Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes

Study region: Red soil region of southern China Study focus: Land use/cover changes significantly affect the ecosystem’s potential for sediment detachment and transport capacity. These impacts can be manifested through variations in sediment connectivity, which reflects the continuity and strength o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: He Wang, Songyang Li, Juan Wu, Huiguang Li, Yue Zhang, Fangshi Jiang, Yanhe Huang, Jinshi Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825002320
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849716285643948032
author He Wang
Songyang Li
Juan Wu
Huiguang Li
Yue Zhang
Fangshi Jiang
Yanhe Huang
Jinshi Lin
author_facet He Wang
Songyang Li
Juan Wu
Huiguang Li
Yue Zhang
Fangshi Jiang
Yanhe Huang
Jinshi Lin
author_sort He Wang
collection DOAJ
description Study region: Red soil region of southern China Study focus: Land use/cover changes significantly affect the ecosystem’s potential for sediment detachment and transport capacity. These impacts can be manifested through variations in sediment connectivity, which reflects the continuity and strength of runoff and sediment pathways at a given point in time. Combining the sediment connectivity index (IC) with observed sediment data, this study assessed the dynamics of structural sediment connectivity and its response to land use/cover changes in a representative watershed of southern China's red soil region. New hydrological insight for the region: Over four decades of soil erosion control, land use and landscape patterns have changed minimally, but the vegetation cover has increased significantly. The mean IC values were −0.88, −0.87 and −3.77 in 1986, 2000 and 2019, respectively, indicating a great decrease in structural sediment connectivity. Croplands and highly fragmented landscape patterns can lead to high IC values. The changes in vegetation cover were the direct cause of IC reduction, which resulted in temporal variations in structural sediment connectivity. These variations aligned chronologically with regional development patterns and policies. Sediment connectivity changes became the main factor controlling sediment yield in the watershed from 2001 to 2020, reducing it by 57.56 % compared to 1982–1995 period. These findings provide spatial guidance for optimizing landscape patterns and cropland management to mitigate sediment connectivity hotspots in red soil regions.
format Article
id doaj-art-360a9dd2212c4b2d9073b2ca107548a1
institution DOAJ
issn 2214-5818
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
spelling doaj-art-360a9dd2212c4b2d9073b2ca107548a12025-08-20T03:13:04ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-06-015910240710.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102407Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changesHe Wang0Songyang Li1Juan Wu2Huiguang Li3Yue Zhang4Fangshi Jiang5Yanhe Huang6Jinshi Lin7Bureau of Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Water Resources of Tongan, Xiamen 361100, ChinaJinshan Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaFujian Soil and Water Conservation Experimental Station, Fuzhou 350001, ChinaJinshan Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaJinshan Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaJinshan Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaJinshan Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaJinshan Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Corresponding author.Study region: Red soil region of southern China Study focus: Land use/cover changes significantly affect the ecosystem’s potential for sediment detachment and transport capacity. These impacts can be manifested through variations in sediment connectivity, which reflects the continuity and strength of runoff and sediment pathways at a given point in time. Combining the sediment connectivity index (IC) with observed sediment data, this study assessed the dynamics of structural sediment connectivity and its response to land use/cover changes in a representative watershed of southern China's red soil region. New hydrological insight for the region: Over four decades of soil erosion control, land use and landscape patterns have changed minimally, but the vegetation cover has increased significantly. The mean IC values were −0.88, −0.87 and −3.77 in 1986, 2000 and 2019, respectively, indicating a great decrease in structural sediment connectivity. Croplands and highly fragmented landscape patterns can lead to high IC values. The changes in vegetation cover were the direct cause of IC reduction, which resulted in temporal variations in structural sediment connectivity. These variations aligned chronologically with regional development patterns and policies. Sediment connectivity changes became the main factor controlling sediment yield in the watershed from 2001 to 2020, reducing it by 57.56 % compared to 1982–1995 period. These findings provide spatial guidance for optimizing landscape patterns and cropland management to mitigate sediment connectivity hotspots in red soil regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825002320Sediment connectivityLand use/coverLandscape patternRed soil region
spellingShingle He Wang
Songyang Li
Juan Wu
Huiguang Li
Yue Zhang
Fangshi Jiang
Yanhe Huang
Jinshi Lin
Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Sediment connectivity
Land use/cover
Landscape pattern
Red soil region
title Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes
title_full Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes
title_fullStr Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes
title_full_unstemmed Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes
title_short Structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern China’s red soil region: Response to land use/cover changes
title_sort structural sediment connectivity dynamics in a representative watershed of the southern china s red soil region response to land use cover changes
topic Sediment connectivity
Land use/cover
Landscape pattern
Red soil region
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825002320
work_keys_str_mv AT hewang structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT songyangli structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT juanwu structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT huiguangli structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT yuezhang structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT fangshijiang structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT yanhehuang structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges
AT jinshilin structuralsedimentconnectivitydynamicsinarepresentativewatershedofthesouthernchinasredsoilregionresponsetolandusecoverchanges