Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River
Riparian vegetation plays a vital role in soil and water conservation and river health maintenance. However, its inhibiting effects on water and soil loss are limited by different factors, such as slope gradient, vegetation coverage and their interaction. Therefore, this study quantified the inhibit...
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doaj-ba77bca08a764c688d4c9e4d0c7e19572020-11-25T01:07:47ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502019-07-011113368510.3390/su11133685su11133685Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow RiverYifan Zhang0Qinghe Zhao1Zihao Cao2Shengyan Ding3College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, ChinaCollege of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, ChinaCollege of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, ChinaCollege of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, ChinaRiparian vegetation plays a vital role in soil and water conservation and river health maintenance. However, its inhibiting effects on water and soil loss are limited by different factors, such as slope gradient, vegetation coverage and their interaction. Therefore, this study quantified the inhibiting effect of riparian vegetation on the runoff, sediment and hydraulic characteristics of overland flow, and assessed its relative contribution to slope gradient. Specifically, we selected a riparian slope along the lower Yellow River as a case, and used a field-simulated rainfall experiment under specific rainfall intensity (90 mm/h), different vegetation coverage (0%, 15% and 30%) and slope gradients (5°, 10°, 15° and 20°). The results showed that the presence of vegetation can reduce the slope runoff rate and erosion rate. However, greater slope gradients can result in a lowering of the inhibiting effects of riparian vegetation on sediment yield. There was a critical value of vegetation coverage for inhibiting eroded sediments which was influenced by the degree of slope gradient. At 15% vegetation coverage, vegetation inhibited the slope sediment yield greatly at a slope gradient of less than 8°; while at 30% vegetation coverage, vegetation greatly inhibited the slope sediment yield at slope gradients <11°. Hydraulic characteristics were closely related to the slope gradient and vegetation coverage by the power function. Grey correlation analysis revealed that, with increasing of vegetation coverage, the effect of stream power on slope sediment yield decreased, while the effect of the friction coefficient on slope sediment yield increased. In summary, riparian vegetation can effectively inhibit slope runoff and sediment yield, but its inhibiting effect is notably affected by slope gradient.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3685inhibiting effectslope gradientvegetation coverageslope erosion processriparian slope |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yifan Zhang Qinghe Zhao Zihao Cao Shengyan Ding |
spellingShingle |
Yifan Zhang Qinghe Zhao Zihao Cao Shengyan Ding Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River Sustainability inhibiting effect slope gradient vegetation coverage slope erosion process riparian slope |
author_facet |
Yifan Zhang Qinghe Zhao Zihao Cao Shengyan Ding |
author_sort |
Yifan Zhang |
title |
Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River |
title_short |
Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River |
title_full |
Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River |
title_fullStr |
Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River |
title_full_unstemmed |
Inhibiting Effects of Vegetation on the Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield on Riparian Slope along the Lower Yellow River |
title_sort |
inhibiting effects of vegetation on the characteristics of runoff and sediment yield on riparian slope along the lower yellow river |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
description |
Riparian vegetation plays a vital role in soil and water conservation and river health maintenance. However, its inhibiting effects on water and soil loss are limited by different factors, such as slope gradient, vegetation coverage and their interaction. Therefore, this study quantified the inhibiting effect of riparian vegetation on the runoff, sediment and hydraulic characteristics of overland flow, and assessed its relative contribution to slope gradient. Specifically, we selected a riparian slope along the lower Yellow River as a case, and used a field-simulated rainfall experiment under specific rainfall intensity (90 mm/h), different vegetation coverage (0%, 15% and 30%) and slope gradients (5°, 10°, 15° and 20°). The results showed that the presence of vegetation can reduce the slope runoff rate and erosion rate. However, greater slope gradients can result in a lowering of the inhibiting effects of riparian vegetation on sediment yield. There was a critical value of vegetation coverage for inhibiting eroded sediments which was influenced by the degree of slope gradient. At 15% vegetation coverage, vegetation inhibited the slope sediment yield greatly at a slope gradient of less than 8°; while at 30% vegetation coverage, vegetation greatly inhibited the slope sediment yield at slope gradients <11°. Hydraulic characteristics were closely related to the slope gradient and vegetation coverage by the power function. Grey correlation analysis revealed that, with increasing of vegetation coverage, the effect of stream power on slope sediment yield decreased, while the effect of the friction coefficient on slope sediment yield increased. In summary, riparian vegetation can effectively inhibit slope runoff and sediment yield, but its inhibiting effect is notably affected by slope gradient. |
topic |
inhibiting effect slope gradient vegetation coverage slope erosion process riparian slope |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3685 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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