Abstract
A review of the sediment budget concept, a brief history, cognate mass balances and the significance of the storage term. Questions of temporal and spatial scales, errors and uncertainties and the nature of system response. Management implications include natural hazards, climatic change and land use disturbance.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahams, A. D. & R. A. Marston, 1993. Drainage basin sediment budgets. Phys. Geog. 14: 221-224.
Adams, J., 1980. Contemporary uplift and erosion of the Southern Alps, New Zealand. Geol. Soc. am. Bull. Part I 91: 2-4.
Ahnert, F., 1987. Process-response models of denudation at different spatial scales. Catena Supp. 10: 31-50.
Arnaud, E. & M. Church, 1999. Detecting the effects of forestry on lake sedimentation. Report to Forest Renewal B.C. Vancouver: Department of Geography, UBC.
Ashmore, P., 1993. Contemporary erosion of the Canadian landscape. Progress in phys. Geog. 17: 190-204.
Ballantyne, C. K., 2002. Paraglacial geomorphology. Quat. Sci. Rev. 21: 1935-2017.
Berner, E. K. & R. A. Berner, 1996. Global Environment: Water, Air and Geochemical Cycles. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Brunsden, D. & J. B. Thornes, 1979. Landscape sensitivity and change. Trans. Inst. Brit. Geographers 4: 464-484.
Burt, T. P. & N. E. Haycock, 1992. Catchment planning and the nitrate issue: a U.K. perspective. Prog. phys. Geog. 16: 379-404.
Caine, N., 1992. Spatial patterns of geochemical denudation in a Colorado alpine environment. In Dixon, J. C. & A. D. Abrahams (eds), Periglacial Geomorphology. Wiley, Chichester: 63-88.
Church, M., 1996. Space, time and the mountain: how do we order what we see? In Rhoads, B. L. & C. E. Thorn (eds), The Scientific Nature of Geomorphology. Wiley, Chichester: 147-170.
Church, M. & J. M. Ryder, 1972. Paraglacial sedimentation: consideration of fluvial processes conditioned by glaciation. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 83: 3059-3072.
Church, M. & O. Slaymaker, 1989, Disequilibrium of Holocene sediment yield in glaciated British Columbia. Nature 337: 452-454.
Church, M., D. Ham, M. Hassan & O. Slaymaker, 1999. Fluvial clastic sediment yield in Canada: scaled analysis. Can. J. Earth Sci. 36: 1267-1280.
Church, M., R. Kellerhals & T. J. Day, 1989. Regional clastic sediment yield in B.C. Can. J. Earth Sci. 26: 31-45.
Church, M. R., G. M. Hornberger & S. Sorooshian, 1990. Catchment hydrogeochemistry. Water Resources Res. 26: 2947.
Clague, J. J., 1986, The Quaternary stratigraphic record of B.C.: evidence for episodic sedimentation and erosion controlled by glaciation. Can. J. Earth Sci. 23: 885-894.
Cleaves, E. T., A. E. Godfrey & O. P. Bricker, 1970, Geochemical balance of a small watershed and its geomorphic implication. Geol. Soc. am. Bull. 81: 3015-3032.
Crabtree, R. W., 1986. Spatial distribution of solutional erosion. In Trudgill, S. T. (ed.), Solute Processes. Wiley, Chichester: 329-362.
De Boer, D. H. & I. A. Campbell, 1989. Spatial scale dependence of sediment dynamics in a semi-arid badland drainage basin. Catena 16: 277-290.
Dethier, D. P., 1986. Weathering rates and the chemical flux from catchments in the Pacific Northwest. In Colman, S. E. & D. P. Dethier (eds), Rates of Chemical Weathering of Rocks and Minerals. Academic Press, Orlando: 503-530.
Dietrich, W. E. & T. Dunne, 1978, Sediment budget for a small catchment in mountainous terrain. Zeits. Geomorphol. Supp. 29: 191-206.
Dietrich, W. E., T. Dunne, N. F. Humphrey & L. M. Reid, 1982. Construction of sediment budgets for drainage basins. In Swanson, F. J. et al. (eds), Sediment Budgets and Routing in Forested Drainage Basins. U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Portland. General Technical Report PNW-141: 5-22.
Dunne, T., 1977. Evaluation of erosion conditions and trends. In Kunkle, S. H. & J. L. Thames (eds), Guidelines for Watershed Management. FAO Conservation Guide 1: 53-83.
