State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, 26 Xinong Road, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources, 26 Xinong Road, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China.
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, 26 Xinong Road, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources, 26 Xinong Road, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Oct 15;639:773-784. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.154. Epub 2018 May 26.
Understanding the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to variations in sediment load is of great importance for regional soil, and river basin management. Considerable studies have investigated spatial-temporal variation of sediment load within the Loess Plateau; however, contradictory findings exist among methods used. This study systematically reviewed six quantitative methods: simple linear regression, double mass curve, sediment identity factor analysis, dam-sedimentation based method, the Sediment Delivery Distributed (SEDD) model, and the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The calculation procedures and merits for each method were systematically explained. A case study in the Huangfuchuan watershed on the northern Loess Plateau has been undertaken. The results showed that sediment load had been reduced by 70.5% during the changing period from 1990 to 2012 compared to that of the baseline period from 1955 to 1989. Human activities accounted for an average of 93.6 ± 4.1% of the total decline in sediment load, whereas climate change contributed 6.4 ± 4.1%. Five methods produced similar estimates, but the linear regression yielded relatively different results. The results of this study provide a good reference for assessing the effects of climate change and human activities on sediment load variation by using different methods.
了解气候变化和人类活动对泥沙负荷变化的相对贡献，对于区域土壤和流域管理至关重要。已经有相当多的研究调查了黄土高原泥沙负荷的时空变化，但使用的方法存在相互矛盾的结果。本研究系统地回顾了六种定量方法：简单线性回归、双质量曲线、泥沙身份因子分析、基于大坝淤积的方法、泥沙输送分布式（SEDD）模型和土壤水评估工具（SWAT）模型。系统地解释了每种方法的计算程序和优点。在黄土高原北部的皇甫川流域进行了案例研究。结果表明，与 1955 年至 1989 年的基准期相比，1990 年至 2012 年的变化期内，泥沙负荷减少了 70.5%。人类活动平均占泥沙负荷总减少量的 93.6±4.1%，而气候变化仅占 6.4±4.1%。五种方法得出了相似的估计值，但线性回归得出了相对不同的结果。本研究的结果为利用不同方法评估气候变化和人类活动对泥沙负荷变化的影响提供了很好的参考。
