A simple linear catchment-response model for investigating sediment efflux associated with climate and land use change in Goodwin Creek, MS

Erosion and sediment transport are influenced by hydrological regime (rainfall-runoff), catchment properties (vegetation, topography, soil properties), management practices (land use), and their interactions. Here, we use a simple linear catchment response model to describe sediment transport in the Goodwin Creek catchment. The model includes two linear stores, one for the hillslope and one for the fluvial network. The hillslope store is supplied with sediments from upland erosion, with event-driven mobilization occurring over the effective duration of each storm. Some of the mobilized sediments are redeposited on the hillslope and the remainder is transferred to the river network. Additional sediment supply to the network occurs from the channel via bank erosion. Suspended sediment transport and deposition are considered along river channels in order to determine the timing and magnitude of sediment efflux from the catchment. In environments dominated by hillslope erosion, sediment delivery ratio (the ratio between upland erosion and sediment yield at the outlet) is expected to be closely related to catchment hydrological response. However, fluvial storage obscures this relationship by modulating the morphodynamic response to primary hydrological and geomorphological drivers. We used the model to distinguish the relative influence of climate forcing, hydrological response and land use practices on sediment transport and delivery in the Goodwin Creek catchment, where sediment and channel dynamics have been monitored in fourteen sub-catchments for over twenty years. These sub-catchments include a range of channel sizes and a diversity of management practices over the length of the data record. Our results suggest that hillslope processes dominate the delivery ratio in smaller catchments but that channel processes become more important at larger spatial scales. Furthermore, although climate variability could explain a large proportion of the variability in sediment delivery in Goodwin Creek, land use change also had a significant effect. Further, bank erosion increased when land use changes caused less sediment to be supplied from the hillslope. Based on these results, model simulations were performed to evaluate the future evolution of sediment delivery in Goodwin Creek under diverse land use and climate change scenarios. Our research shows that a simple linear lumped model can capture the first order behavior of sediment transport in a river network. This model also provides a simple prognostic tool to investigate trends in sediment response to future changes in climate and land use for purposes such as river management and land use planning.