Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding the geomorphic consequences of enhanced overland flow in mixed agricultural systems: sediment fingerprinting demonstrates the need for integrated upstream and downstream thinking

  • Sediment Fingerprinting in the Critical Zone
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Sediment fingerprinting approaches help improve our understanding of the on- and off-site impacts of soil erosion in the critical zone, including upstream and downstream ecosystem services and the wider implications for food, water and energy security. This study evaluates the impact of intensive agricultural land management practices on overland flow generation with attention to process controls on sediment production and delivery from both hillslope and in channel sources.

Materials and methods

This study applied a sediment fingerprinting approach in the Merriott Stream catchment in rural Somerset, UK. Major and minor element geochemistry were determined for sources under cultivated (n = 12) and grazing (n = 12) land management regimes plus channel bank erosion (n = 10) for a notably incised downstream drainage network. These were compared to both suspended sediment (n = 3) and channel bed sediment (n = 4) sampled along the stream network. Sediment sources were apportioned with the MixSIAR mixing model.

Results and discussion

The dominant contributor to suspended sediment captured in transit was cultivated land (ca. 60–90%). The dominant contributor to channel bed sediment in the lower catchment was channel bank erosion (ca. 50–75%). The former was linked to enhanced overland flow and increased erodibility of cultivated soils. The latter was linked to contemporary incision of the stream network driven by a more erosive hydrological regime (i.e. increased magnitude and frequency of runoff events) which was causing localized erosion and bank failure. These in-channel processes of incision and bank failure were exacerbated by a lack of vegetation on the banks due to winter die-back of the invasive weed Himalayan Balsam. This exposes the bank surface to direct fluvial scour under winter high flows and prevents the establishment of a perennial root structure from native plants that typically plays an important role in bank stability.

Conclusions

This study has demonstrated the need to consider a holistic catchment-based approach to understanding and managing bank erosion and, in particular, it highlights the need for integrated upstream and downstream thinking where distal runoff processes lead to increased potential for downstream channel instability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan JD (2004) Landscapes and riverscapes: the influence of land use on stream ecosystems. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35:257–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blake WH, Boeckx P, Stock BC, Smith HG, Bodé S, Upadhayay HR, Gaspar L, Goddard R, Lennard AT, Lizaga I, Lobb DA, Owens PN, Petticrew EL, Kuzyk ZZA, Gari BD, Munishi L, Mtei K, Nebiyu A, Mabit L, Navas A, Semmens BX (2018) A deconvolutional Bayesian mixing model approach for river basin sediment source apportionment. Sci Rep 8:13073. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30905-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blake WH, Ficken KJ, Taylor P, Russell MA, Walling DE (2012) Tracing crop-specific sediment sources in agricultural catchments. Geomorphology 139–140:322–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boardman J (2006) Soil erosion science: reflections on the limitations of current approaches. Catena 68:73–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bracken LJ, Turnbull L, Wainwright J, Bogaart P (2015) Sediment connectivity: a framework for understanding sediment transfer at multiple scales. Earth Surf Process Landf 40:177–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brantley SL, Goldhaber MB, Ragnarsdottir KV (2007) Crossing disciplines and scales to understand the critical zone. Elements 3:307–314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • British Geological Society (2011) (Updated: 1 June), Soil Parent Material Model, Scale 1:50000, Tiles: ew312, SHAPE geospatial data, Using: EDINA Geology Digimap Service, Downloaded: 2017-06-12 23:55:41.707, <http://digimap.edina.ac.uk>

  • British Geological Society (2013) (Updated: 1 November), DiGMapGB-10, Scale 1:10000, Tiles: st30ne, st31se, SHAPE geospatial data, Using: EDINA Geology Digimap Service, Downloaded: 2017-06-12 23:55:41.707, <http://digimap.edina.ac.uk>

