Ghahramani, Afshin and Ishikawa, Yoshiharu and Gomi, Takashi (2011) Slope length effect on sediment and organic litter transport on a steep forested hillslope: upscaling from plot to hillslope scale. Hydrological Research Letters, 5. pp. 16-20. ISSN 1882-3416
Abstract
Upscaling and the effect of slope length on the sediment production are important issues in hillslope hydrology. This study investigated the effect of slope length at a steep forested site between 2006 and 2010 using erosion plots and neighboring sediment traps. The hillslope had high litter cover but sparse understory due to overgrazing by wild deer. Sediment transport increased for short distances (5 m to 10 m), then decreased over the hillslope (> 10 m). In plots this effect was due to organic litter accumulation. Organic litter production declined progressively along the hillslope continuum. When accumulated organic litter altered the microtopography, sediment production declined more with increase in slope length. Heavy precipitation events did not change the pattern of these scale effects. These results demonstrate that the slope length effect had inconsistent controls on sediment transport due to variations in soil surface conditions of the landscape. Such variations in the slope length effect cause uncertainty in sediment flux estimations in steep forested landscapes.
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| Item Type: | Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C) |
|---|---|
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | c2011, Japan Society of Hydrology and Water Resources. |
| Faculty / Department / School: | Current - Institute for Agriculture and the Environment |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Nov 2016 23:43 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Feb 2017 05:57 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | scale; slope length; sediment; connectivity; organic litter; hillslope |
| Fields of Research : | 05 Environmental Sciences > 0599 Other Environmental Sciences > 059999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified 05 Environmental Sciences > 0503 Soil Sciences > 050399 Soil Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Identification Number or DOI: | 10.3178/hrl.5.16 |
| URI: | http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/29952 |
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