Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds
Abstract Due to the coupled or interconnected relationships among frequent climate extremes, unique geological conditions, discontinuous soil distribution, rugged geomorphology, and highly heterogeneous landscapes in different karst watersheds, few studies were conducted to decouple the relative mag...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-08-01
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| Series: | Water Resources Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR037089 |
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| author | Si Cheng Xingxiu Yu Zhenwei Li Xianli Xu Kelin Wang |
| author_facet | Si Cheng Xingxiu Yu Zhenwei Li Xianli Xu Kelin Wang |
| author_sort | Si Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Due to the coupled or interconnected relationships among frequent climate extremes, unique geological conditions, discontinuous soil distribution, rugged geomorphology, and highly heterogeneous landscapes in different karst watersheds, few studies were conducted to decouple the relative magnitudes of the climate, lithology, soil, topography, and landscape on soil erosion in karst regions. The objective of this study was to quantify the relative importance of these influencing factors on runoff and sediment yield (SY) in 40 typical karst watersheds in southwest China. To address this issue, the Pearson correlation and random forest were first to select the dominant factors influencing runoff and SY. Subsequently, the partial least squares‐structural equation model (PLS‐SEM) was used to decouple the complex relationships among runoff, SY and their potential influencing factors. Results showed that climate, lithology, soil, topography and landscape could explain 79% of the runoff variation, and only climate factors have significant impact on runoff for heterogeneous karst watersheds (P < 0.01, path coefficient (β) = 0.589). The explanation of five factors to SY variability is 59%, and the landscape has the greatest impact on SY (P < 0.01, β = −0.458). Different from runoff, climatic factors have no significant influence on SY. By elucidating a complex coupled relationship framework, this study can provide a scientific basis for the formulation of soil and water loss program, and the optimization of land resources and ecological environment sustainable development in karst watersheds. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ee514046cd58489ca80d73e9fda0519a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0043-1397 1944-7973 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Resources Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-ee514046cd58489ca80d73e9fda0519a2025-08-20T03:40:26ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732024-08-01608n/an/a10.1029/2024WR037089Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst WatershedsSi Cheng0Xingxiu Yu1Zhenwei Li2Xianli Xu3Kelin Wang4Key Laboratory of Agro‐Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region Institute of Subtropical Agriculture Chinese Academy of Sciences Changsha ChinaHubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science Hubei University Wuhan ChinaKey Laboratory of Agro‐Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region Institute of Subtropical Agriculture Chinese Academy of Sciences Changsha ChinaKey Laboratory of Agro‐Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region Institute of Subtropical Agriculture Chinese Academy of Sciences Changsha ChinaKey Laboratory of Agro‐Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region Institute of Subtropical Agriculture Chinese Academy of Sciences Changsha ChinaAbstract Due to the coupled or interconnected relationships among frequent climate extremes, unique geological conditions, discontinuous soil distribution, rugged geomorphology, and highly heterogeneous landscapes in different karst watersheds, few studies were conducted to decouple the relative magnitudes of the climate, lithology, soil, topography, and landscape on soil erosion in karst regions. The objective of this study was to quantify the relative importance of these influencing factors on runoff and sediment yield (SY) in 40 typical karst watersheds in southwest China. To address this issue, the Pearson correlation and random forest were first to select the dominant factors influencing runoff and SY. Subsequently, the partial least squares‐structural equation model (PLS‐SEM) was used to decouple the complex relationships among runoff, SY and their potential influencing factors. Results showed that climate, lithology, soil, topography and landscape could explain 79% of the runoff variation, and only climate factors have significant impact on runoff for heterogeneous karst watersheds (P < 0.01, path coefficient (β) = 0.589). The explanation of five factors to SY variability is 59%, and the landscape has the greatest impact on SY (P < 0.01, β = −0.458). Different from runoff, climatic factors have no significant influence on SY. By elucidating a complex coupled relationship framework, this study can provide a scientific basis for the formulation of soil and water loss program, and the optimization of land resources and ecological environment sustainable development in karst watersheds.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR037089soil erosionclimatewatershed characteristicspartial least squares‐structural equation modelkarst ecosystems |
| spellingShingle | Si Cheng Xingxiu Yu Zhenwei Li Xianli Xu Kelin Wang Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds Water Resources Research soil erosion climate watershed characteristics partial least squares‐structural equation model karst ecosystems |
| title | Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds |
| title_full | Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds |
| title_fullStr | Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds |
| title_short | Quantitatively Distinguishing the Factors Driving Runoff and Sediment Yield Variations in Karst Watersheds |
| title_sort | quantitatively distinguishing the factors driving runoff and sediment yield variations in karst watersheds |
| topic | soil erosion climate watershed characteristics partial least squares‐structural equation model karst ecosystems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR037089 |
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