Coupling effects of freeze-thaw action and thawed soil depth on snowmelt erosion under near-surface hydrologic conditions in the Mollisol region of Northeast China

IF 6.6 1区农林科学 Q1 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Catena Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-24 DOI:10.1016/j.catena.2026.109855

Wengang Wang , Bin Wang , Fenli Zheng , Wei Rao , Zhiyi Zhang , Farhan Iftikhar

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Near-surface hydrologic conditions (NHC), including drainage, saturation, and seepage, are key drivers for summer rainfall-induced erosion. Among these, saturation and seepage intensify erosion compared to drainage, with their effects remaining relatively consistent under controlled hydraulic gradients. However, it remains unclear whether the erosive characteristics of NHCs, influenced by freeze-thaw action (FTA) and thawed soil depth (TSD) differ under winter-spring snowmelt erosion compared to summer rainfall-induced erosion. The Mollisol region of Northeast China is highly susceptible to both erosion types, posing a significant threat to agricultural productivity. This study investigated the impact of FTA on the erosive characteristics of NHCs during snowmelt erosion and compared it with summer rainfall-induced erosion. The mechanisms underlying these differences and the influence of FTAs on varying TSDs were identified. Three NHC conditions (drainage, saturation, and seepage) were tested alongside five TSDs: 1 cm (FS1), 3 cm (FS3), 5 cm (FS5) and 10 cm (FS10), as well as an unfrozen control (10 cm, UFS10). Experiments were conducted on silty clay loam with an 8.75% slope under three meltwater intensities (2, 3 and 4 L/min). Results showed that FTA enhanced the erosive effects of saturation and seepage compared to summer rainfall-induced erosion, by altering pore-water pressure. This effect was most pronounced under FS5 and FS10, where erosion increased with TSD stabilized. The contribution of NHCs to erosion rate reached 51.71% under FS5 and FS10, representing a 902.13% increase compared to UFS10 (5.16%). In contrast, no significant differences in erosion rate across NHCs were observed in FS1 and FS3 (P > 0.05). These results demonstrate that the erosive effects of NHCs on frozen slopes are strongly TSD-dependent and provide novel insights into the mechanisms of snowmelt erosion. Consequently, these findings are critical for considering NHC effects in snowmelt-dominated erosion process in cold and hydrologically variable regions.

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东北Mollisol地区近地表水文条件下冻融作用和土壤深度对融雪侵蚀的耦合效应

近地表水文条件（NHC），包括排水、饱和和渗流，是夏季降雨侵蚀的关键驱动因素。其中，饱和和渗流比排水更能加剧侵蚀，在控制水力梯度的条件下，二者的作用保持相对一致。然而，冻融作用（FTA）和土壤融化深度（TSD）影响下的NHCs在冬春融雪侵蚀下与夏季降雨侵蚀下的侵蚀特征是否存在差异尚不清楚。东北Mollisol地区极易受到这两种侵蚀类型的影响，对农业生产力构成重大威胁。研究了融雪侵蚀过程中FTA对NHCs侵蚀特性的影响，并与夏季降雨侵蚀进行了比较。确定了这些差异背后的机制以及自由贸易协定对不同TSDs的影响。三种NHC条件（排水、饱和和渗流）与五种TSDs: 1 cm （FS1）、3 cm （FS3）、5 cm （FS5）和10 cm (FS10)，以及未冻结的对照（10 cm, UFS10）一起进行了测试。在坡度为8.75%的粉质粘土壤土上进行了3种融水强度（2、3和4 L/min）的试验。结果表明，与夏季降雨侵蚀相比，FTA通过改变孔隙水压力，增强了饱和和渗流的侵蚀作用。这种效应在FS5和FS10下最为明显，随着TSD的稳定，侵蚀增加。FS5和FS10下NHCs对侵蚀速率的贡献达到51.71%，比FS10（5.16%）增加了902.13%。相比之下，FS1和FS3中不同NHCs的侵蚀速率无显著差异（P > 0.05）。这些结果表明，NHCs对冻结斜坡的侵蚀作用强烈依赖于tsd，并为融雪侵蚀机制提供了新的见解。因此，这些发现对于考虑在寒冷和水文变化地区以融雪为主的侵蚀过程中NHC的影响至关重要。

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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.