Dunne, T., 1978. Field studies of hillslope processes. In Kirkby, M. J. (ed.), Hillslope Hydrology. Wiley, London: 227-294.
Dunne, T., 1994. Hydrogeomorphology: an introduction. Trans. Jap. Geomorphol. Union 15A: 1-4.
Dunne, T., L. A. K. Mertes, R. H. Meade, J. E. Richey & B. R. Fortsberg, 1998. Exchanges of sediment between the flood plain and channel of the Amazon River. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 110: 450-467.
Dunne, T., T. R. Moore & C. H. Taylor, 1975. Recognition and prediction of runoff producing zones in humid regions. Hydrol. Sci. Bull. 20: 305-327.
Evans, M. & M. Church, 2000. A method for error analysis of sediment yields derived from estimates of lacustrine sediment accumulation. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 25: 1257-1267.
Foster, I. D. L., J. A. Dearing & R. Grew, 1988. Lake catchments: an evaluation of the contribution to studies of sediment yield and delivery processes. Int. Ass. Hydrol. Sci. Publication 174: 413-425.
Freeze, R. A., 1974. Streamflow generation. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 12: 627-647.
Gilbert, G. K., 1917. Hydraulic mining debris in the Sierra Nevada. U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 105.
Goodbred, S. L. & S. A. Kuehl, 1999. Holocene and modern sediment budgets for the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system. Geology 27: 559-562.
Guidry, M.W. & F. T. Mackenzie, 2000. Apatite weathering and the Phanerozoic phosphorus cycle. Geology 28: 401-404.
Hay, W. H., 1998. Detrital sediment fluxes from continents to oceans. In Albarede, F. et al. (eds), Geochemical Earth Reference Model. Elsevier, Amsterdam: 287-323.
Hinderer, M., 2001. Late Quaternary denudation of the Alps, valley and lake fillings and modern river loads. Geodinamica Acta 14: 231-263.
Hoover, M. D., 1944. Effect of removal of forest vegetation upon water yields. Trans. am. Geophys. Union 6: 969-975.
Houghton, R. A., J. L. Hackler & K. T. Lawrence, 1999. The U.S. carbon budget: contributions from land-use change. Science 285: 574-578.
Howard, A. D., W. E. Dietrich & M. A. Seidl, 1994. Modeling fluvial erosion on regional to continental scales. J. Geophys. Res. 99: 13971-13986.
Howell, D. G. & R. W. Murray, 1986. A budget for continental growth and denudation. Science 233: 446-449.
Ikeya, H., 1976. Introduction to Sabo Works. The Japan Sabo Association, Tokyo.
Jackli, H., 1957. Gegenwartsgeologische bundnerischen Rheingebietes: ein beitrag zur exogenen dynamik alpiner gebirgslandschaften. Swiss Geotech. Commission. Geotech. Series 36. Kummerley and Frei, Bern.
Janda, R. J., 1971. An evaluation of procedures used in computing chemical denudation rates. Geol. Soc. am. Bull. 82: 67-80.
Kashiwaya, K., 1996. Geomorphic environment and sedimentary process in a catchment-lake system. Trans. Jap. Geomorphol. Union 17: 265-274.
Kelsey, H. M., 1980. A sediment budget and an analysis of geomorphic processes in the Van Duzen River basin 1941-1975. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. Part II 91: 1119-1216.
Kelsey, H. M., R. Lamberson & M. A. Madej, 1987. Stochastic model for the long-term transport of stored sediment in a river channel. Water Resources Res. 23: 1738-1750.
Klemes, V., 1985. Sensitivity of water resources systems to climate variations. World Climate Programme Report 98. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
Knox, J. C., 1989, Long and short term episodic storage and removal of sediment in watersheds of southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois. Int. Assoc. of Hydrol. Sci. Publication 184: 157-164.
Lau, S. S. S. & S. N. Lane, 2001. Continuity and change in environmental systems: the case of shallow lake ecosystems. Prog. phys. Geog. 25: 178-202.
Leopold, L. B., W. W. Emmett & R. M. Myrick, 1966. Channel and hillslope processes in a semi-arid area, New Mexico. U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 352-G.
Lerman, A., 1979. Geochemical Processes: Water and Sediment Environments. Wiley Interscience, New York.
