APPLICATION OF SURFACE EROSION MODEL TO ESTIMATING SEDIMENT YIELD IN JIALINGJIANG WATERSHED UPSTREAM OF CHANGJIAN WATERSHED, CHINA

Abstract

T Controlling the sediment inflow to Three Gorges Dam reservoir is indispensable to managing its performances and water environments. Since it is indispensable for this purpose to grasp sediment runoff in Jianlinjiang river watershed that is one of the main sources of sediment yield upstream of Changjiang river, we studied which types of erosion and yield models can be used for the future modeling of sediment runoff. In this study firstly we selected three types of surface erosion models; modified USLE model, surface flow erosion model and riverbank erosion model. Secondly, we applied them to Jianlinjiang river watershed in 1987, and examined their features, applicability and limitations. Though this watershed is so wide that the sediment runoff is thought to be much influenced by multi-sales of space and time, the surface erosion type of three models can explain the annual and monthly sediment yields to some extent.