Exploring the impact of rainfall spatial differentiation on sediment yield of a typical watershed in the Loess Plateau of China

IF 5.4 1区农林科学 Q1 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Catena Pub Date : 2025-06-13 DOI:10.1016/j.catena.2025.109221

Yue Liang , Wei Qin , Lin Ding , Tao Ma , Zhongbao Xin , Qi Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Rainfall functions as the predominant driving force of runoff and sediment yield on watershed scale. However, previous studies chiefly focused on the effects of areal rainfall characteristics at event scale on runoff and sediment yield, yet the impacts of rainfall spatial differentiation at event scale, i.e., the spatial distribution of rainfall variables within the watersheds, remained inadequately explored. In the present study, comprehensive data were meticulously collected. This data encompassed runoff and sediment data from a hydrological station, as well as rainfall hyetographs from multiple rainfall stations within a representative watershed on the Loess Plateau of China from 1982 to 2020. Subsequently, a series of indicators were proposed to characterize the features of rainfall spatial differentiation within the watersheds. Based on these indicators, the erosive rainfall events were categorized into diverse rainfall spatial patterns. The roles of rainfall spatial patterns in influencing runoff and sediment were revealed, and sediment yield regression models integrating rainfall spatial differentiation were developed. The findings indicated that multiple proposed rainfall spatial differentiation indicators were significantly correlated with runoff depth (H) and specific sediment yield (SSY) (p < 0.05). Compared to rainfall patterns with weaker spatial differentiation, those with stronger spatial differentiation resulted in the substantially larger specific sediment yield (SSY), sediment coefficient (SLC) and peak discharge (Q_max) (p < 0.05) of the watershed. The uneven coefficient of maximum 30-min rainfall intensity (η_-I30), the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity of “high-rainfall amount zone” (I_30CA-P) and the IC (index of connectivity) of “high-maximum 30-min rainfall intensity zone” (IC_CA-I30) controlled SSY. The models considering rainfall spatial differentiation outperformed those considering only areal rainfall characteristics in predicting SSY, with higher R² values, lower RMSE values and higher NSE values. These results offer valuable perspectives on the remarkable influence of rainfall spatial differentiation in generating and predicting the sediment yield of watersheds, thereby shedding new light on the exploration of rainfall-sediment relationships on the watershed scale.

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黄土高原典型流域降雨空间分异对产沙量的影响

在流域尺度上，降雨是产流产沙的主要驱动力。然而，以往的研究主要集中在事件尺度上的面雨量特征对产流产沙的影响，而对事件尺度上降雨空间分异的影响，即降雨变量在流域内的空间分布的探索还不够充分。在本研究中，我们精心收集了全面的数据。该数据包括1982年至2020年中国黄土高原代表性流域内一个水文站的径流和泥沙数据，以及多个雨量站的雨量图。随后，提出了一系列表征流域降水空间分异特征的指标。在此基础上，将侵蚀性降雨事件划分为不同的降雨空间格局。揭示了降雨空间格局对径流和泥沙的影响，建立了考虑降雨空间分异的产沙回归模型。结果表明，多个降雨空间分异指标与径流深度(H)和比产沙量（SSY） (p <；0.05)。与空间分异较弱的降雨模式相比，空间分异较强的降雨模式导致比产沙量（SSY）、泥沙系数（SLC）和峰值流量（Qmax） (p <；0.05)。最大30分钟降雨强度（η-I30）的不均匀系数、“高降雨量区”的最大30分钟降雨强度（I30CA-P）和“高-最大30分钟降雨强度区”的连通性指数（IC）控制着SSY。考虑降雨空间分异的模型预测SSY的R2值较高，RMSE值较低，NSE值较高。这些结果为降雨空间分异对流域产沙产生和预测的显著影响提供了有价值的视角，从而为探索流域尺度上的雨沙关系提供了新的思路。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Catena 环境科学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

10.50

自引率

9.70%

发文量

816

审稿时长

54 days

期刊介绍： Catena publishes papers describing original field and laboratory investigations and reviews on geoecology and landscape evolution with emphasis on interdisciplinary aspects of soil science, hydrology and geomorphology. It aims to disseminate new knowledge and foster better understanding of the physical environment, of evolutionary sequences that have resulted in past and current landscapes, and of the natural processes that are likely to determine the fate of our terrestrial environment. Papers within any one of the above topics are welcome provided they are of sufficiently wide interest and relevance.