  • Bull LJ (1997) Magnitude and variation in the contribution of bank erosion to the suspended sediment load of the River Severn, UK. Earth Surf Process Landf 22:1109–1123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll C, Merton L, Burger P (2000) Impact of vegetative cover and slope on runoff, erosion, and water quality for field plots on a range of soil and spoil materials on central Queensland coal mines. Soil Res 38:313–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman DS, Gray A (2012) Complex interactions between the wind and ballistic seed dispersal in Impatiens glandulifera (Royle). J Ecol 100:874–883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clary W, Kinney J (2002) Streambank and vegetation response to simulated cattle grazing. Wetlands 22:139–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colborne GJN, Staines SJ (1985) Soil erosion in south Somerset. J Agr Sci 104:07–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins AL, Walling DE (2002) Selecting fingerprint properties for discriminating potential suspended sediment sources in river basins. J Hydrol 261:218–244

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collins AL, Pulley S, Foster IDL, Gellis A, Porto P, Horowitz AJ (2017) Sediment source fingerprinting as an aid to catchment management: a review of the current state of knowledge and a methodological decision-tree for end-users. J Environ Manage 194:86–108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collins AL, Walling DE, Leeks GJL (1997) Source type ascription for fluvial suspended sediment based on a quantitative composite fingerprinting technique. Catena 29:1–27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collins AL, Walling DE, Webb L, King P (2010) Apportioning catchment scale sediment sources using a modified composite fingerprinting technique incorporating property weightings and prior information. Geoderma 155:249–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colombo S, Hanley N, Calatrava-Requena J (2005) Designing policy for reducing the off-farm effects of soil erosion using choice experiments. J Agr Econ 56:81–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DEFRA (2013) Catchment Based Approach: improving the quality of our water environment—a policy framework to encourage the wider adoption of an integrated Catchment Based Approach to improving the quality of our water environment. Defra PB 13934. Accessed January 2019

  • Environment Agency (2018) Working with natural processes—evidence directory SC150005. Available via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-natural-processes-to-reduce-flood-risk. Accessed December 2018

  • Environment Agency (2017) Environment Agency - data.gov.uk Available: https://data.gov.uk/publisher/environment-agency. Accessed October 2017

  • Esbensen K, Geladi P (1987) Principal component analysis. Chemometrics Intelligent Lab Syst 2:37–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans DJ, Gibson CE, Rossell RS (2006) Sediment loads and sources in heavily modified Irish catchments: a move towards informed management strategies. Geomorphology 79:93–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field JP, Breshears DD, Law DJ, Villegas JC, López-Hoffman L, Brooks PD, Chorover J, Barron-Gafford GA, Gallery RE, Litvak ME, Lybrand RA (2015) Critical Zone services: expanding context, constraints, and currency beyond ecosystem services. Vadose Zone J 14(1). https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2014.10.0142

  • Foley JA, Defries R, Asnere GP, Barford C, Bonan G, Carpenter SR, Stuart C, Coe MT, Daily GC, Gibbs HK, Helkowski JH, Holloway T, Howard EA, Kucharik CJ, Monfreda C, Patz JA, Prentice IC, Ramankutty N, Snyder PK (2005) Global consequences of land use. Science 309:570–574

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foy R, O’Connor WC (2002) Managing the effects of agriculture on water quality in Northern Ireland. In: Haygarth PM, Jarvis SC (eds) Agriculture, hydrology and water quality. CAB International, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaspar L, Blake WH, Smith HG, Lizaga I, Navas A (2019) Testing the sensitivity of a multivariate mixing model using geochemical fingerprints with artificial mixtures. Geoderma 337:498–510

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Govers G, Giménez R, Van Oost K (2007) Rill erosion: exploring the relationship between experiments, modelling and field observations. Earth-Sci Rev 84:87–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Govers G, Van Oost K, Wang Z (2014) Scratching the critical zone: the global footprint of agricultural soil erosion. Proc Earth Plan Sci 10:313–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graves AR, Morris J, Deeks LK, Rickson RJ, Kibblewhite MG, Harris JA, Farewell TS, Truckle I (2015) The total costs of soil degradation in England and Wales. Ecol Econ 119:399–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood P, Kuhn N (2014) Does the invasive plant, Impatiens glandulifera, promote soil erosion along the riparian zone? An investigation on a small watercourse in northwest Switzerland. J Soils Sediments 14:637–650

