Climate Change, 65(1–2): 149–178.Gao P, Mu X M, Wang F, et al. 2011. Changes in streamflow and sedi-ment discharge and the response to human activities in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15(1): 1–10. Hessel R, Messing I, Chen L D, et al. 2003. Soil erosion simulations of land use scenarios for a small Loess Plateau catchment. Catena, 54(1): 289–302. Jiao J Y, Li J, Wang W Z. 2002. Erosion environment in the sedi-ment-rich area on the Loess Plateau. Journal of Geographical Sci-ences, 12(1): 49–57. Kang L L, Wang Y Z, Wei Y C, et al. 2002. The vegetation coverage changes after the implementation of World Bank loan project of soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 16(5): 76–78.Li X G, Wei X. 2011. Soil erosion analysis of human influence on the controlled basin system of check dams in small watersheds of the Loess Plateau, China. Expert Systems with Application, 38(4): 4228–4233.Liu X Y, Zhang Y F, Zhang J Z. 2006. Healthy Yellow River’s essence and indicators. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 16(3): 259–270. Martínez-Casasnovas J A, Ramos M C, Ribes-Dasi M. 2005. On site effects of concentrated flow erosion in vineyard fields: some eco-nomic implications. Catena, 60(2): 129–146.McVicar T R, Li L T, Van Niel T G, et al. 2007. Developing a decision support tool for China's re-vegetation program: Simulating regional impacts of afforestation on average annual streamflow in the Loess Plateau. Forest Ecology and Management, 251(1): 65–81.Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China. 1997. Standards for Classification and Gradation of Soil Erosion (SL190-96). Beijing: China Water Power Press.Peng J, Chen S L, Dong P. 2010. Temporal variation of sediment load in the Yellow River basin, China, and its impacts on the lower reaches and the river delta. Catena, 83(2): 135–147.Pimentel D, Kounang N. 1998. Ecology of soil erosion in ecosystems. Ecosystems, 1(5): 416–426.Ran D C, Luo Q H, Zhou Z H, et al. 2008. Sediment retention by check dams in the Hekouzhen-Longmen Section of the Yellow River. In-ternational Journal of Sediment Research, 23(2): 159–166. Rustomji P, Zhang X P, Hairsine P B, et al. 2008. River sediment load and concentration responses to changes in hydrology and catchment management in the Loess Plateau region of China. Water Resouces Research, 44, W00A04, doi:10.1029/2007WR006656.Shi H, Shao M A. 2000. Soil and water loss from the Loess Plateau in China. Journal of Arid Environments, 45(1): 9–20.Sui J Y, Yun H E, Cheng L I. 2009. Changes in sediment transport in the Kuye River in the Loess Plateau in China. International Journal of Sediment Reserch, 24(2): 201–213.Wainwright J. 1996. Infiltration, runoff and erosion characteristics of agricultural land in extreme storm event, SE France. Catena, 26(1): 27–47.Walling D E, Fang D. 2003. Recent trends in the suspended sediment loads of the world's rivers. Global Planet Change, 39(1): 111–126.Wang G L, Liu G B, Xu M X. 2009. Above- and belowground dynamics of plant community succession following abandonment of farmland on the Loess Plateau, China. Plant and Soil, 316(1–2): 227–239.Wang H, Yang Z, Saito Y. 2007. Stepwise decreases of the Huanghe (Yellow River) sediment load (1950–2005): impacts of climate change and human activities. Global and Planetary Change, 57(3): 331–354.Wang Q X, Fan X H, Qin Z D, et al. 2012a. Change trends of temperature and precipitation in the Loess Plateau Region of China, 1961–2010. Global and Planetary Change, 92–93: 138–147.Wang W Z, Jiao J Y. 1996. Rainfall and Erosion Sediment Yield in the Loess Plateau and Sediment Transportation in the Yellow River Ba-sin. Beijing: Science Press.Wang Z J, Wang Q L, Jiao J Y. 2012b. Investigation of erosion disaster in “7.27” rainstorm center in Jiaxian County of northern Shaanxi Province. Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 32(5):13–17.Xu J X, Cheng D S. 2002. Relation between the erosion and sedimenta-tion zones in the Yellow River, China. Geomorphology, 48(4): 365–382.Xu J X. 2003. Sediment flux to the sea as influenced by changing human activities and precipitation: example of the Yellow River, China. Environmental Management, 31(3): 328–341.Xu J X, Sun J. 2004. Effect of erosion control measures on sediment delivery ratio. Advances in Water Science, 15(1): 29–34.Xu X Z, Zhang H W, Zhang O Y. 2004. Development of check-dam systems in gullies on the Loess Plateau, China. Environmental Sci-ence & Policy, 7(2): 79–86.Xu Z G, Xu J T, Deng X Z, et al. 2006. Grain for green versus grain: conflict between food security and conservation set-aside in China. World Development, 34(1): 130–148.Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC). 1993. The Soil and Water Conservation in the Yellow River (Book 8 of the Yellow River). Zhengzhou: Henan People Press.Zhou H J, Van Rompaey A, Wang J A. 2009. Detecting the impact of the “Grain for Green” program on the mean annual vegetation cover in the Shaanxi province, China using SPOT-VGT NDVI data. Land Use Policy, 26(4): 954–960.
2014, Vol. 6 
