3.3. Variation in sediment particle composition
Sediment particle size composition varied significantly under different slope gradients and vegetation cover combinations (Fig. 7). The patterns for Dx (10) and Dx (50) were similar: the smallest particles were recovered at the 5° slope, suggesting runoff only transported very small clay particles and fine powder at this gradient. Under different vegetation covers, the enriched sediment particles were mainly coarse powder grains and very fine sand on the slope less than 15°, and mainly coarse powder grains on the slope more than 15°. Curiously, the plot with 15% vegetation cover and 15°slope had exceptionally high volume of particles.
The patterns for Dx (90) were different from Dx (10) and Dx (50), with much more variation in abundance of large particles. The sediment particles were mainly fine sand and very fine sand on slopes less than 15°, whereas sediment particles from 15° slope under different vegetation covers were coarse sand, medium sand, and very fine sand, respectively.
[Insert Figure 7]