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Frontiers of Earth Science

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Front. Earth Sci.    2020, Vol. 14 Issue (2) : 360-375    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-019-0782-8
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Quantitative assessment of the influence of terrace and check dam construction on watershed topography
Guowei PANG1,2, Qinke YANG1,2(), Chunmei WANG1,2, Rui LI3, Lu ZHANG4
1. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Northwest University, Xi’an 701027, China
2. Key Laboratory of Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Xi’an 710127, China
3. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, CAS&MWR, Yangling 712100, China
4. Key Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, MNR, Xi’an 710075, China
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Abstract

Terrace and check dam construction has substantially changed land surface morphology, which in turn affects modern surface processes. Digital elevation models (DEMs) provide an effective way to quantitatively analyze surface morphology and processes. However, existing DEMs lack sufficient ability to express artificial terrain. Based on 1:10000 topographic maps of the Zhifanggou watershed, a series of artificial terrain DEMs for the study site were constructed by both field investigation and remote sensing images from 1938 to 2010. Digital terrain analysis was used to quantitatively assess the influence of terrace and check dam construction on the watershed terrain. The results showed that the artificial terrain DEM could capture the spatial distribution patterns of terraces and dam lands and improved the ability of DEM to express terrain. The construction of terraces and check dams clearly changed the surface elevation. The average elevation change of each terrace mainly ranged between –1.5 and 1.5 m, while the annual average deposition height of the dam lands was 9.16 cm. The average slope, slope length, and slope length and steepness factor of the watershed decreased with the effect of the artificial terrain on the surface, and their averages decreased by 0.65°, 6.75 m, and 0.83, respectively, from 1938 to 2010. Although the construction of terraces reduced their surface slope to nearly 0°, the slope of terrace embankments rapidly increased, to more than 45°, which may lead to gravitational erosion and potential terrace damage. Terracing reduced the slope length in both the terrace distribution area and downslope of the terraces. Check dam deposition reduced the slope and slope length of the channel. This study contributes to a better understanding of the topographic change rules after terrace and check dam construction, and aids in elucidating the mechanisms of soil erosion process influenced by artificial topography.
Keywords check dam      digital elevation model      Loess Plateau      terrace      topography     
Corresponding Author(s): Qinke YANG   
Online First Date: 03 June 2020    Issue Date: 21 July 2020
 Cite this article:   
Guowei PANG,Qinke YANG,Chunmei WANG, et al. Quantitative assessment of the influence of terrace and check dam construction on watershed topography[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2020, 14(2): 360-375.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-019-0782-8
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2020/V14/I2/360
Fig.1  Location of the Zhifanggou watershed.
Fig.2  Terrace (up) and dam land (down) landscapes in the Zhifanggou watershed.
Fig.3  Main input data for the artificial terrain DEM construction.
Fig.4  The process of the artificial terrain DEM construction.
Fig.5  Hill-shade maps based on the DEM.
Fig.6  Relationship between the artificial terrain DEM-extracted and the measured elevations.
Fig.7  Elevation cross sections before and after constructing (a) the terraces and (b) check dams.
Fig.8  Difference between the original DEM and artificial terrain DEM for 2010.
Fig.9  Frequency of elevation changes influenced by (a) terracing and (b) sediment deposition from dams in the Zhifanggou watershed.
Fig.10  Cumulative area of terraces in the Zhifanggou watershed for 1938 -2010.
Fig.11  Average elevation change of each terrace in the Zhifanggou watershed.
Check dam location Building time Control area/hm2 Deposition area/hm2 Average elevation before deposition/m Average elevation in 2010/m Annual average deposition height/cm
Xiaozhigou 1975 71.54 2.20 1180.00 1181.81 5.17
Xiaofanjiagou 1975 18.32 0.18 1097.87 1099.30 9.53
Zhenggou 1987 350.67 2.25 1121.39 1124.33 12.78
Tab.1  The influence of check dam deposition on surface elevation in the Zhifanggou watershed
Fig.12  Spatial distribution of slope (a, d), slope length (b, e), and LS factor (c, f) in the Zhifanggou watershed (1938 and 2010, respectively).
