College of Geodesy and Geomatics, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China; State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jul 15;882:163475. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163475. Epub 2023 Apr 20.
Understanding the underlying driving forces causing changes in sediment yield is crucial for decision-making and major strategy development for the management of the middle Yellow River basin (MYRB). In this work, we quantified the causes of sediment yield reduction in the MYRB and investigated the sustainability of sediment reduction strategies. The sediment yield in the middle Yellow River during 1957-2017 exhibits a significant downward trend. The average sediment yield in 1970-2017 decreased by 798.84 × 10 t compared with that during the 1950s to 1960s, with 27.40 % ascribed to decreased precipitation and 72.60 % attributed to human activities. The sediment yield modulus of all sub-basins within the MYRB has been reduced to <5000 t/km, demonstrating the dominant influence of water and soil conservation measures. Check dams have limited on-site effectiveness in reducing sediment yield but exhibit a dominant effect in trapping the already yielded sediment and preventing it from being delivered into the lower Yellow River. The strong dependence on the storage capacity of check dams makes the system unsustainable in the long run, since it necessitates ongoing investment in check dam construction to maintain the sediment trapping effect. Promoting biological measures such as planting trees and grass to increase vegetation coverage is a more sustainable way to fix the sediment on-site and keep it from being eroded. These efforts should be intensified, with appropriate consideration for local conditions.
了解导致泥沙产量变化的根本驱动因素，对于黄河中游流域（MYRB）的决策制定和重大战略发展至关重要。在本研究中，我们量化了黄河中游泥沙产量减少的原因，并研究了减少泥沙策略的可持续性。1957 年至 2017 年，黄河中游的泥沙产量呈显著下降趋势。1970 年至 2017 年的平均泥沙产量较 20 世纪 50 年代至 60 年代减少了 798.84×10 4 t，其中 27.40%归因于降水减少，72.60%归因于人类活动。黄河中游各子流域的泥沙产沙模数均已降低至<5000 t/km，表明水土保持措施的主导作用。淤地坝在减少泥沙方面的现场效果有限，但在拦截已产生的泥沙和防止其输送到黄河下游方面表现出主导作用。淤地坝系统强烈依赖于其存储容量，从长远来看，该系统是不可持续的，因为需要不断投资淤地坝建设来维持泥沙拦截效果。推广植树种草等生物措施是一种更可持续的就地固定泥沙和防止其侵蚀的方法。应加强这些努力，并适当考虑当地情况。
