G. Verstraeten et J. Poesen, Variability of dry sediment bulk density between and within retention ponds and its impact on the calculation of sediment yields, EARTH SURF, 26(4), 2001, pp. 375-394
Monitoring sediment yields from catchments is important for assessing overa
ll denudation rates and the impact of environmental change. One of the meth
ods used to assess sediment yield is by quantifying sedimentation rates in
reservoirs, lakes or small ponds. Before reliable sediment yield values (t
ha(-1) a(-1)) can be computed from such sedimentation records, the measured
sediment volumes need to be converted to sediment masses using representat
ive values of the dry sediment bulk density. In textbooks, simple relations
predicting dry sediment bulk density from sediment texture, time since dep
osition and hydrologic condition are presented. In this study, 13 small flo
od retention ponds in central Belgium were sampled to reveal the variabilit
y in dry sediment bulk density and to test the commonly used relations to p
redict dry sediment bulk density. Dry sediment bulk density varies not only
between the selected ponds (0.78-1.35 t m(-3)) but also within individual
ponds (coefficient of variation at 95 per cent ranges from 7 to 80 per cent
). The observed variability can be attributed primarily to the hydrologic c
ondition of the retention pond and, also, to sediment texture. The existing
relations are not a reliable predictor for the observed dry bulk densities
, because they are primarily based on sediment texture. Thus, when using vo
lumetric sedimentation data from small ponds with varying hydrologic condit
ion to predict sediment yield, existing relations predicting dry sediment b
ulk density cannot be applied. Instead, frequent and dense sampling of sedi
ments is necessary to calculate a representative value of the dry sediment
bulk density. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.