Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study

Due to global warming, changes in the rainfall intensity profile (i.e., the temporal intensity distribution within a rainfall event) increase the difficulty of accurate erosion prediction and control. Surface cover has been widely used as a critical measure to control soil erosion worldwide. However...

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Main Authors: Jian Duan, Haijin Zheng, Lingyun Wang, Yaojun Liu, Minghao Mo, Jie Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-03-01
Series:International Soil and Water Conservation Research
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633924000273
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author Jian Duan
Haijin Zheng
Lingyun Wang
Yaojun Liu
Minghao Mo
Jie Yang
author_facet Jian Duan
Haijin Zheng
Lingyun Wang
Yaojun Liu
Minghao Mo
Jie Yang
author_sort Jian Duan
collection DOAJ
description Due to global warming, changes in the rainfall intensity profile (i.e., the temporal intensity distribution within a rainfall event) increase the difficulty of accurate erosion prediction and control. Surface cover has been widely used as a critical measure to control soil erosion worldwide. However, the effects of the rainfall intensity profile (RIP) on soil erosion under different surface covers are not fully understood. In this study, long-term in situ field observations of the rain hyetograph, surface runoff coefficient (SRC), subsurface flow rate (SFR), and soil loss rate (SLR) from bare land, litter cover and grass cover were conducted over 11 consecutive years in the red soil hilly region of southern China. According to the occurrence time of the most intense rainfall, 226 erosive events were classified into four RIP patterns: advanced, intermediate, delayed, and uniform patterns. The results indicated that the advanced pattern with short duration–high intensity and the delayed pattern with long duration–high depth contributed to 73.45% of the total erosive events. For bare land, advanced events were the dominant pattern producing surface runoff and soil erosion, accounting for 57.24% and 75.17%, respectively, of the total surface runoff and erosion. The average SRC and SLR from the advanced pattern were 1.29–2.42 times and 2.52–39.78 times greater than those from the other patterns, respectively. The delayed pattern contributed to subsurface flow, and the average SFR was 1.27–2.17 times greater than that of the other patterns. Furthermore, surface cover significantly reduced surface runoff and erosion and increased subsurface flow, especially under the advanced pattern. Both surface cover measures were equally effective in controlling surface runoff and erosion, but the increase in subsurface flow caused by litter cover was 1.38–2.67 times greater than that caused by grass cover. Advanced pattern events increase the erosion risk on red soil slopes, and surface cover effectively weakens the effect of variation in the RIP pattern on soil erosion. Moreover, surface cover significantly alters the surface‒subsurface flow distribution pattern for all the RIP patterns. This study highlights the crucial importance of rain intensity profiles on water erosion and provides a basis for optimizing measures to effectively control soil and water loss under climate change.
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spelling doaj-art-b93199620cc04cb882b41c46076b72aa2025-01-07T04:17:15ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.International Soil and Water Conservation Research2095-63392025-03-011312742Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field studyJian Duan0Haijin Zheng1Lingyun Wang2Yaojun Liu3Minghao Mo4Jie Yang5Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China; Jiangxi Provincial Technology Innovation Center of Ecological Water Engineering in Poyang Lake Basin, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China; Corresponding author. Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China.Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China; Jiangxi Provincial Technology Innovation Center of Ecological Water Engineering in Poyang Lake Basin, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China; Jiangxi Provincial Technology Innovation Center of Ecological Water Engineering in Poyang Lake Basin, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, ChinaSchool of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China; Jiangxi Provincial Technology Innovation Center of Ecological Water Engineering in Poyang Lake Basin, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Prevention, Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, China; Jiangxi Provincial Technology Innovation Center of Ecological Water Engineering in Poyang Lake Basin, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330029, ChinaDue to global warming, changes in the rainfall intensity profile (i.e., the temporal intensity distribution within a rainfall event) increase the difficulty of accurate erosion prediction and control. Surface cover has been widely used as a critical measure to control soil erosion worldwide. However, the effects of the rainfall intensity profile (RIP) on soil erosion under different surface covers are not fully understood. In this study, long-term in situ field observations of the rain hyetograph, surface runoff coefficient (SRC), subsurface flow rate (SFR), and soil loss rate (SLR) from bare land, litter cover and grass cover were conducted over 11 consecutive years in the red soil hilly region of southern China. According to the occurrence time of the most intense rainfall, 226 erosive events were classified into four RIP patterns: advanced, intermediate, delayed, and uniform patterns. The results indicated that the advanced pattern with short duration–high intensity and the delayed pattern with long duration–high depth contributed to 73.45% of the total erosive events. For bare land, advanced events were the dominant pattern producing surface runoff and soil erosion, accounting for 57.24% and 75.17%, respectively, of the total surface runoff and erosion. The average SRC and SLR from the advanced pattern were 1.29–2.42 times and 2.52–39.78 times greater than those from the other patterns, respectively. The delayed pattern contributed to subsurface flow, and the average SFR was 1.27–2.17 times greater than that of the other patterns. Furthermore, surface cover significantly reduced surface runoff and erosion and increased subsurface flow, especially under the advanced pattern. Both surface cover measures were equally effective in controlling surface runoff and erosion, but the increase in subsurface flow caused by litter cover was 1.38–2.67 times greater than that caused by grass cover. Advanced pattern events increase the erosion risk on red soil slopes, and surface cover effectively weakens the effect of variation in the RIP pattern on soil erosion. Moreover, surface cover significantly alters the surface‒subsurface flow distribution pattern for all the RIP patterns. This study highlights the crucial importance of rain intensity profiles on water erosion and provides a basis for optimizing measures to effectively control soil and water loss under climate change.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633924000273Natural rainfall patternSubsurface flowSurface runoffSoil erosionLand coverRunoff plots
spellingShingle Jian Duan
Haijin Zheng
Lingyun Wang
Yaojun Liu
Minghao Mo
Jie Yang
Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study
International Soil and Water Conservation Research
Natural rainfall pattern
Subsurface flow
Surface runoff
Soil erosion
Land cover
Runoff plots
title Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study
title_full Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study
title_fullStr Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study
title_full_unstemmed Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study
title_short Rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface‒subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type: A long-term in situ field study
title_sort rainfall intensity profile induced changes in surface subsurface flow and soil loss as influenced by surface cover type a long term in situ field study
topic Natural rainfall pattern
Subsurface flow
Surface runoff
Soil erosion
Land cover
Runoff plots
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633924000273
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AT minghaomo rainfallintensityprofileinducedchangesinsurfacesubsurfaceflowandsoillossasinfluencedbysurfacecovertypealongterminsitufieldstudy
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