Interaction between Topographic Conditions and Entrainment Rate in Numerical Simulations of Debris Flow

Debris flow simulations are useful for predicting the sediment supplied to watersheds from upstream areas. However, the topographic conditions upstream are more complicated than those downstream and the relationship between the topographic conditions and debris flow initiation is not well understood. This study compared the use of several entrainment rate equations in numerical simulations of debris flows to examine the effect of topographic conditions on the flow. One-dimensional numerical simulations were performed based on the shallow water equations and three entrainment rate equations were tested. These entrainment rate equations were based on the same idea that erosion and the deposition of debris flows occur via the difference between the equilibrium and current conditions of debris flows, while they differed in the expression of the concentration, channel angle, and sediment amount. The comparison was performed using a straight channel with various channel angles and a channel with a periodically undulating surface. The three entrainment rate equations gave different amounts of channel bed degradation and hydrographs for a straight channel with a channel angle greater than 21° when water was supplied from upstream at a steady rate. The difference was caused by the expression of the entrainment rate equations. For channels with little undulation, the numerical simulations gave results almost identical to those for straight channels with the same channel angle. However, for channels with large undulations, the hydrographs differed from those for straight channels with the same channel angle when the channel angle was less than 21°. Rapid erosion occurred and the hydrograph showed a significant peak, especially in cases using the entrainment equation expressed by channel angle. This was caused by the effects of the steep undulating sections, since the effect increased with the magnitude of the undulation, suggesting that a debris flow in an upstream area develops differently according to the topographic conditions. These results also inferred that numerical simulations of debris flow can differ depending on the spatial resolution of the simulation domain, as the resolution determines the reproducibility of the undulations.

Climatic and Topographical Factors Affecting the Vegetative Carbon Stock of Rangelands in Arid and Semiarid Regions of China

Rangeland systems play an important role in ecological stabilization and the terrestrial carbon cycle in arid and semiarid regions. However, little is known about the vegetative carbon dynamics and climatic and topog- raphical factors that affect vegetative carbon stock in these rangelands. Our goal was to assess vegetative carbon stock by examining meteorological data in conjunction with NDVI （normalized difference vegetation index） time se- ries datasets from 2001-2012. An improved CASA （Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach） model was then applied to simulate the spatiotemporal dynamic variation of vegetative carbon stock, and analyze its response to climatic and topographical factors. We estimated the vegetative carbon stock of rangeland in Gansu province, China to be 4.4×10^14 gC, increasing linearly at an annual rate of 9.8×10^11 gC. The mean vegetative carbon density of the whole rangeland was 136.5 gC m-2. Vegetative carbon density and total carbon varied temporally and spatially and were highly associated with temperature, precipitation and solar radiation. Vegetative carbon density reached the maximal value on elevation at 2500-3500 m, a slope of 〉30°and easterly aspect. The effect of precipitation, tem- perature and solar radiation on the vegetative carbon density of five rangeland types （desert and salinized meadow, steppe, alpine meadow, shrub and tussock, and marginal grassland in the forest） depends on the acquired quantity of water and heat for rangeland plants at all spatial scales. The results of this study provide new evidence for ex- plaining spatiotemporal heterogeneity in vegetative carbon dynamics and responses to global change for rangeland vegetative carbon stock, and offer a theoretical and practical basis for grassland agriculture management in arid and semiarid regions.