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Effects of check dams on runoff and sediment load in a semi-arid river basin of the Yellow River

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Abstract

Check dam has become an efficient measure to control sediment transport and soil erosion in the gully areas. It plays an important role in soil erosion control and agricultural production in the Loess Plateau. Due to construction of numerous check dams, it is necessary to assess the impact of check dams on runoff and sediment load at basin scale. This study applied the SWAT model to simulate monthly runoff and sediment load in the Huangfuchuan basin in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. Twenty key check dams are coupled to the SWAT model simulation in the calibration (1978–1984) and validation period (1985–1989). The determination coefficient (R 2) and the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient (NS) were 0.94 and 0.83 for runoff, and 0.82 and 0.81 for sediment load in the calibration period, respectively. During the validation period, the R 2 and NS were 0.93 and 0.80 for runoff, and 0.90 and 0.83 for sediment load respectively. The results showed that the model simulation was acceptable. Subsequently, the calibrated model was used to examine the effect of check dams on runoff and sediment load between 1990 and 2012. It showed that the increasing check dams contributed 24.8 and 27.7% to the decrease of annual runoff and sediment load during the period of 1990–1999, whereas it reached up to 65.2% for runoff decline and 78.3% for sediment load reduction within 2000–2012. Overall, this study illustrated a case study of the dominant role of check dams on variation of runoff and sediment load in the Huangfuchuan basin.

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Acknowledgements

The work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.: 41671279, 41271295, 41201266), the Major Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZZD-EW-04-03), the National Key Scientific Research Project (2016YFC0402401), Special-Funds of Scientific Research Programs of State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau (A314021403-Q2), Beijing Water Science & Technology Institute (Z141100003614052). We extend our heartfelt thanks to anonymous reviewers and editors for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Xinong Road 26, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Erhui Li, Xingmin Mu & Guangju Zhao

  2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Science & Ministry of Water Resources, Xinong Road 26, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Xingmin Mu, Guangju Zhao, Peng Gao & Wenyi Sun

  3. State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Erhui Li

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  1. Erhui Li
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  2. Xingmin Mu
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  3. Guangju Zhao
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  4. Peng Gao
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  5. Wenyi Sun
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Correspondence to Xingmin Mu or Guangju Zhao.

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Li, E., Mu, X., Zhao, G. et al. Effects of check dams on runoff and sediment load in a semi-arid river basin of the Yellow River. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 31, 1791–1803 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-016-1333-4

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