Abstract
Natural runoff observation fields with different vegetation coverage were established in the Zuomaoxikongqu River basin in the headwater area of the Yangtze River, and in the Natong River basin and the Kuarewaerma River basin in the headwater area of the Yellow River, China. The experiments were conducted using natural precipitation and artificially simulated precipitation between July and August to study the runoff and sediment-producing effects of precipitation under the conditions of the same slope and different alpine meadow land with coverage in the headwater areas. The results show that, in the three small river basins in the headwater areas of the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers, the surface runoff yield on the 30° slope surface of the alpine meadow land with a vegetation cover of 30% is markedly larger than that of the fields with a vegetation cover of 95, 92, and 68%. Furthermore, the sediment yield is also obviously larger than the latter three; on an average, the sediment yield caused by a single precipitation event is 2–4 times as large as the latter three. Several typical precipitation forms affecting the runoff yield on the slope surface also influence the process. No matter how the surface conditions are; the rainfall is still the main precipitation form causing soil erosion. In some forms of precipitation, such as the greatest snow melting as water runoff, the sediment yield is minimal. Under the condition of the same precipitation amount, snowfall can obviously increase the runoff yield, roughly 2.1–3.5 times as compared to the combined runoff yield of the Sleet or that of rainfall alone; but meanwhile, the sediment yield and soil erosion rate decrease, roughly decreasing by 45.4–80.3%. High vegetation cover can effectively decrease the runoff-induced erosion. This experimental result is consistent in the three river basins in the headwater areas of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported together by a grant from the “973 Project” (No. 2007CB411504) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40701022, No. 90511003 and 40730634), the “Hundred People” Project of the Chinese Academy of Science to Dr. Wang Genxu, Foundation Project of State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering (No. SKLFSE200501), and Foundation Project of State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science (No. SKLCS07-06). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the help of those whose valuable comments improved the manuscript.
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Yuanshou, L., Genxu, W., Dahe, Q. et al. Study on the runoff and sediment-producing effects of precipitation in headwater areas of the Yangtze River and Yellow River, China. Environ Geol 56, 1–9 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1134-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1134-7