Effects of patterned Artemisia capillaris on overland flow resistance under varied rainfall intensities in the Loess Plateau of China

• Main Authors: Zhang Guanhua, Liu Guobin, Yi Liang, Zhang Pingcang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2014-12-01
• Series: Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics
• Subjects: overland flow; darcy-weisbach friction coefficient; patch pattern; vegetation structure; simulated rainfall; loess plateau
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2478/johh-2014-0035

In this paper simulated rainfall experiments in laboratory were conducted to quantify the effects oƒ patchy distributed Artemisia capillaris on spatial and temporal variations oƒ the Darcy-Weisbach friction coefficient (f). Different intensities oƒ 60, 90, 120, and 150 mm h-1 were applied on a bare plot (CK) and four different patched patterns: a checkerboard pattern (CP), a banded pattern perpendicular to slope direction (BP), a single long strip parallel to slope direction (LP), and a pattern with small patches distributed like the letter ‘X’ (XP). Each plot underwent two sets oƒ experiments, intact plant and root plots (the above-ground parts were removed). Results showed that mean ƒ for A. capillaris patterned treatments was 1.25-13.0 times oƒ that for CK. BP, CP, and XP performed more effectively than LP in increasing hydraulic roughness. The removal oƒ grass shoots significantly reduced f. A negative relationship was found between mean ƒ for the bare plot and rainfall intensity, whereas for grass patterned plots fr (mean ƒ in patterned plots divided by that for CK) increased exponentially with rainfall intensity. The ƒ -Re relation was best fitted by a power function. Soil erosion rate can be well described using ƒ by a power-law relationship