Likens, G. E., F. H. Bormann, R. S. Pierce, J. S. Eaton & N. M. Johnson, 1977. Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem. Springer Verlag, New York.
Mackenzie, F. T., A. Lerman & L. M. B. Ver, 1998. Role of the continental margins in the global carbon balance during the past three centuries. Geology 26: 423-426.
Major, J. J., T. C. Pierson, R. L. Dinehart & J. E. Costa, 2000. Sediment yield following severe volcanic disturbance: a two decade perspective from Mt. St. Helens. Geology 28: 819-822.
Marutani, T., G. J. Brierley, N. A. Trustrum & M. Page (eds) 2001. Source-to-Sink Sedimentary Cascades in Pacific Rim GeoSystems. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Japan, Matsumoto.
Meade, R. H., 1982. Sources, sinks and storage of river sediment in the Atlantic drainage of the U.S. J. Geol. 91: 1-21.
Meybeck, M., 1982. Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus transport by world rivers. am. J. Sci. 282: 401-450.
Meybeck, M., 1988. How to establish and use world budgets of riverine materials. In Lerman, A. & M. Meybeck (eds), Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht: 247-272.
Nicholas, A. P., P. J. Ashworth, M. J. Kirkby, M. G. Macklin & T. Murray, 1995, Sediment slugs: large scale fluctuations in fluvial sediment transport rates and storage volumes. Progress in phys. Geog. 19: 500-519.
Oguchi, T., 1997. Late Quaternary sediment budget in alluvial fan source basin systems in Japan. J. Quat. Sci. 12: 381-390.
Okunishi, K., 1994. Concepts and method of hydrogeomorphology. Trans Jap. Geomorphol. Union 15A: 5-18.
Oldfield, F., 1976, Lakes and their drainage basins as units of sediment based ecological study. Prog. Geog. 1: 460-504.
Ongley, E. D., 1976. Sediment and nutrient yields from Great Lakes tributary drainage. Geosci. Can. 3: 164-168.
Owens, P. & O. Slaymaker, 1994. Post-glacial temporal variability of sediment accumulation in a small alpine lake. Int. Assoc. of Hydrol. Sci. Publication 224: 187-195.
Owens, P. N., D. E. Walling, Q. He, J. Shanahan & I. D. L. Foster, 1997. The use of caesium 137 measurements to establish a sediment budget for the Start River catchment, Devon, U.K. Hydrol. Sci. J. 42: 405-423.
Paces, T., 1986. Rates of weathering and erosion derived from mass lance in small drainage basins. In Colman, R. (ed.), Rates of Chemical Weathering of Rocks and Minerals. Academic Press, Orlando: 531-550.
Parker, R. S., 1988, Uncertainties in defining the suspended sediment budget for large drainage basins. Int. Ass. Hydrol. Sci. Publication 174: 523-532.
Pearce, A. J. & A. Watson, 1983, Medium term effects of two landsliding episodes on channel storage of sediment. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 8: 29-40.
Rabouille, C., F. T. Mackenzie & L. M. Ver, 2001. Influence of the human perturbation on carbon, nitrogen and oxygen biogeochemical cycles in the global coastal ocean. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65: 3615-3641.
Rapp, A., 1960. Recent development of mountain slopes in Karkevagge and surroundings, northern Scandinavia. Geog. Annal. 42A: 71-200.
Reid, L. M. & T. Dunne, 1996. Rapid Evaluation of Sediment Budgets. Catena Verlag, Reiskirchen.
Reneau, S. L. & W. E. Dietrich, 1991. Erosion rates in the southern Oregon Coast Range: evidence for an equilibrium between hillslope erosion and sediment yield. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 16: 307-322.
Roberts, R. G. & M. Church, 1986. The sediment budget in severely disturbed watersheds, Queen Charlotte Ranges, British Columbia. Can. J. For. Res. 16: 1092-1106.
Ryder, J. M., 1971. The stratigraphy and morphology of paraglacial alluvial fans in south-central British Columbia. Can. J. Earth Sci. 8: 279-298.
Schick, A. P. & J. Lekach, 1993. An evaluation of two ten-year sediment budgets, Nahal Yael, Israel. Phys. Geog. 14: 225-238.
Schindler, D. W., 1999. The mysterious missing sink. Nature 398: 105-107.
Schulze, E. D. & D. Schimel, 2001. Uncertainties of global biogeochemical predictions. In Schulze, E. D. et al. (eds), Global Biogeochemical Cycles in the Climate System. Academic Press, San Diego: 3-14.
