Inter-catchment comparison of flow regime between the Hailiutu and Huangfuchuan rivers in the semi-arid Erdos Plateau,Northwest China |
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| Authors: | Yangxiao Zhou Zhi Yang Danrong Zhang Xiaomei Jin Jun Zhang |
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| Institution: | 1. UNSCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, 2601 DA Delft, the Netherlandsy.zhou@unesco-ihe.org;3. UNSCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, 2601 DA Delft, the Netherlands;4. China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China;5. Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China;6. China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China;7. Free University of Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | AbstractTwo river catchments, the Huangfuchuan and the Hailiutu, located in the same climate zone in the Erdos Plateau, China, have distinctly different flow regimes. This study systematically compared differences between the flow regimes of these two catchments using several statistical methods, and analysed the possible causes. The variations in yearly, monthly and daily mean discharges were found to be much greater in the Huangfuchuan catchment than in the Hailiutu catchment. Preliminary analysis indicated that these differences are not caused by changes in climate, but are instead attributable to differences in geology, geomorphology, hydrological processes and human interventions. In the Hailiutu catchment, the dominant groundwater contribution maintains stationary daily and monthly river discharges, while shifts in yearly mean discharges were closely associated with the expansion or reduction of crop area. In the Huangfuchuan catchment, the dominant direct rainfall–runoff process generates flashier daily and monthly river discharges, while the decrease of yearly mean discharges is caused mainly by the construction of check dams. These findings have significant implications for water resource management and the implementation of proper soil and water conservation measures in the middle reach of the Yellow River Basin of China. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor Y. Gyasi-Agyei |
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| Keywords: | flow regime differences climatic factors geology and geomorphology land use hydrological process semi-arid area Erdos Plateau China |
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