Simulation of the reduction of runoff and sediment load resulting from the Gain for Green Program in the Jialingjiang catchment, upper region of the Yangtze River, China

A distributed catchment hydrologic model (Hydrological Simulation Program - FORTRAN; HSPF) with improved sediment production processes was used to evaluate the effect of restoration of cultivated land to forest on the reduction of runoff and sediment load in the Jialingjiang basin, which forms part of the Yangtze River basin, China. The simulation results showed that restoration to forest reduced sediment production even in the case of minimum restoration at a threshold catchment slope of 25°, as advocated in the “Gain for Green Program ” planned by the Chinese government, even though reduction of the peak flow rate in the river channel was small. The increase in forest area resulting from lowering of the threshold catchment slope reduced sediment production further.