The sediment-reducing effect of check dams and the safety issues following dam breaks are long-standing concerns. This study analyzed the runoff change and sediment source during rainstorms in a ...small watershed using a multivariate mixed model and a comparative analysis of watersheds. The problem of sediment loss from dammed farmland following check dam break during rainstorms was evaluated. The results showed that the flood peak lag time (PLT) was significantly influenced by pre-soil moisture in cases of small amounts of rainfall but not during rainstorms. Ecological construction significantly reduced the linear correlation between rainfall and runoff modulus (RM). The reduction in sediment delivery modulus (SDM) due to the check dam was more significant than that in RM. The reduction in RM and SDM under rainstorm conditions were 16%–74% and 53%–93%, respectively. The contributions of inter-gully and gully lands to the sediment deposited in dammed farmland during a large rainstorm on July 26, 2017 were 38.07% and 61.93%, respectively. Soil erosion remained significant during large rainstorms. The increase in vegetation coverage on the hill slope increased the amount of sediment from gully lands. Check dam breaches have accounted for a loss of only 1.2% of the total area of the dammed farmland, and thus have not caused a large loss of sediment. However, breaches in them clearly increased the coefficient of variation of RM and SDM. Therefore, check dams have a critical effect on controlling sediment delivery at the watershed scale. Dam breaks do not result in a large percentage of sediment loss in the dammed farmland.
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•We investigate sediment source during heavy rainstorms.•Assess the effects of soil and water conservation measures on runoff and sediment•Examined the changes to check dam breaches
Check dams are typical deposition sites that trap and store eroded sediments from uplands and are widely constructed on China's Loess Plateau (LP) as an effective soil and water conservation ...practice. Compared with slope land (SL), check‐dam land (DL) may store more water resources and play an important role in food production and water regulation in watersheds. However, little is known about the water distribution characteristics and driving factors of DL. In this study, we investigated seven DLs in different regions of the LP and four SLs under different land uses using the non‐invasive electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique and established a nonlinear model correlating electrical resistivity (ρ) and soil water content (θv). The results showed that θv can be successfully estimated by ρ using the power function model according to the coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.77) and root‐mean‐square error (RMSE = 0.035 cm3/cm3), indicating that ERT is applicable for estimating water resources in the loessal region. Generally, the distribution of DL water resources can be divided into three types: (i) unsaturated throughout the entire profile, (ii) unsaturated in the top but saturated in the lower profile and (iii) approximately saturated throughout the profile with minimal spatial variation. The different water distribution characteristics among the DLs may be related to the soil texture, land use type and drainage facility. The total mean water storage in the 0–4 m profile of DL for different land‐use types was 1.5–2.0 times higher than that of SL. Therefore, DL water stores should not be ignored when assessing hydrological cycles and the water budget in a watershed in the LP. Future research should be implemented to understand the hydrological processes and ecological effects of both DL and SL to optimize water management strategies with sustainable ecosystem functions in the loessal region.
The water storage of check‐dam lands was about 1.5–2.0 times that of slope lands, which varies by land use type. The types of the spatial distribution of soil water resources can be divided into three categories.
Check dams are widespread and effective soil and water conservation structures throughout the world. This review paper presents an overview of the use of check dams for soil and water management and ...runoff control with examples from the literature based on field measurements from four continents. More than 150years of research has reported that check dams are civil engineering landmark structures used all over the world. Among all civil engineering structures, check dams are probably the most emblematic of torrent control works. They were used for centuries, and are located all around the world. Over the past several hundred years, people have increasingly realized the envisioned advantages of check dams such as land development, environmental improvement, agricultural production, enhancement of gully stabilities, and mitigation of intensive flood. The optimum size, location and type had great influences on the efficiency of check dams under watershed management. Moreover, in both the theoretical and practical realms, check dams have been proved to be a useful tool for controlling soil erosion and flooding at a catchment scale. This paper will be helpful for policy makers to extend check dam projects in the whole erosion-prone areas.
The extant development and research on check dams conducted in various parts of the world. Display omitted
•This paper reviews a large number of check dam studies all around the world.•Check dams are used for soil conservation, flood mitigation and land development.•Check dams also play eminent roles to provide number of ecological functions.
