Predictive modeling in sediment transportation across multiple spatial scales in the Jialing River Basin of China

Abstract

This research models soil erosion and sediment transportation in the Jialing River Basin based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Studies have shown that, the improved method based on the RUSLE model was effective in calculating and predicting the annual sediment transport rate in Jialing River Basin in consideration of the hydrological conditions causing the annual variability of soil loss and the changes in the underlying surface resulting from land management activities. Comparing the observed and simulated sediment loads in the period of 1989 and 1998, the simulation values showed a consistent trend with the observed values, and the relative errors were controlled at 20% or less. This shows that the model can be used to identify hot-spot watersheds with different degree of sediment yield and help to make corresponding land use planning and soil and water conservation strategy, and thus help to reduce soil erosion in areas surrounding the Three Gorges Project and other reservoirs in other rivers.