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Sediment dynamics is still imperfectly understood, especially at spatial scale in the highly erodible region of the Loess Plateau, and few studies have been heretofore conducted. Using 5-year continuous water and sediment records, three plots and three basins in the gullied rolling loess region were selected and sediment dynamics at spatial scale was studied. Results showed that the floods, where the peak discharge ( Q) did not come earlier than the sediment peak, were predominant in slope zones, occupying >90 and >70% of the total for the Mao slope and for the Entire slope, respectively. However, in basins, most of the sediment peaks ( C) lagged behind Q, implying that slope zone was the main origin of sediment. More than 50% of the events presented clockwise hysteresis loops in the Mao slope area, while almost all the events had anticlockwise hysteresis loops in basins. This can be attributed to less occurring frequency of hyperconcentrated flow, as well as its instability in slope zones, compared to those in the basins. Within these contexts, gravitational erosion made the highest sediment concentration ( C) in Tuanshangou basin and median developing status of C-discharge ( C- Q) relationships in the Entire slope area. This study provides insights into the protection of slope surface and disruption of the development of hyperconcentrated flow to reduce soil loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data from two runoff plots and ten stations in hilly loess region Dalihe drainage basin ranging in area from 0.0006 to 3983 km2 on the Loess Plateau, the relationship between mean annual specific sediment yield ( Y s) and drainage area ( A) is studied, which is different from those for many other drainage areas of the world, neither at the scale of whole basin nor at local scale on the Loess Plateau. With increasing drainage area, the mean annual specific sediment yield experiences two peak values: the first peak value appears at 0.00408 km2 in area corresponding to the whole slope surface, and the second peak value appears at 96.1 km2 in area. The non-linear variation in the Y s– A can be explained as follows: the first peak value can be explained by the abrupt increase in slope gradient and flow shear stress resulting in highly increased sediment concentration and specific sediment yield. And the second peak value can be explained by the combined influence of flow shear stress and drainage density, represented by dimensionless variable Ω. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]