Revegetation and check dam construction are two widely applied soil erosion control measures on the Loess Plateau of China. They play important roles in sediment yield reduction. However, it remains ...unclear how these large-scale land-use changes and in-channel structures affect water yield and sediment load on the watershed scale. A combination of field work and modeling exercises were used to quantitatively assess the effects of land-use changes and check dam construction on hydrological processes in the Wuding River watershed. The study area suffered important land-use changes with increases in forestland and grassland, coupled with decreases in cropland, from 1980 to 2010. A large number of check dams were constructed from 1970 to 1980. Runoff and sediment yield in the watershed showed significant decreasing trends (P < 0.01), with change points occurring in the early 1970s. Human activity contributed to 75% and 89% of runoff and sediment changes, respectively. The simulations showed that in a scenario without check dams, runoff and sediment increased by 12% and 11.7%, respectively. Vegetation recovery reduced runoff and sediment yield. ‘Grain for Green’ resulted in decreasing runoff and sediment levels, and reforestation had more hydrological regulatory effects compared with scenarios involving the conversion of cropland to grassland. Moreover, the combination of revegetation and check dam construction had a greater impact on water yield and sediment transportation. Check dams provide short-term flood control and sediment reductions, whereas land-use changes are long-term sustained soil erosion control measures. It may be more efficient to combine check dam construction with revegetation strategies.
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•Check dams decreased runoff and sediment yield by 12% and 11.7%, respectively.•Reforestation resulted in more runoff and sediment reduction than grassland.•Revegetation of slopes and check dam construction should be combined.
Although soil erosion and land use change have long been focuses in carbon research, the combined influence of soil erosion and vegetation rehabilitation on aggregate stability and the associated ...soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) remains unclear. The current study evaluated the effects of soil erosion on aggregate stability and the associated SOC and TN dynamics in relation to vegetation rehabilitation after the implementation of the “Grain-for-Green” project in the hilly Loess region. A check dam sediment sequence was dated using 137Cs activity and erosive rainfall events. The SOC and TN in the bulk soil and aggregate fractions were measured in soils from rehabilitated grasslands and sloping croplands and in sediments retained by the check dam. The results showed that vegetation rehabilitation led to 78%, 27% and 9% average increases in the macroaggregate amount, mean weight diameter (MWD) and mean geometric diameter (MGD), respectively. In addition, rehabilitation resulted in the highest SOC and TN concentrations and contents in macroaggregates among all the aggregate size fractions. Soil erosion facilitated the modification of the aggregate size distributions along with soil mineralization and induced the incorporation of deeper SOC-poor soils during transport. These processes resulted in the aggregate-associated SOC and TN concentrations and contents in the sediments being significantly lower than those in the eroding sloping cropland soils. The highest reductions were found in microaggregates, which exhibited decreases of 48% and 44% for SOC and TN, respectively. Moreover, reaggregation and gully soils incorporated during soil erosion led to higher values of macroaggregate amount and aggregate stability at depositional sites than those at eroding sloping cropland sites in this study. Our study contributes to the understanding of the effects of soil erosion and vegetation rehabilitation on SOC and TN dynamics, which is crucial for understanding the restoration efficiency in soil erosion control and ecosystem security evaluation.
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•Vegetation rehabilitation significantly improved soil stability.•Rehabilitation contributed to the accumulation of SOC in each aggregate fraction.•Vegetation rehabilitation led to the highest increase in the macroaggregate amount.•Soil erosion caused SOC and TN losses in the study catchment.•Soil erosion and deposition induced SOC and TN sequestration in deep sediments.
The construction of a check dam is proposed as a solution to address multiple environmental challenges in the upstream region of a river. Primarily, the focus is on erosion control, the deceleration ...of debris flow, and the prevention of sedimentation. The strategic implementation of this plan encompasses a range of methodologies, including topographical measurements, geotechnical testing, hydrological analysis, hydraulics analysis, and the meticulous development of a budget plan for the actual construction of the check dam. Within the study area, sedimentation issues stem from a debris flow characterized by a sediment discharge rate of 0.657 m3/s. This phenomenon coincides with a significant 25-year return period flood discharge of 9.134 m3/s. The proposed check dam emerges as a crucial intervention capable of effectively mitigating the situation for approximately 1 hour and 13 minutes, providing a targeted response to the persisting debris flow. To execute this plan, an estimated budget of IDR 460,859,000 has been projected. This financial allocation encompasses the expenses associated with topographical measurements, geotechnical testing, hydrological and hydraulics analyses, as well as the actual construction of the check dam. Overall, the proposed check dam stands as a multifaceted solution designed to harmonize environmental conservation with sustainable water resource management.
