Experimental Study on Slope Runoff, Erosion and Sediment under Different Vegetation Types

The relationships between precipitation, vegetation and erosion are important yet unresolved issues in the field of earth surface processes. Vegetation plays an important role in controlling soil erosion. Through field simulated rainfall experiments, we analyzed the characteristics, regulation of, and correlation among the slope rainfall-infiltration-runoff, erosion and sediment under different vegetation types. The results showed that the forest effectively improved soil structure, had stronger runoff and sediment regulation and was influenced less by rainfall intensity than those under other vegetative conditions. In addition, the efficiency and pattern of the regulation of runoff and sediment varied with vegetation types as did the mechanism of action. The soil and water conservation function of forest was water storage and sediment reduction by plant root systems to reduce erosion power, increase infiltration, decrease runoff and reduce flow speed. The function of grassland was direct sediment interception based on surface vegetation canopy for runoff and sediment regulation. The root contribution to runoff and sediment reduction was relatively greater than the shoot contribution under forest conditions, whereas, the effect of shoots and roots on soil loss was almost equivalent under grassland conditions. The different spatial structures of vegetation affected runoff and sediment regulation in different ways, and plant root systems were crucial for soil and water conservation. The cumulative sediment yield of the slopes increased as a statistically significant power function of cumulative runoff. The coefficient and curve shape of function were dependent on vegetation type, soil properties, rainfall intensity and surface roughness. The process of slope runoff and sediment was divided into development, active and stable stages. These stages correlated with each other to constitute a complete rainfall-runoff and erosion-sediment process, which exhibited their own features at each stage. This study furthers understanding of the relationships between vegetation, soil erosion and precipitation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014