Effects of Terracing and Agroforestry on Soil and Water Loss in Hilly Areas of the Sichuan Basin, China

Soil erosion in hilly areas of the Sichuan Basin is a serious concern over sustainable crop production and sound ecosystem. A 3-year experiment was conducted using the method of runoff plots to examine the effects of terracing and agroforestry in farmland systems on soil and water conservation of slope fields in the hilly areas in Jianyang County, Sichuan Province, Southwestern China. A power function (Y = aXb) can statistically describe the relationship between water runoff (Y) and rainfall (X). The regression equation for the treatment of sloping terraces with crops (Plot 2) is remarkably different from that for the treatment of sloping terraces with grasses and trees (Plot 1) and the conventional up- and down-slope crop system (Plot 3) regarding equation coefficients, while regression equations are similar between Plot 1 and Plot 3. Water runoff amount and runoff coefficient of slope fields increased by 21.5～41.0 % and 27.5～69.7 % respectively, compared to those of sloping terraces, suggesting that terracing notably reduced the water runoff in the field. In the case of sloping terraces, lower amount of water runoff was observed on sloping terraces with crops than on sloping terraces with grasses and trees. Sediment yields on the slope fields in the normal year of rainfall distribution were notably higher (34.41～331.67 % and 37.06～403.44 % for Plot 1 and Plot 2, respectively) than those on sloping terraces, implying that terracing also plays a significant role in the reduction in soil erosion. It is suggested that terracing with crops is significantly effective for soil and water conservation in cultivatedfarmland, while the conventional practice of up- and down- slope cultivation creates high rates of water runoff and soil sediment transport. Terracing with grasses and fruit trees shows a less reduction in water runoff than terracing with crops, which was observed in the 3-year experiments.

Applications of GSTARS Computer Models for Solving River and Reservoir Sedimentation Problems

GSTARS (Generalized Sediment Transport model for Alluvial River Simulation) is a series of computer models developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation while the author was employed by that agency. The stream tube concept is used in all GSTARS models which allow us to solve one-dimensional equations for each stream tube independently and obtain semi-two-dimensional variation of the hydraulic conditions along and across stream tubes for rivers and reservoirs. Sedi-ment transport, scour, and deposition processes are simulated along each stream tube independently to give us a semi-three-dimensional variation of the bed geometry. Most sediment transport computer models assume that channel width is given and cannot change during the simulation process. GSTARS models apply the theory of minimum stream power to the determination of optimum channel width and channel geometry. The concepts of channel side stability, and active, inactive, and armoring layers are used in all GSTARS models for realistic long-term simulation and prediction of the scour and deposition processes in rivers and reservoirs.GSTARS models have been applied in many countries for solving a wide range of river and reservoir sedimentation problems. Case studies will be used to illustrate the applications of GSTARS computer models.

Non-Uniform Sediment Transport Downstream from Reservoir

The transport characters of non-uniform sediment before and after the reservoir operation are compared and analyzed. Field data from the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), Danjiangkou, and Sanmenxia reservoir indicate that the transport character of coarse particle is various in different reaches. Before the reservoir operation, the dramatic decrease of the hydraulic condition in some reaches is the main reason to cause the coarse particle deposited. After the reservoir operation, almost all grain sized sediment may be eroded, when the reach is eroded seriously. However, the transport character of the coarse particle will be consistent with what it was before, when the reach is not eroded seriously. The deposition amount will be less than its pre-dam value, and it will tend to decrease with the time going on. Erosion of fine particle results from its unsaturation. Longdistance erosion downstream from reservoir is caused by shortage of the supply from riverbed, especially the shortage of fine particle.

River Morphology and River Channel Changes

River morphology has been a subject of great challenge to scientists and engineers who recognize that any effort with regard to river engineering must be based on a proper understanding of the morphological features involved and the responses to the imposed changes. In this paper, an overview of river morphology is presented from the geomorphic viewpoint. Included in the scope are the regime concept, river channel classification, thresholds in river morphology, and geomorphic analysis of river responses. Analytical approach to river morphology based on the physical principles for the hydraulics of flow and sediment transport processes is also presented. The application of analytical river morphology is demonstrated by an example. Modeling is the modern technique to determine both short-term and long-term river channel responses to any change in the environment. The physical foundation of fluvial process-response must be applied in formatting a mathematical model. A brief introduction of the mathematical model FLUVIAL-12 is described.

Experimental Study of Sediment Incipience Under Complex Flows

Sediment incipience under flows passing a backward-facing step was studied. A series of experiments were conducted to measure scouring depth, probability of sediment incipience, and instantaneous flow velocity field downstream of a backward-facing step. Instantaneous flow velocity fields were measured by using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), and an image processing method for determining probability of sediment incipience was employed to analyze the experimental data. The experimental results showed that the probability of sediment incipience was the highest near the reattachment point, even though the near-wall instantaneous flow velocity and the Reynolds stress were both much higher further downstream of the backward-facing step. The possible me- chanisms are discussed for the sediment incipience near the reattachment point.

Scour and Scour Countermeasures at Bridge Sites

This paper examines scour and scour countermeasures at bridge piers and abutments. Abutment scour is by far more complex than its counterpart associated with piers because of the possibility of the presence of a floodplain. Notwithstanding this, the mechanism of scour at both piers and abutments is very similar; moreover, the failure mechanisms associated with both armoring and flow-altering countermeasures are not very different. In rivers with a floodplain, abutment scour becomes much more complex. In cases where the abutment ends at or near to the floodplain, it can initiate bank erosion, which clearly is an important erosion problem that is quite distinct from the customary scour at either an abutment in rivers without a floodplain or a pier. For this reason, abutment scour can be very site-specific while pier-scour is more generic in nature. To this end, the ability to identify the type of abutment scour that may form in a particular channel is closely related to an engineer's ability to propose devices for effective scour countermeasure.By summarizing research efforts on using riprap as a pier or abutment countermeasure over the past few decades, this paper highlights the deficiencies of riprap in arresting pier scour. To this end, different failure mechanisms are identified. They are shear failure, winnowing failure, edge failure, bedform-induced failure and bed-degradation induced failure. Each failure mechanism can singly or, more likely, combine to cause the eventual breakdown of the riprap layer. The study shows that a riprap layer is vulnerable to other failure mechanisms even though it is adequately designed against shear failure, rendering it ineffective in arresting scour.