Impacts of Rainfall, Soil Type, and Land-Use Change on Soil Erosion in the Liusha River Watershed
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 4
Abstract
To assess the impacts of rainfall and land-use changes on soil erosion, the Liusha River watershed in China was chosen as a case study for its representative topography and climate. Investigations were conducted using the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model and maps of land-use and soil types, together with meteorological data from six gauging stations. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (0.84 and 0.75), correlation coefficient (0.93 and 0.90), and percent bias (PBIAS) ( and ) values attained during the calibration (1985–1994) and validation periods (1995–2006), respectively, indicate that the SWAT can be used in this area to simulate the average annual soil erosion under different land-use scenarios. Two scenarios of land-use change, namely the conversion of farmland to forest and the conversion of grassland to farmland, were used to estimate runoff and sediment yield under typical rainfall conditions. In both land-use change scenarios, the value of sediment-yield change caused by land-use change increased with rain intensity, while the rate of sediment-yield change remained unchanged. Of the different soil types investigated, the greatest variation in sediment yield caused by land-use change occurred where loess is the underlying surface. Red soil shows the next greatest variation, followed by black and finally purple soil. The sensitivity of the four soils to the rate of sediment-yield variations is the opposite, with purple soil being the most sensitive, followed by red then black soils, and loess displaying the least sensitivity. The results of this study provide a reference that can assist in the evaluation of benefits of soil conservation projects in different regions and inform investment decisions.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51379076) and the 13th Five-Year National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0401407).
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Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 4 • April 2017
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©2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 16, 2015
Accepted: Aug 30, 2016
Published online: Oct 31, 2016
Discussion open until: Mar 31, 2017
Published in print: Apr 1, 2017
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