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guzmán G, Quinton J, Nearing M, Mabit L, Gómez J (2013) Sediment tracers in water erosion studies: current approaches and challenges. J Soils Sediments 13:816–833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haddadchi A, Ryder DS, Evrard O, Olley J (2013) Sediment fingerprinting in fluvial systems: review of tracers, sediment sources and mixing models. Int J Sediment Res 28:560–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer RD, Philpot JW, Maatta JM, (1990) Applying principal component analysis to soil-landscape research: quantifying the subjective, in: Annual Conference on Applied Statistics in Agriculture. Kansas State University Libraries New Prairie Press

  • Hogan DV, Deeks LK, Read RD (2009) Infiltration and runoff in the Furze Brook catchment, Environment Agency Report, Exminster

  • Howells M, Hermann S, Welsch M, Bazilian M, Segerström R, Alfstad T, Gielen D, Rogner H, Fischer G, Velthuizen HV, Wiberg D, Young C, Roehrl RA, Mueller A, Steduto P, Ramma I (2013) Integrated analysis of climate change, land-use, energy and water strategies. Nat Clim Change 3:621–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kibichii S, Feeley H, Baars J-R, Kelly-Quinn M (2015) The influence of water quality on hyporheic invertebrate communities in agricultural catchments. Mar Freshwater Res 66:805–814

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King A, Prudden H, Barr M, Donovan D, Lott G (2017) Strategic stone study a building stone atlas of Somerset & Exmoor. Accessed via https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=1619 . Accessed December 2018

  • Koiter AJ, Owens PN, Petticrew EL, Lobb DA (2013) The behavioural characteristics of sediment properties and their implications for sediment fingerprinting as an approach for identifying sediment sources in river basins. Earth-Sci Rev 125:24–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laceby JP, Evrard O, Smith HG, Blake WH, Olley JM, Minella JPG, Owens PN (2017) The challenges and opportunities of addressing particle size effects in sediment source fingerprinting: a review. Earth-Sci Rev 169:85–103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Le Gall M, Evrard O, Foucher A, Laceby JP, Salvador-Blanes S, Maniere L, Lefèvre I, Cerdan O, Ayrault S (2017) Investigating the temporal dynamics of suspended sediment during flood events with 7Be and 210Pbxs measurements in a drained lowland catchment. Sci Rep 7:42099. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42099

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mallik AU, Richardson JS (2009) Riparian vegetation change in upstream and downstream reaches of three temperate rivers dammed for hydroelectric generation in British Columbia, Canada. Ecol Eng 35:810–819

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery DJ (2010) 2020 Visions. Nature 463:26–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery DR (2007) Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:13268–13272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moss B (2008) The Water Framework Directive: total environment or political compromise? Sci Total Environ 400:32–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nanko K, Mizugaki S, Onda Y (2008) Estimation of soil splash detachment rates on the forest floor of an unmanaged Japanese cypress plantation based on field measurements of throughfall drop sizes and velocities. Catena 72:348–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Soil Resources Institute (2017) Soils site report for location 343060E, 111662N, 5km x 5km, National Soil Resources Institute, Cranfield University. Accessed via: https://www.landis.org.uk/sitereporter. Accessed December 2018

  • Oksanen J, Kindt R, Legendre P, O’Hara RB (2007) Vegan: community ecology package. R package version 1.8–3, URL http://CRAN.R-project.org/

  • Ordnance Survey (2015) (Updated: 11 May). 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster, Scale 1:250000

  • Ordnance Survey (2017a) (Updated: 12 April). OS Open Map Local, Scale 1:10000

  • Ordnance survey (2017b) (Updated: 30 June). OS Terrain 5, Scale 1:10000

  • Ordnance Survey (2017c) (Updated: 27 July). OS MasterMap Water Network, Scale 1:2500