Year Classification of slope/(°)
0 0–3 3–5 5–8 8–15 15–25 25–35 35–45 >45
1938 0.03 1.43 1.31 2.52 10.61 23.89 26.93 21.81 11.47
1975 2.52 1.33 1.19 2.17 9.49 22.94 26.72 21.81 11.83
1978 2.63 1.35 1.20 2.19 9.46 22.84 26.68 21.80 11.85
1987 3.71 1.35 1.22 2.09 9.03 22.27 26.48 21.79 12.06
1990 5.77 1.33 1.06 1.68 8.10 21.69 26.26 21.77 12.34
1992 6.24 1.36 1.10 1.68 7.97 21.35 26.12 21.74 12.44
1998 6.44 1.36 1.10 1.68 7.91 21.21 26.09 21.74 12.47
2008 7.03 1.36 1.10 1.67 7.88 20.93 25.74 21.65 12.64
2010 7.05 1.36 1.10 1.67 7.88 20.91 25.74 21.65 12.64
Tab.2  Percentage (%) of different slopes in the Zhifanggou watershed from 1938 to 2010
Fig.13  Cross sections of (a, b) the slope, (c, d) slope length, and (e, f) LS factor in the Zhifanggou watershed before and after constructing the terraces and check dams.
Year Classification of slope length/m
0.5 0.5–5 5–10 10–20 20–30 30–50 50–100 100–200 200–300 >300
1938 0.04 1.79 7.19 25.38 24.02 24.35 10.41 3.35 1.15 2.32
1975 2.58 2.47 7.12 24.66 23.19 23.45 10.00 3.22 1.10 2.21
1978 2.70 2.52 7.13 24.62 23.14 23.37 10.00 3.22 1.10 2.20
1987 3.81 3.05 7.15 24.25 22.67 22.92 9.81 3.14 1.07 2.13
1990 5.92 3.70 7.03 23.48 21.96 22.22 9.59 3.05 1.03 2.02
1992 6.41 3.98 7.09 23.43 21.82 21.86 9.36 3.02 1.02 2.01
1998 6.61 4.06 7.12 23.36 21.73 21.77 9.33 3.00 1.02 2.00
2008 7.21 4.29 7.24 23.42 21.40 21.32 9.18 2.96 1.00 1.98
2010 7.23 4.30 7.24 23.41 21.40 21.30 9.18 2.96 1.00 1.98
Tab.3  Percentage (%) of different slope length in the Zhifanggou watershed from 1938 to 2010
Year Classification of LS factor
0.01 0.01–5 5–10 10–15 15–20 20–25 25–30 30–50 50–100 >100
1938 1.57 14.44 28.22 27.95 16.14 6.21 2.20 2.43 0.80 0.04
1975 3.97 13.73 27.31 27.55 15.97 6.11 2.16 2.38 0.78 0.04
1978 4.10 13.81 27.25 27.46 15.94 6.09 2.16 2.37 0.78 0.04
1987 5.22 13.77 26.69 27.16 15.84 6.04 2.13 2.34 0.77 0.04
1990 7.30 12.96 26.11 26.83 15.68 5.95 2.09 2.29 0.76 0.03
1992 7.81 13.05 26.00 26.66 15.50 5.86 2.07 2.27 0.75 0.03
1998 8.01 13.05 25.93 26.61 15.46 5.85 2.06 2.26 0.74 0.03
2008 8.60 13.20 25.86 26.31 15.25 5.75 2.03 2.23 0.74 0.03
2010 8.62 13.20 25.84 26.31 15.25 5.75 2.03 2.23 0.74 0.03
Tab.4  Percentage (%) of different LS factor in the Zhifanggou watershed from 1938 to 2010
Year Slope/(° ) Slope length/(m) LS factor
1938 28.84 54.28 12.26
1975 28.65 52.03 12.03
1978 28.62 51.87 12.00
1987 28.52 50.67 11.87
1990 28.38 48.81 11.68
1992 28.30 48.35 11.58
1998 28.29 48.15 11.55
2008 28.19 47.55 11.43
2010 28.19 47.53 11.43
Change rate/% –2.25 –12.44 –6.77
Tab.5  The overall topographic change in the Zhifanggou watershed from 1938 to 2010
Fig.14  Relationships between three topographic factors and the area of terraces in the Zhifanggou watershed.
Fig.15  Part of the terraces damaged in the Suide 7.26 heavy rainfall event in the Jiuyuangou watershed (Photo taken by Qinke Yang on July 29, 2017).
Fig.16  Soil erosion modulus and erosion reduction rate before and after terraces and check dams construction. (a) the terraces were located; (b) the lower slope of the terraces; (c) the dam lands were located).
Check dam location Building time Control area /hm2 Deposition volume /m3 Sediment loads /(105 tons) Annual average deposition /(t·a-1)
Xiaozhigou 1975 71.54 48140.72 0.69 1980.65
Xiaofanjiagou 1975 18.32 3445.16 0.05 330.74
Zhenggou 1987 350.67 105455.52 1.52 6602.43
Tab.6  Sediment intercepting capacity of the check dams in the Zhifanggou watershed
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