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Spatial and temporal dynamics of land degradation and fluvial erosion in the middle and upper Yangtze River Basin, China
Author(s) -
Hengyue Gu,
Douglas Ian
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.3400010306
Subject(s) - tributary , sediment , hydrology (agriculture) , erosion , surface runoff , fluvial , sedimentary budget , yangtze river , drainage basin , environmental science , structural basin , deposition (geology) , land degradation , china , geology , land use , sediment transport , geomorphology , geography , ecology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , biology
Land degradation in the middle and upper Yangtze has caused loss of cultivable land, sediment deposition in reservoirs and changes in the runoff: sediment yield relationships of major tributaries. The Jialin River and the Dukou‐Pingshan sector of the Jingsha River together contribute over 75 per cent of all the sediment carried by the Yangtze at Yichang. As the Jialin catchment has the highest rates of erosion per unit area, high sediment discharges from that river exert a major influence on peak summer sediment discharges on the Yangtze. Even though land degradation is increasing in severity, there is no clear overall pattern or trend in variations in sediment yield since 1950. Some tributaries are affected by major reservoir construction and soil conservation works, others are not.