  • Owens PN, Petticrew EL, Van Der Perk M (2010) Sediment response to catchment disturbances. J Soils Sediments 10:591–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer RC, Smith RP (2013) Soil structural degradation in SW England and its impact on surface-water runoff generation. Soil Use Manag 29:567–575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peukert S (2017) Hills to levels multiple benefits project: Merriott stream catchment delivery plan. Report to the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), UK

  • Phillips JM, Russell MA, Walling DE (2000) Time-integrated sampling of fluvial suspended sediment: a simple methodology for small catchments. Hydrol Process 14:2589–2602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D (2006) Soil erosion: a food and environmental threat. Environ Dev Sustain 8:119–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • QGIS development team (2017) QGIS Geographic Information System. 2.18.17 'Las Palmas’ ed.: source Geospatial Foundation

  • R core team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for statistical computing, Vienna, Austria URL http://www.R-project.org

  • Roblin E (1994) Alien invasive weeds—an example of National Rivers Authority sponsored research. In: De Waal LC, Child LE, Wade PM, Brock JH (eds) Ecology and management of invasive riverside plants. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • RStudio Team (2015) RStudio: Integrated development for R. RStudio, Inc, Boston, MA URL http://www.rstudio.com

  • Shields FD, Lizotte RE, Knight SS, Cooper CM, Wilcox D (2010) The stream channel incision syndrome and water quality. Ecol Eng 36:78–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon A, Curini A, Darby SE, Langendoen EJ (2000) Bank and near-bank processes in an incised channel. Geomorphology 35:193–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon A, Rinaldi M (2006) Disturbance, stream incision, and channel evolution: the roles of excess transport capacity and boundary materials in controlling channel response. Geomorphology 79:361–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon A, Wolfe WJ, Molinas A (1991) Mass wasting algorithms in an alluvial channel model. 5th Federal Inter-agency Sediment, 1991 Las Vegas, Nevada, pp 22–29

  • Smith HG, Blake WH (2014) Sediment fingerprinting in agricultural catchments: a critical re-examination of source discrimination and data corrections. Geomorphology 204:177–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith HG, Singh D, Lennard AT (2018) Evaluating tracer selection for catchment sediment fingerprinting. J Soils Sediments 18:3005–3019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somerset County Council (2014) The Somerset Levels and Moors Flood Action Plan. Available via https://somersetnewsroom.com/flood-action-plan/ Accessed September 2017

  • Stock BC, Jackson AL, Ward EJ, Parnell AC, Phillips DL, Semmens BX (2018) Analyzing mixing systems using a new generation of Bayesian tracer mixing models. PeerJ 6:e5096. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suttle KB, Power ME, Levine JM, Mcneely C (2004) How fine sediment in riverbeds impairs growth and survival of juvenile salmonids. Ecol Appl 14:969–974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syvitski JPM, Vörösmarty CJ, Kettner AJ, Green P (2005) Impact of humans on the flux of terrestrial sediment to the global coastal ocean. Science 308:376–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trimble SW, Mendel AC (1995) The cow as a geomorphic agent—a critical review. Geomorphology 13:233–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Pelt RS, Hushmurodov SX, Baumhardt RL, Chappell A, Nearing MA, Polyakov VO, Strack JE (2017) The reduction of partitioned wind and water erosion by conservation agriculture. Catena 148:160–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE (2005) Tracing suspended sediment sources in catchments and river systems. Sci Total Environ 344:159–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE (2013) The evolution of sediment source fingerprinting investigations in fluvial systems. J Soils Sediments 13:1658–1675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE, Collins AL (2008) The catchment sediment budget as a management tool. Environ Sci Pol 11:136–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE, Owens PN, Carter J, Leeks GJL, Lewis S, Meharg AA, Wright J (2003) Storage of sediment-associated nutrients and contaminants in river channel and floodplain systems. Appl Geochem 18:195–220

