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Responses of Infiltration Potential and Soil-Erosion Processes to Rainfall Patterns in Two Types of Slopes over the Eastern Region of the Tibetan Plateau

  • SOIL PHYSICS
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Abstract

Vegetation and rainfall pattern are two important factors affecting the infiltration-runoff processes in slopes. Rainfall events in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, monitored from June 2019 to October 2020, were classified into four patterns using the self-organizing mapping method. To determine the relationship between infiltration potential, runoff generation, soil erosion, and rainfall parameters, the four rainfall patterns were simulated on the bare and vegetated slopes, and soil moisture content, surface runoff, subsurface flow, and sediment yield were measured. The results showed that rainfall characteristics and meteorological parameters significantly affected soil moisture supply. Rainfall intensity and soil moisture content mainly affected the initial infiltration rate, soil properties and root characteristics determined the stable infiltration rate. Vegetation could accelerate the rate and amplitude of soil moisture absorption and dehumidification. Soil erosion intensity and rainfall duration were found to follow a power function (R2 > 0.84) in the bare slope and an exponential function (R2 > 0.64) in the vegetated slope. Vegetation could significantly mitigate soil erosion by altering the hydrodynamic parameters of overland flow, and the mitigating effect was found to be more pronounced for light rainfall events. Moreover, the existence of an optimal initial moisture content for minimizing soil erodibility could be ascertained. These results provide insight into the dynamic responses of infiltration potential and erosion process in bare and vegetated slopes to different rainfall patterns and could guide the prevention of slope instability and soil erosion in response to complex climate change in the next two decades.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 41790432), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA20030301), the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (131551KYSB20180042) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (Grant no. 2019364). Great appreciation also goes to the editorial board and the reviewers of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Earth Surface Process, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS, 610041, Chengdu, China

    Qi Liu, Lijun Su, Chonglei Zhang & Bingli Hu

  2. China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, 45320, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Lijun Su

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

    Qi Liu, Lijun Su & Bingli Hu

  4. Liupanshui Normal University, 553000, Liupanshui, China

    Siyou Xiao

Authors
  1. Qi Liu
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  2. Lijun Su
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  3. Chonglei Zhang
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  4. Bingli Hu
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  5. Siyou Xiao
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Contributions

Qi Liu carried out the experiment and wrote the manuscript; Lijun Su and Chonglei Zhang designed the experiment and reviewed the manuscript; Bingli Hu analyzed experimental results; Siyou Xiao participated in the discussion and gave unique insights on the results.

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Correspondence to Lijun Su.

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Liu, Q., Su, L., Zhang, C. et al. Responses of Infiltration Potential and Soil-Erosion Processes to Rainfall Patterns in Two Types of Slopes over the Eastern Region of the Tibetan Plateau. Eurasian Soil Sc. 55, 1720–1732 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229322100672

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229322100672

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