Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments
Large-scale vegetation restoration can significantly affect catchment hydrology. Assessing the impact of vegetation restoration on hydrological regimes is important for water resource management. We chose three less-forested catchments (LFCs, forested area <30%) undergoing major vegetation restor...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Forests |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/6/1199 |
| _version_ | 1797594751588892672 |
|---|---|
| author | Haijie Yi Yao Wang Yongcai Lou Xiaojia Han |
| author_facet | Haijie Yi Yao Wang Yongcai Lou Xiaojia Han |
| author_sort | Haijie Yi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Large-scale vegetation restoration can significantly affect catchment hydrology. Assessing the impact of vegetation restoration on hydrological regimes is important for water resource management. We chose three less-forested catchments (LFCs, forested area <30%) undergoing major vegetation restoration, i.e., Wuqi, Zhidan, and Liujiahe, and two forested reference catchments (FCs, forested area >77%) that have had secondary forests for more than 150 years, i.e., Zhangcunyi and Huangling, of the Beiluo River basin located in the Loess Plateau (LP) to compare and analyze the stationary and variation characteristics of streamflow and its components from 1958 to 2019. Results show that the mean annual streamflows were 25.07~34.21 and 21.62~48.02 mm in the LFCs and FCs, respectively. The mean streamflow in the LFCs decreased by 50% on average from before the year 2000 to after. The decreasing trend of high flows and increasing trend of low flows is represented in the daily flow duration curves of the LFCs. The result of baseflow separation shows that the average percentages of baseflow in the streamflow were 31.89~43.36% in the LFCs and 58.23~60.14% in the FCs. The Mann–Kendall tests showed significant decreasing trends in annual streamflow (−0.27~−0.70 mm/a) and stormflow (−0.29~−0.64 mm/a) in the LFCs from 1958 to 2019, while the baseflow exhibited increasing trends except for in the Zhidan catchment. The seasonal streamflow and stormflow showed significant decreasing trends in the summer and non-flood season, while the winter and non-flood season’s baseflow increased in LFCs. In FCs, however, the streamflow and its components showed only slight fluctuations over the study period in annual trends, decadal variability, and seasonal trends over the study period, suggesting that FCs have stable hydrological regimes. These results indicate that 20 years of large-scale vegetation restoration greatly influenced hydrological regimes by reducing stormflow and increasing baseflow, and played an important role in streamflow regulation. Conversely, areas with well-preserved vegetation can effectively mitigate the effects of weather and other factors on runoff with stable hydrological regimes. This study can help vegetation restoration and water resource management on the LP. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:27:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af79e610b01b4d149e203278435a47e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:27:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-af79e610b01b4d149e203278435a47e82023-11-18T10:27:43ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072023-06-01146119910.3390/f14061199Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested CatchmentsHaijie Yi0Yao Wang1Yongcai Lou2Xiaojia Han3The Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling 712100, ChinaCollege of Resource and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, ChinaInstitute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, ChinaLarge-scale vegetation restoration can significantly affect catchment hydrology. Assessing the impact of vegetation restoration on hydrological regimes is important for water resource management. We chose three less-forested catchments (LFCs, forested area <30%) undergoing major vegetation restoration, i.e., Wuqi, Zhidan, and Liujiahe, and two forested reference catchments (FCs, forested area >77%) that have had secondary forests for more than 150 years, i.e., Zhangcunyi and Huangling, of the Beiluo River basin located in the Loess Plateau (LP) to compare and analyze the stationary and variation characteristics of streamflow and its components from 1958 to 2019. Results show that the mean annual streamflows were 25.07~34.21 and 21.62~48.02 mm in the LFCs and FCs, respectively. The mean streamflow in the LFCs decreased by 50% on average from before the year 2000 to after. The decreasing trend of high flows and increasing trend of low flows is represented in the daily flow duration curves of the LFCs. The result of baseflow separation shows that the average percentages of baseflow in the streamflow were 31.89~43.36% in the LFCs and 58.23~60.14% in the FCs. The Mann–Kendall tests showed significant decreasing trends in annual streamflow (−0.27~−0.70 mm/a) and stormflow (−0.29~−0.64 mm/a) in the LFCs from 1958 to 2019, while the baseflow exhibited increasing trends except for in the Zhidan catchment. The seasonal streamflow and stormflow showed significant decreasing trends in the summer and non-flood season, while the winter and non-flood season’s baseflow increased in LFCs. In FCs, however, the streamflow and its components showed only slight fluctuations over the study period in annual trends, decadal variability, and seasonal trends over the study period, suggesting that FCs have stable hydrological regimes. These results indicate that 20 years of large-scale vegetation restoration greatly influenced hydrological regimes by reducing stormflow and increasing baseflow, and played an important role in streamflow regulation. Conversely, areas with well-preserved vegetation can effectively mitigate the effects of weather and other factors on runoff with stable hydrological regimes. This study can help vegetation restoration and water resource management on the LP.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/6/1199streamflow regimevegetation restorationrunoff componentsLoess Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Haijie Yi Yao Wang Yongcai Lou Xiaojia Han Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments Forests streamflow regime vegetation restoration runoff components Loess Plateau |
| title | Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments |
| title_full | Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments |
| title_short | Effects of Vegetation Restoration on the Hydrological Regimes of the Chinese Loess Plateau: A Comparative Analysis of Forested and Less-Forested Catchments |
| title_sort | effects of vegetation restoration on the hydrological regimes of the chinese loess plateau a comparative analysis of forested and less forested catchments |
| topic | streamflow regime vegetation restoration runoff components Loess Plateau |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/6/1199 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT haijieyi effectsofvegetationrestorationonthehydrologicalregimesofthechineseloessplateauacomparativeanalysisofforestedandlessforestedcatchments AT yaowang effectsofvegetationrestorationonthehydrologicalregimesofthechineseloessplateauacomparativeanalysisofforestedandlessforestedcatchments AT yongcailou effectsofvegetationrestorationonthehydrologicalregimesofthechineseloessplateauacomparativeanalysisofforestedandlessforestedcatchments AT xiaojiahan effectsofvegetationrestorationonthehydrologicalregimesofthechineseloessplateauacomparativeanalysisofforestedandlessforestedcatchments |