Identifying the effects of land use change on sediment export: Integrating sediment source and sediment delivery in the Qiantang River Basin, China

Dramatic land use change caused by the rapid economic development in China has impacted the sediment export dynamics in the large basin. However, how land use change affects sediment export is still poorly understood. This study provided an integrated analysis of the relationships in a “three-level” chain linked as follows: “land use change → changes in sediment source and sediment delivery → sediment export change” for a better understanding. It used the InVEST sediment delivery ratio (SDR) model to analyze the Qiantang River Basin (4.27 ∗ 104 km2), China. Sediment export change was examined from the two perspectives: the effects of land use change on sediment source and on sediment delivery. Correlations between changes in individual land use types and changes in sediment source and sediment delivery were identified. The results indicated that sediment export reduced from 1.69 t ha−1 yr−1 in 1990 to 1.22 t ha−1 yr−1 in 2015 because of the decreased sediment source and a weakened sediment delivery function. In the study area, the conversions of cropland to urban land (urbanization) and bare land to forestland (afforestation) were found to make the major contributions to reductions in soil loss and SDR, respectively. Furthermore, soil loss change resulted in the decreases in total value of sediment export and SDR change caused a large-scale spatial change in sediment export. Our hotspot analysis revealed that the Wuxi River watershed should be targeted for priority conservation to optimize land use/cover for reducing sediment export. This study demonstrates the benefits of taking a comprehensive approach to analyze the processes associated with sediment export change. These allow to improve sediment management and promote aquatic ecosystem health by providing specific future land use recommendations, aimed at source treatment and delivery interception.