Spatiotemporal variation characteristics and environmental relationships of sediment loadings in large rivers of China: National perspective from 2002 to 2022

Understanding the relationship between sediment loading and its environmental implications in river systems is crucial for water resource management and environmental protection. This study explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of sediment loading and their environmental relationships in seven large rivers in China, aiming to quantify the contributions of various factors to changes in sediment transport. Monitoring data spanning twenty-one years (2002 to 2022) on sediments, hydrology, and the environment collected by sixty-five stations were analysed. The multivariate statistical techniques employed included Spearman's correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and multivariate regression modeling. The results show that sediment transport in various river systems exhibited spatial heterogeneity, the maximum annual average sediment loadings (1.59 × 108 t/yr) occur in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the middle reaches have the highest sediment concentration (41.54 kg/m3), followed by the downstream of the Yellow River (5.85 kg/m3). Sediment loading and runoff changes in the basins did not adhere universally to synchronous patterns. Eleven of the thirteen basins of these river systems showed upward trends in annual runoff volume, whereas nine basins showed downward trends in annual sediment loading. Runoff volume accounted for over 30 % explanatory of sediment loading variations in all seven large river systems, with the Yangtze, Huaihe, Qiantang, and Songhua rivers surpassing 60 % of the explanatory power. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index of all watersheds showed an increasing trend, whereas the index of nine of the thirteen watersheds was correlated negatively with sediment transport. The influence of human activities on basin sediment transport was higher than that of natural resilience, whereas afforestation significantly reduced sediment in arid regions. This study provides insight into the temporal and spatial characteristics of sediment loadings and the driving effects of environmental factors, which has great significance for watershed environmental management.