Schumm, S. A., 1977. The Fluvial System. Wiley, New York.
Schumm, S. A., 1985. Explanation and extrapolation in geomorphology: seven reasons for geologic uncertainty. Trans. Jap. Geomorphol. Union 6: 1-18.
Schumm, S. A. & R. W. Lichty, 1965. Time, space and causality in geomorphology. Am. J. Sci. 263: 110-119.
Schumm, S. A. & D. K. Rea, 1995. Sediment yield from disturbed earth systems. Geology 23: 391-394.
Slaymaker, O., 1972. Patterns of present sub-aerial erosion and landforms in mid-Wales. Trans. Inst. Brit. Geographers 55: 47-68.
Slaymaker, O., 1987. Sediment and solute yields in British Columbia and Yukon: their geomorphic significance reexamined. In Gardiner, V. (ed.), International Geomorphology '86. Wiley, Chichester: 925-945.
Slaymaker, O., 1993. The sediment budget of the Lillooet River basin, B.C. Phys. Geog. 14: 304-320.
Slaymaker, O., 1997. A pluralist, problem-focussed geomorphology. In Stoddart, D. R. (ed.), Process and Form in Geomorphology. Routledge, London and New York: 328-339.
Slaymaker, O. & B. Menounos, 2000. The geomorphic information content of lake sediments in glacially conditioned terrain. Int. Assoc. of Hydrol. Sci. Publication 261: 311-324.
Slaymaker, O., C. Souch, B. Menounos & G. Filippelli, 2003, Advances in Holocene mountain geomorphology inspired by sediment budget methodology. Geomorphology.
Sloan, J., J. R. Miller & N. Lancaster, 2001. Response and recovery of the Eel River, California, and its tributaries to floods in 1955, 1964 and 1997. Geomorphology 36: 129-154.
Smil, V., 1996. Cycles of Life: Civilization and the Biosphere. Scientific American Library, New York.
Smith, L. C. & D. E. Alsdorf, 1998. Control on sediment and organic carbon delivery to the Arctic Ocean revealed with space-borne synthetic aperture radar: Ob River, Siberia. Geology 26: 395-398.
Smith, S. V., W. H. Renwick, R. W. Buddemeier & C. J. Crossland, 2001. Budgets of soil erosion and deposition for seiments and sedimentary organic carbon across the conterminous U.S. Global Bio-geo-chemical Cycles 15: 697-707.
Souch, C. & O. Slaymaker, 1986. Temporal variability of sediment yield using accumulations in small ponds. Phys. Geog. 7: 140-153.
Swanson, F. J., R. J. Janda, T. Dunne & D. N. Swanston (eds), 1982. Sediment Budgets and Routing in Forested Drainage Basins. U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Portland. General Technical Report PNW-141.
Trimble, S. W., 1983. A sediment budget for Coon Creek basin in the Driftless area, Wisconsin, 1883-dy1977. Am. J. Sci. 283: 454-474.
Trimble, S. W., 1995. Catchment sediment budgets and change. In Gurnell, A. & G. Petts (eds), Changing River Channels. Wiley, Chichester: 201-215.
Trimble, S.W. & P. Crosson, 2000. U.S. soil erosion rates: myth and reality. Science 289: 248-250.
Trustrum, N. A., B. Gomez, M. J. Page, L. M. Reid & D. M. Hicks, 1999. Sediment production, storage and output. Zeits. Geomorphol. Supplement Band 115: 71-86.
Walling, D. E., 1983. The sediment delivery problem. J. Hydrol. 69: 209-237.
Walling, D. E. & B. W. Webb, 1983. The dissolved load of rivers: a global overview. Int. Ass. Hydrol. Sci. Publication 141: 3-20.
Wathen, S. J., T. B. Hoey & A. Werritty, 1997. Quantitative determination of the activity of within-reach sediment storage in a small gravel bed river using transit time and response time. Geomorphology 20: 113-134.
Yuretich, R. F. & G. L. Batchelder, 1988. Hydro-geo-chemical cycling and chemical denudation in the Fort River watershed, central Massachusetts: an appraisal of mass balance studies. Water Resour. Res. 24: 105-114.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Slaymaker, O. The sediment budget as conceptual framework and management tool. Hydrobiologia 494, 71–82 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025437509525
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025437509525