Check dams are frequently built in mountain streams as sequences of stair-like grade-control structures to stabilise longitudinal profiles and decrease bedload transport rates. However, their effect ...on sediment connectivity is still not properly understood owing to missing field data about particle mobility through check-dam sequences. In this study, we tracked tagged particles in a reach intensively managed by torrent control works (i.e., a straightened channel stabilised by a sequence of consolidation check dams and bank reinforcements) and in an untreated pool-riffle reach with similar catchment-scale characteristics. Data on water level and particle mobility were collected over two years and five resurveys. In addition, we measured the grain-size characteristics of armour and subarmour bed layers to assess potential armouring processes in relation to the presence of the check dams. The tracking of tagged particles showed clear differences in the longitudinal and channel-unit patterns of particle retention between the studied reaches after two bankfull events. The presence of the torrent control works accelerated the downstream transport of the tagged particles despite lower calculated unit stream powers in comparison with those in the unmanaged reach. We observed a close-to-normal longitudinal distribution of the tagged particles and longer travel distances in the managed reach. In contrast, the pool-riffle reach indicated high retention of recovered particles in fresh bar deposits and a left-skewed distribution of the final travel distances. In addition, the managed reach with check dams indicated strong bed armouring processes that likely made the vertical exchange of particles between sedimentary layers difficult. In contrast to the general perception of check dams as decelerators of downstream sediment fluxes, our field experiment demonstrated a specific case when sequences of consolidation check dams in small and relatively low-gradient managed channels can act as boosters of longitudinal sediment connectivity.
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•Coarse sediment connectivity was assessed as a response to torrent control works.•Mobility of tagged particles and grain-sizes of bed layers was analysed.•Complex torrent control works have various impact on all connectivity dimensions.•Longer travelled distances of the particles were recorded for the managed stream.•Vertical sediment connectivity decreased by strong armouring processes.
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•Watercourses play a key role in transferring sediments from mountain to the coast.•Calabrian streams were intensely regulated with check dams in the lower reaches.•In the studied ...fiumara check dam system traps large amount of sediments.•Coastal retreatment is intimately correlated to sediments stored behind check dams.
Currently, most of the world’s coastal territories are subject to erosive processes, often caused by an alteration of sediment balance due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. This issue is relevant in many Mediterranean territories such as Calabria region, in southern Italy. Here, considerable anthropogenic pressures affect about 750 km of coast on which debouch short torrential rivers locally termed ‘fiumare’. The regional climate, hydrology and geomorphology leads to intensive fiumare catchment erosion and high fluvial solid loads.
The work focuses on the Gallico fiumara, chosen as case study affected by an intense hydraulic regulation programme in order to investigate the poorly studied effects of engineering control works on shoreline changes.
The paper has considered the effects of the 264 check dams (completely filled a few years after their realization) only investigating the relationships between the volume retained by the structures and shoreline change during the several arrangement campaigns. Although the work does not consider the other processes that explain the complexity of the watershed-coast sediment balance, it has been clearly demonstrated an influence of check dam system on the evolution of the shoreline, especially due to the hydraulic works installed in the lower part of the watershed. In the light of the results obtained, it would be desirable to promote a debate on the opportunity to convert or demolish the check dams in the torrent reaches closest to the coast, where, moreover, the engineering control most reduced the already limited natural riverbed slope.
Keruntuhan bangunan hidraulik check dam merupakan suatu fenomena keruntuhan bangunan hidraulik yang penting dikaji, khususnya ditinjau dari aspek-aspek hidraulik yang menyebabkan keruntuhan bangunan. ...Kajian keruntuhan bangunan Check dam dalam artikel ini mengambil kasus fenomena keruntuhan Bangunan Pengendali Sedimen (BPS) Kedung Ringin di wilayah Kabupaten Kebumen Provinsi Jawa Tengah Indonesia. Hasil-hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa keruntuhan bangunan tersebut dipicu sufosi dan boiling oleh rembesan di bawah spillway. Perbaikan keruntuhan bangunan tersebut harus dilakukan dengan mengganti seluruh bagian spillway dengan memasang material baru disertai pengawasan lebih ketat dalam pekerjaan pelaksanaan mengacu pada spesifikasi teknis yang ditetapkan. Diperlukan pula pemasangan turap di bawah spillway baru minimal sepanjang 4 m dari dasar spillway untuk mengantisipasi terjadinya sufosi di masa datang
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