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]