Slope length effect on sediment and organic litter transport on a steep forested hillslope: upscaling from plot to hillslope scale
March 15th, 2011
Afshin Ghahramani, Yoshiharu Ishikawa and Takashi Gomi
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Slope length effect on sediment and organic litter transport on a steep forested hillslope: upscaling from plot to hillslope scale
Afshin Ghahramani1), Yoshiharu Ishikawa1) and Takashi Gomi2)
1) United Graduate School of Agriculture, Department of Symbiotic Science of Environment and Natural Resources, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
2) Department of International Environmental and Agriculture Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
(Received: December 13, 2010)
(Accepted for publication: February 27, 2011)
Abstract:
Upscaling and the effect of slope length on the sediment production are important issues in hillslope hydrology. This study investigated the effect of slope length at a steep forested site between 2006 and 2010 using erosion plots and neighboring sediment traps. The hillslope had high litter cover but sparse understory due to overgrazing by wild deer. Sediment transport increased for short distances (5 m to 10 m), then decreased over the hillslope (> 10 m). In plots this effect was due to organic litter accumulation. Organic litter production declined progressively along the hillslope continuum. When accumulated organic litter altered the microtopography, sediment production declined more with increase in slope length. Heavy precipitation events did not change the pattern of these scale effects. These results demonstrate that the slope length effect had inconsistent controls on sediment transport due to variations in soil surface conditions of the landscape. Such variations in the slope length effect cause uncertainty in sediment flux estimations in steep forested landscapes.
To cite this article:
Afshin Ghahramani, Yoshiharu Ishikawa and Takashi Gomi: “Slope length effect on sediment and organic litter transport on a steep forested hillslope: upscaling from plot to hillslope scale”, Hydrological Research Letters, Vol. 5, pp.16-20, (2011) .
doi:10.3178/hrl.5.16
JOI JST.JSTAGE/hrl/5.16
Copyright (c) 2011 Japan Society of Hydrology and Water Resources