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE, Owens PN, Leeks GJL (1999) Fingerprinting suspended sediment sources in the catchment of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, UK. Hydrol Process 13:955–975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walling DE, Woodward JC (1995) Tracing sources of suspended sediment in river basins: a case study of the River Culm, Devon, UK. Mar Freshwater Res 46:327–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Yu Z, Li G, Oguchi T, He H, Shen H (2009) Discrimination in magnetic properties of different-sized sediments from the Changjiang and Huanghe Estuaries of China and its implication for provenance of sediment on the shelf. Marine Geol 260:121–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White T, Brantley S, Banwart S, Chorover J, Dietrich W, Derry L, Lohse K, Anderson S, Aufdendkampe A, Bales R, Kumar P, Richter D, McDowell B (2015) The role of critical zone observatories in critical zone science. In: Giardino JR, Houser C (eds) Developments in earth surface processes. Elsevier, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickham H (2016) Ggplot2: elegrant graphics for data analysis. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson CG, Abban B, Keefer LL, Wacha K, Dermisis D, Giannopoulos C, Zhou S, Goodwell AE, Woo DK, Yan Q, Ghadiri M, Stumpf A, Pitcel M, Lin YF, Marini L, Storsved B, Goff K, Vogelgsang J, Dere A, Schilling KE, Muste M, Blair NE, Rhoads B, Bettis A, Pai H, Kratt C, Sladek C, Wing M, Selker J, Tyler S, Lin H, Kumar P, Papanicolaou AN (2018) The intensively managed landscape critical zone observatory: a scientific testbed for understanding critical zone processes in agroecosystems. Vadose Z J 17:180088. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.04.0088

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson H, Cruse R, Burras L (2011) A method to adapt watershed-scale sediment fingerprinting techniques to small-plot runoff experiments. J Soil Water Conserv 66:323–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wirtz S, Seeger M, Ries JB (2012) Field experiments for understanding and quantification of rill erosion processes. Catena 91:21–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wynants M, Solomon H, Ndakidemi P, Blake WH (2018) Pinpointing areas of increased soil erosion risk following land cover change in the Lake Manyara catchment, Tanzania. Int J Appl Earth Observ Geoinf 71:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young RA, Wiersma JL (1973) The role of rainfall impact in soil detachment and transport. Water Resour Res 9:1629–1636

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The study could not have been undertaken without support of landowners allowing land access for sampling. Paul Kitch kindly assisted with sample collection. The wider support (to JK) of staff on the BSc Geography programme at University of Plymouth is acknowledged. We are grateful to Pat Laceby and Alex Koiter, and all anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which greatly improved the manuscript. Professor Geoffrey E. Millward is acknowledged for his kind mentorship and continuing support in the University of Plymouth Consolidated Radioisotope Facility.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

    Jessica L. Kitch, Alex Taylor & William H. Blake

  2. Environment Agency, Wessex Area, Bridgwater, UK

    John Phillips

  3. Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West Ltd, Wellington, UK

    Sabine Peukert

Authors
  1. Jessica L. Kitch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John Phillips
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sabine Peukert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alex Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. William H. Blake
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica L. Kitch.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Alexander Koiter

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

Maps depicting influences on sediment sources. A) map of geology, B) map of soils using data from Peukert (2017) and LandIS (National Soil Resources Institute, 2017), C) contour map (QGIS Development team 2017; Ordnance Survey 2017a, 2017b; Ordnance survey, 2017b; 2017c; British Geological Society 2013; British Geological Society 2011; Ordnance Survey 2015) (PNG 866 kb)

ESM 2

Flow data obtained from the environment agency for the period suspended sediment traps were installed (Environment Agency 2017) (PNG 332 kb)

ESM 3

all boxplots for tracers deemed poor from the range test (PNG 213 kb)

ESM 4

all boxplots for tracers deemed intermediate from the range test (PNG 211 kb)

ESM 5

all boxplots for tracers deemed good from the range test (PNG 269 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kitch, J.L., Phillips, J., Peukert, S. et al. Understanding the geomorphic consequences of enhanced overland flow in mixed agricultural systems: sediment fingerprinting demonstrates the need for integrated upstream and downstream thinking. J Soils Sediments 19, 3319–3331 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02378-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02378-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation