Erosion and Sediment Production in Small Watershed in Purple Hilly Areas and Prevention Techniques

Purple Soil distributes extensively and mainly in China. Because of abundant easily weatherable parent rocks/ materials and unstable soil structure, and also influenced by parent materials, usage systems, and slope gradients, erosion and sediment production of purple soils are very severe with main fashions of water erosion and gravitational erosion. Basing on observed data in small watersheds, rainfall erosivity, vegetation coverage, previous soil water content, flow and relating factors such as climate, topograph of small watershed, land usage, and soil kinds are all the influence factors of erosion and erodibility of purple soil as well as sediment production and transport in small watershed of purple hilly areas. The effective technological countermeasures of ecosystem restoration, agricultural tillage for water conservation and erosion prevention, agriculture project, and soil changing for fertility and anti-erosion were provided.

Sediment yield and erosion–deposition distribution characteristics in ephemeral gullies in black soil areas under geocell protection

Investigating the effect of geocells on the erosion and deposition distribution of ephemeral gullies in the black soil area of Northeast China can provide a scientific basis for the allocation of soil and water conservation measures in ephemeral gullies.In this study,an artificial simulated confluence test and stereoscopic photogrammetry were used to analyze the distribution characteristics of erosion and deposition in ephemeral gullies protected by geocells and the effect of different confluence flows on the erosion process of ephemeral gullies.Results showed that when the confluence flow was larger,the effect of geocell was more evident,and the protection against ephemeral gully erosion was stronger.When the confluence flow rates were 0.6,1.8,2.4,and 3.0 m^(3)/h,ephemeral gully erosion decreased by 37.84%,26.09%,21.40%,and 35.45%.When the confluence flow rates were 2.4 and 3.0 m^(3)/h,the average sediment yield rate of the ephemeral gully was close to 2.14 kg/(m^(2)•min),and the protective effect of ephemeral gully erosion was enhanced.When the flow rate was higher,the surface fracture of the ephemeral gully was more serious.With an increase in confluence flow rate,the ratio of erosion to deposition increased gradually,the erosion area of ephemeral gullies was expanded,and erosion depth changed minimally.In conclusion,geocell measures changed erosion patterns by altering the rill erosion/deposition ratio,converting erosion from rill erosion to sheet erosion.

The changes of pigment contents and their environmental implications in the lake sediments of Ny-lesund,Svalbard,the Arctic

According to palaeoclimatic and modern instrumental data,numerous studies have indicated that the Arctic climate has undergone a significant warming during the past 100 years,and this may lead to significant impact on the fragile lake ecosystem.In this study,we collected a lake sediment core from the Nylesund of Svalbard and determined the concentrations of four pigments including chlorophyll derivatives,total carotenoids,oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll in the sediments.Combined with other physical and chemical proxies such as calcium carbonate,total organic carbon,biogenic silicon etc.,we have reconstructed the historical changes of lacustrine primary productivity in Ny-lesund,especially for the past 100 years.The results showed that during the period of Little Ice Age（LIA）,the climate was unfavorable for the growth of the lake algae,and thus the lacustrine productivity declined.This result was supported by the relatively low contents of pigment and biogenic silica in the sediments.In contrast,the contents of total organic carbon（TOC） and sediment pigments increased significantly in the upper 5 cm（-1890AD）,reflecting the rapid growth of the lake algae,thus the great increase of lacustrine primary productivity,corresponding to the warming climate after LIA.However,the biogenic silica in the upper sediments still had a relatively low level,and this might be related to the growth competition with other algae species.Over the past 100 years,the ratio of Osc/Myx in the sediments decreased continuously,indicative of durative increase of myxoxanthophyll in blue-green algal pigments,and this might imply that the human activity had enhanced the nutrition level of the lake in the Arctic region.