Soil & Water Res., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/39/2025-SWR

Rainfall pattern impact on runoff and sediment of the sloping cropland in Northeast ChinaOriginal Paper

Xu Fan1, Wei Hu2*, Zhongzheng Ren1, Yuan Chen2, Qingsong Shen2, Xingyi Zhang2*
1 School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, P.R. China
2 State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, P.R. China

Rainfall is a major contributor to water erosion of sloping cropland in Northeast China. Identifying how rainfall and slope gradient (S) influence runoff depth (RD) and sediment yield (SY) is crucial for preventing water erosion. Field measurements from runoff plots were collected from 2023 to 2024, and K-means clustering was applied to clarify the rainfall patterns. Response of RD and SY to the rainfall pattern and S were analysed. Key factors impacting RD and SY were explored. The results showed that three rainfall patterns were identified for 34 erosive rainfall events: A (41.2%, medium duration, medium rainfall intensity, and medium rainfall amount (RA)). B (50.0%, short duration, high rainfall intensity, and low RA) and C (5.4%, long duration, low rainfall intensity, high RA). Furthermore, the cumulative RD and SY increased with S for the same rainfall pattern. The cumulative RD and SY responded similarly to rainfall patterns for the same S. The contribution of the rainfall pattern to the cumulative RD and SY decreased in the order of C, A, and B. In addition, rainfall duration (D) and maximum 30-minute rainfall intensity were the key factors affecting RD and SY for rainfall pattern A, respectively. Rainfall erosivity (R) was the key factor affecting RD and SY for rainfall pattern B and C. R and RD were the dominant factors influencing the RD and SY for all rainfall events, respectively.

Keywords: black soil region; natural rainfall; rainfall erosivity; soil and water loss

Received: April 1, 2025; Revised: July 15, 2025; Accepted: September 17, 2025; Prepublished online: January 4, 2026 

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