Abstract

The research on the impact of rainfall patterns on runoff and sediment yield is still insufficient, especially under natural rainfall conditions. We analyzed the influence of rain peak morphology on runoff and sediment yield based on the data of rainfall, runoff, and sediment in the bare runoff plot of Shixia, a small watershed in the Miyun district of Beijing, from 2007 to 2016. We took 0.4 mm min−1 as the standard of rain peak classification and the peak width, peak number, peak value, peak position and multi-peak continuity as the indexes of rain peak morphology. The results showed that: (1) Peak number, peak value, and peak width were significantly correlated with runoff and sediment yield, while peak position was irrelevant. The order of correlation between rain peak morphology indexes and runoff yield was peak width (0.71) > peak number (0.69) > peak value (0.33) > peak position (0.05). The order of correlation between rain peak morphological indexes and sediment yield was peak width (0.62) > peak value (0.36) > peak number (0.36) > peak position (−0.09). The multi-peak continuity was not correlated with runoff (0.12) and sediment yield (0.45). (2) When the number of rain peaks was greater than one in a single rainfall, the amount of runoff and sediment production increased significantly. (3) For multi-peak rainfall, 90 min was the boundary point of the rain peak interval, and the sediment yield formed by rainfall with a rain peak continuity >1/90 min−1 was significantly larger than the rainfall of ≤1/90 min−1. (4) Covariance analysis showed that the runoff caused by rainfall with a peak at the middle positions was obviously more than rainfall with a peak at the front position. However, the peak position had no significant effect on the sediment yield. (5) The peak rainfall amount of a rainfall (TPR) was a comprehensive index reflecting peak number, peak value and peak width, and the correlation between it and the sediment yield and runoff reached 0.60 and 0.71, respectively. Statistical rainfall characteristic indexes included rainfall amount, average rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, I5 (maximum 5-min rainfall intensity), I10, I15, I20, I30, and I60, among which I60 had the strongest correlation with runoff and sediment yield (0.69, 0.60), which were much larger than other rainfall indexes (0.08~0.47, 0.14~0.48) except rainfall amount (0.75, 0.37). By establishing a regression equation, it was found that both TPR and I60 had good explanatory power for runoff and weak explanatory power for sediment yield.

Highlights

  • Researchers usually use statistical rainfall indicators such as average rainfall intensity and rainfall amount to analyze the relationship between rainfall and soil erosion

  • Statistical rainfall characteristic indexes included rainfall amount, average rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, I5, I10, I15, I20, I30, and I60, among which I60 had the strongest correlation with runoff and sediment yield (0.69, 0.60), which were much larger than other rainfall indexes (0.08~0.47, 0.14~0.48) except rainfall amount (0.75, 0.37)

  • This paper creatively proposes a morphological index of rainfall peaks to characterize rainfall and to analyze its effects on runoff and sediment yield, which includes peak number, peak value, peak position, peak width, and multi-peak continuity

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Summary

Introduction

Researchers usually use statistical rainfall indicators such as average rainfall intensity and rainfall amount to analyze the relationship between rainfall and soil erosion. In previous experimental studies using artificial rainfall, researchers mainly focused on the effects of even rainfall intensity on surface infiltration, runoff, and soil loss [8,9,10]. Studies have shown that the internal structure of rainfall processes, i.e., rainfall patterns, had an important influence on infiltration, runoff, and erosion processes [11,12,13]. Dunkerley [14] scoured dry soil with crusts and without vegetation using instantaneously varied rainfall intensity generated by artificial rainfall experiments. If the rainfall pattern cannot be designed to match the rainfall characteristics of the local natural rainfall process, the estimation of soil erosion can be erroneous

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