Soil & Water Res., 2022, 17(4):232-242 | DOI: 10.17221/45/2022-SWR

Effects of rainfall and the slope gradient on the soil and water loss in a purple soil areaOriginal Paper

Xinyi Zhang1, Qiande Zhu2, Jing Sang1, Xiaowen Ding*,1
1 Key Laboratory of Regional Energy and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, P.R. China
2 State Key Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering Science, Nanjing, P.R. China

Soil and water losses in purple soil area is becoming an increasingly severe problem, bringing enormous challenges to environmental protection in rural areas. In this study, simulated rainfall experiments were conducted to analyse the effects of rainfall and the slope conditions on the soil and water loss. Purple soil from a typical slope in the Beibei District of Chongqing was selected as the experimental soil. Twenty rainfall scenarios with varying rainfall intensities and slope conditions were created in the simulation. The results indicate that the runoff initiation time shortened with an increased rainfall intensity and slope gradient. There was a logarithmic relationship between the effect of the rainfall amount on both the runoff intensity and sediment yield intensity. Generally, both the runoff and sediment yield showed a positive linear relationship with the rainfall intensity under different slope gradient conditions. In terms of the same rainfall intensity, both the runoff intensity and sediment yield intensity increased with the slope. Furthermore, a critical slope gradient for the soil and water loss was found between 20° and 25°. This study aimed to provide a reference for soil and water conservation research in a purple soil area.

Keywords: precipitation; Sichuan Basin; simulated rainfall experiment; soil erosion; topography

Published: November 2, 2022  Show citation

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Zhang X, Zhu Q, Sang J, Ding X. Effects of rainfall and the slope gradient on the soil and water loss in a purple soil area. Soil & Water Res. 2022;17(4):232-242. doi: 10.17221/45/2022-SWR.
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