Study on Landscape Patches Influencing Hillslope Erosion Processes and Flow Hydrodynamics in the Loess Plateau of Western Shanxi Province, China
, Li Ma 1, Shouhong Zhang 1,2,3, Yang Yu 1,2,3, Mingshuang Shen 1, Haibo Zhang 1, Dandan Wang 5, Yunbin Yang 1, Jianan Zhang 1, Yizhou Zhang 1 and Jianjun Zhang 1,2,3,4,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments on manuscript “Study on Landscape Patches Influencing Hillslope Erosion Processes and Flow Hydrodynamics in The Loess Plateau of Western Shanxi Province, China”
In this study, the effects of patch combination type and quantity within the vegetation landscape on surface runoff and soil loss on the slopes of the Loess Plateau are evaluated. The study contains interested results which deserve to publish in Water. But a major revision of this manuscript is necessary.
Please find below the major criticisms:
What is the innovation of this study? If the innovation and the implementation of the present study were addressed in the revised manuscript, it can be reconsidered for publish in Water. You must refer in the conclusions the innovation and the implementation of the present study.
Small points:
- Please read and follow the instructions for authors and correct the manuscript in the acceptable form.
- In your manuscript you write “experimental site”. Obviously, you mean experimental area. Please change it.
- The conclusions are very weak and must be improved.
- Figure 7 is not readable.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Thank you very much for your positive comments on our manuscript. We have addressed all of your comments in the revised manuscript. Also, English spelling has been reviewed in the new version. Please find below our specific responses to the individual comments.
Small points:
Please read and follow the instructions for authors and correct the manuscript in the acceptable form.
Response: Thank you very much for your suggestions. We carefully checked the guides and considered the wrong points to be improved.
In your manuscript you write “experimental site”. Obviously, you mean experimental area. Please change it.
Response: Experimental site was changed by the experimental area in the new version of the manuscript.
2.1. Study area
The experimental area of the present study is located in the Cai Jiachuan Watershed, Ji County, Shanxi Province, China (110°39'45"–110°47' 45" E, 36°14'27"–36°18' 23" N). The study area falls within a warm temperate continental monsoon climate zone with an average annual temperature of 10.2 °C and average annual precipitation of 576 mm, with the majority of precipitation occurring from July to September, accounting for ~60% of annual rainfall. The main soil types in the study area are brown soil and loess parent material with a uniform soil texture [34]. The dominant land use types in the Cai Jiachuan Watershed include woodland, shrub, grassland, secondary forest, orchard, agricultural land and bare land. The watershed has diverse vegetation types with high species richness and diversity, with a vegetation coverage of ~65%. The main vegetation species include Robinia pseudoacacia, Platycladus orientails, Pinus tabuliformis, Quercus liaotungensis, Lespedeza bicolor, Potentilla chinensis and Artemisia gmelinii [32]. Figure 1 shows the geographic position of the study area.
The conclusions are very weak and must be improved.
Response: Thanks a lot for your manuscript. We reorganized the conclusion part
Two types of experiments were designed under the same vegetation coverage rate to determine whether vegetation patches can reduce runoff and sediment. The main hypothesis was to identify the effects of the type and number of vegetation patches on the hydrodynamic parameters of runoff and sediment. The results showed that the types and numbers of vegetation patches play a significant role in both runoff and sediment detachment. The combination of different vegetation patches showed a significant reduction in the runoff rates, sediment volumes, but an increase in surface roughness and a flow resistance. Also, we observed a reduction in hydraulic shear force and runoff power. Patch combinations of poorly connected vegetation landscapes registered stronger flow resistance and had a large impact on flow and sediment yield. Under a uniform distribution of vegetation patches, the runoff rate and sediment yield decreased significantly with an increased number of patches. Although the increase in the number of vegetation patches also resulted in a decrease in flow shear stress and stream power to different degrees, the differences between the combinations with similar patch numbers were not significant. The correlation between runoff and soil erosion considering in different patch types and vegetation coverages conformed to the power function relationship. The coefficient a of the power function represented the sensitivity of soil to be eroded. The sensitivity of soil to erosion decreased with an increasing number of vegetation patch types, while the sensitivities of patch combinations with poor connectivity were lower than those with good connectivity. We concluded that from this perspective, the optimization of vegetation in the Loess Plateau region, requires sufficient consideration to reducing the connectivity of vegetation patches and increasing the density of patches.
