1. Spatial scale impact on daily surface water and sediment fluxes in Thukela river, South Africa
- Author
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Macdex Mutema, Samuel Kusangaya, Vincent Chaplot, Graham Jewitt, Pauline Chivenge, School of Agricultural, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), School of Bioresources Engineering and Environmental Hydrology University of KwaZulu-Natal, PB X01, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics [Inde] (ICRISAT), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), Biogéochimie-Traceurs-Paléoclimat (BTP), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of KwaZulu-Natal [Durban, Afrique du Sud] (UKZN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636))
- Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Erosion control ,0208 environmental biotechnology ,Drainage basin ,[PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph] ,02 engineering and technology ,Structural basin ,01 natural sciences ,Geochemistry and Petrology ,Erosion mechanisms ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Hydrology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,15. Life on land ,6. Clean water ,020801 environmental engineering ,Infiltration (hydrology) ,Geophysics ,Water quality ,Multiple nested catchments ,Erosion ,Environmental science ,Surface runoff ,Surface water ,Sediment fluxes - Abstract
The on- and off-site effects of soil erosion in many environments are well known, but there is still limited understanding of the soil loss fluxes in downstream direction due, among other factors, to scarce and poor quality. A four year study to (i) evaluate water and sediment fluxes at different spatio-temporal scales and (ii) interpret the results in terms of processes involved and the controlling factors, was conducted in Thukela basin, South Africa. Five hierarchically nested catchments; namely microcatchment (0.23 km 2 ), subcatchment (1.20 km 2 ), catchment (9.75 km 2 ), sub-basin (253 km 2 ) and basin (29,038 km 2 ), were used in addition to fifteen (1 m 2 ) microplots and ten (10 m 2 ) plots on five locations within the microcatchment. The results showed 19% decrease of unit-area runoff (q) from 3.1 L m −2 day −1 at microplot to 2.5 L m −2 day −1 at plot scale followed by steeper (56%) decrease at microcatchment scale. The q decreased in downstream direction to very low level (q ≤ 0.26 L m −2 day −1 ). The changes in q were accompanied by initial 1% increase of soil loss (SL) from 18.8 g m −2 day −1 at microplot to 19.1 g m −2 day −1 at plot scale. The SL also decreased sharply (by 39 fold) to 0.50 g m −2 day −1 at microcatchment scale, followed by further decrease in downstream direction. The decrease of q with spatial scale was attributed to infiltration losses, while initial increase of SL signified greater competence of sheet than splash erosion. The decrease of SL beyond the plot scale was attributed to redistribution of the soil on the hillslope and deposition on the stream channel upstream of the microcatchment outlet. Therefore, erosion control strategies focussing on the recovery of vegetation on the slope and stabilisation of gullies are recommended.
- Published
- 2016
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