Development of check-dam systems in gullies on the Loess Plateau, China

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Abstract

The Loess Mesa Ravine Region and the Loess Hill Ravine Region, cover 200,000 km2 of the Loess Plateau in China and have serious problems of soil and water erosion. Two primary ways to control the sediment pouring into the Yellow River from this area are planting and engineering measures. The former is not suitable for the Loess Plateau due to the arid climate and the barren soil, while some of the latter means, such as terrace farmlands, are vulnerable to floods. As a widespread engineering measure, the check-dam system in gullies is one of the most effective ways to conserve soil and water in the Loess Plateau. At present, the amount of sediment retained by check-dam systems is the largest of all methods and the potential is promising. The dam farmlands so created have become important high-yield croplands or orchards with enriched fertile soil and ample water. This paper reviews the history and principles of check-dams and discusses future theoretical and experimental studies which are needed for the further implementation of this system.

Introduction

Check-dams are the most widespread structures for conserving soil and water in the Loess Plateau. However, they have not been described extensively in literature outside China. This paper presents a review of check-dam systems in gullies on the Loess Plateau.

By making use of the local geography and climate, the people of the Loess Plateau of China skillfully invented the check-dam system in gullies several centuries ago, to retain sediments and to form farmland. Check-dams at the Kanghe Gou watershed of the Fen-xi County, built in the Ming Dynasty 400 years ago, are still in good condition. As one of the primary measures to conserve water and soil, the check-dam project has been given great emphasis ever since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Fig. 1 shows a check-dam in the Loess Plateau. By 2002, about 113,500 check-dams had been built, creating 3200 km2 of farmlands with high productivity, and intercepting a total of 700 million m3 of sediments that pour into the Yellow River. Thus, the check-dam system is the most important and well-known project in China to conserve soil and water.

Generally, a check-dam is composed of three parts: the embankment, the spillway, and the outlet. Sometimes some simple check-dams are constructed without spillways or outlets. Fig. 2 is a Planform of a typical check-dam. In a small watershed, various dams can be built, such as productive dams for forming farmland, flood-control dams for preventing floodwater and intercepting sediments, and water-storage dams for irrigation. A group of such dams constitutes a check-dam system.

Section snippets

Characteristics of this area

The Loess Plateau is located in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River, encircled by the Ela Mountains to the west, the Taihang to the east, the Yanshan Mountains to the north and the Qingling and Funiu Mountains to the south. The plateau covers a total area of 624,000 km2, and over 60% of the land is subjected to soil and water losses. The most crucial areas are the Loess Mesa Ravine Region and the Loess Hill Ravine Region, which together cover 30% of the total area. As an area with

Strategy to control erosion on the Loess Plateau

Two primary ways to control the sediment pouring into the Yellow River in this area are planting and engineering measures. The former means constructing systems to control wind erosion and water erosion, and engineering measures mean setting up civil engineering structures such as reservoirs, check-dams, or walls to store soil and water. Some means, such as land-use change, combine planting and engineering measures. Which is the most effective, is still in dispute.

Working principles of the check-dam system in gullies

Over 100,000 check-dams have been built on the Loess Plateau in the last 50 years, and the agriculture of the check-dam systems has become a marvelous landscape on the vast plateau. Thus, it is essential to study the working principles and to improve the design theory for the check-dam system in gullies.

History of the check-dam system in the last 50 years

Although check-dams had been built in China for centuries, it is since the founding of the People’s Republic of China that they have been constructed on a large scale as a matter of policy (Feng, 2000).

In the autumn of 1949, more than 30 demonstration check-dams were built at the Kanghe Gou, Ma Gou and Yaopu River in Fenxi County, Shanxi Province, and attained a remarkable accomplishment in blocking of sediments and increasing foodstuff output. From then on, check-dams have spread extensively

Problems and suggestions

It is necessary to focus national attention in China on the control of the Yellow River by check-dam systems. As more investment from the government is needed, policies encouraging individuals and local governments to develop check-dams ought to be established too.

At the same time, theories on the development of check-dam systems should be extended and improved. Physical model experiments should be carried out in the context of typical small watersheds with unfavourable topography in the

Conclusion

In conclusion, the most effective way to conserve soil and water in the Loess Plateau is to construct check-dam systems in gullies. If layers of flat land were formed as the mounds and ridges were cut to fill the valleys, the geographical condition of the Loess Plateau would be greatly improved, and soil and water losses would be thoroughly controlled as well. The policy to spread check-dams is feasible and great benefits are attached for the local people by virtue of developing agriculture of

Acknowledgements

The project was supported by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission Fund for Soil and Water Conservation (Contract No. 2000.06) and National Nature Science Fund (No. 40201008). The authors wish to acknowledge Professor Liang Dongbai and Doctor Cong Yu for amending this paper on English writing.

Xu Xiang-zhou received his BSc and MS in Civil Engineering from Dalian University of Technology, and is at present a PhD student in Hydraulics and Hydropower Engineering of Tsinghua University. His doctoral thesis aims at understanding the similarity of scale models on soil and water erosion. He is the first-inventor of three Chinese patents. He is currently engaged in the series of programs financed by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission Fund for Soil and Water Conservation and National

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    Xu Xiang-zhou received his BSc and MS in Civil Engineering from Dalian University of Technology, and is at present a PhD student in Hydraulics and Hydropower Engineering of Tsinghua University. His doctoral thesis aims at understanding the similarity of scale models on soil and water erosion. He is the first-inventor of three Chinese patents. He is currently engaged in the series of programs financed by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission Fund for Soil and Water Conservation and National Nature Science Fund.

    Zhang Hong-wu received his PhD from Hydraulics and Hydropower Engineering of Tsinghua University. He is Professor and Director of the Yellow River Research Center of Tsinghua University, technological committeeman of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, vice-director for the Sedimentation Committee of Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society, etc. His current research aims at physical scale models for controlling the Yellow River and minimising soil and water erosion on the Loess Plateau. He is the author of about 100 papers and 12 monographs.

    Zhang Ouyang is a post-doctoral researcher in Hydraulics and Hydropower Engineering of Tsinghua University studying soil and water erosion on the Loess Plateau.

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