Figure 7 is not readable.
Response: Figure 7 was revised in the new version of the manuscript.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Water-989098
The manuscript “Study on Landscape Patches Influencing Hillslope Erosion Processes and Flow Hydrodynamics in The Loess Plateau of Western Shanxi Province, China” addresses an interesting and up-to-date subject, which adhere to Water journal policies.
In this research there was evaluated the responses to runoff and sediment transport during slope erosion under different patch types and numbers of vegetation patches, conducted with artificial rainfall experiments in the Loess Plateau of China.
The manuscript contains original and interesting results, well fitted in the context. In addition, the work is well conceived, good bibliographic background, realized and written, so that I did not identify deficiencies or shortcomings that would require major revisions.
Below, I have inserted some recommendations through which the readability and fairness of the manuscript could be improved. In my opinion, although the overall novelty of the article is not high, it contains a good case study with genuine work, field measurements and data analysis
- Some phrases have no sense, and need rephrasing (eg. 2.1 Study area “The present study selected a hillside with the same site conditions as the research site tonavoid the influence of different site conditions (Fig. 1)”)
- In my opinion you should further develop in Introduction the importance of the Loess Plateau for the people outside of China, in order for your research and results to have significance in the management and agriculture of the area
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Thank you very much for your positive comments on our manuscript. We have addressed all of your comments in the revised manuscript. Also, combined with the comments from the other reviewer, the conclusion section has been reviewed in the new version. Please find below our response to the individual comments.
Below, I have inserted some recommendations through which the readability and fairness of the manuscript could be improved. In my opinion, although the overall novelty of the article is not high, it contains a good case study with genuine work, field measurements and data analysis
Response: Again, we appreciate your positive evaluation of our manuscript.
Some phrases have no sense, and need rephrasing (e.g. 2.1 Study area “The present study selected a hillside with the same site conditions as the research site to navoid the influence of different site conditions (Fig. 1)”)
Response: Thank you very much for your comments. We revised the inappropriate expression in the new version.
The present study selected a hillside with the same site conditions to avoid the influence of different site conditions (Fig. 1).
In my opinion you should further develop in Introduction the importance of the Loess Plateau for the people outside of China, in order for your research and results to have significance in the management and agriculture of the area
Response: Thank you very much for your comments. We modified the introduction in order to improve the significance of our study in the new version of the manuscript.
Many studies over the world have demonstrated that vegetation cover play an important role in the prevention of soil and water losses [5-6].
Under limited water resources, reasonable vegetation allocation can improve soil structure, increase soil erosion resistance, and thus reduce soil and water loss [7,17], whereas unreasonable vegetation distribution in arid and semi-arid areas world aggravate soil erosion [18-19].
References:
5.Rodrigo-Comino, J., Five decades of soil erosion research in "terroir". The State-of-the-Art. Earth-Science Reviews, 2018. 179: 436-447. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.02.014
6.Rodrigo-Comino, J., Martinez-Hernandez, C., Iserloh, T., and Cerda, A., Contrasted Impact of Land Abandonment on Soil Erosion in Mediterranean Agriculture Fields. Pedosphere, 2018. 28(4): 617-631. doi: 10.1016/s1002-0160(17)60441-7
18.Iogunovic, I.; Telak, L.J.; Pereira, P. Experimental Comparison of Runoff Generation and Initial Soil Erosion Between Vineyards and Croplands of Eastern Croatia: A Case Study. Air, Soil and Water Research 2020, 13, 1-9, doi:10.1177/1178622120928323
19.Marques, M.; Ruiz-Colmenero, M.; Bienes, R.; García-Díaz, A.; Sastre, B. Effects of a Permanent Soil Cover on Water Dynamics and Wine Characteristics in a Steep Vineyard in the Central Spain. Air, Soil and Water Research 2020, 13, 1-10, doi:10.1177/1178622120948069
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors made all the neccesary changes that I mentioned. I propose the acceptance of this manuscript.
