This study has evaluated the runoff and erosion rates in torrents of Southern Italy, two forested headwaters with very similar climatic, hydrological and geomorphological characteristics; in one headwater, 15 check dams were installed in the mid-1950s, while the other is not regulated with engineering works. To this aim, the hydrological variables have been modeled over 15 years after check dam installation using the HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System) model coupled to the MUSLE (Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation) equation. The model simulations have shown that check dams have not played a significant role in reducing the surface runoff compared to the unregulated torrent; in both catchments, the well-developed forest cover determined very low runoff coefficients (lower than 0.3%) with a scarce runoff generation capacity. Additionally, the reduction in peak flow due to the check dams was not significant, on average −7.4% compared to the unregulated headwater. Check dams have retained sediments for about 8–10 years after their installation, reducing erosion by about 35%, although soil loss was much lower than the tolerance limit in both catchments. After the sediment retention capacity of the dam sediment wedge was depleted, the sediment yield in the regulated torrent was even higher (by about 20%) compared to the unregulated catchment. Overall, the study has shown that the use of check dams as a catchment management strategy of forested headwaters under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions should be considered with caution, since the structures could be ineffective to reduce water and sediment flows during floods or, in some cases, check dams may increase erosion rates.

中文翻译：

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在地中海半干旱条件下比较森林源头（不受管制和有止水坝的水源）的水文响应

这项研究评估了意大利南部（这两个森林的源头具有非常相似的气候，水文和地貌特征）的山洪径流和侵蚀速率；在一个上游源头，在1950年代中期安装了15个止水坝，而另一处不受工程限制。为此，在安装了检查坝后的15年中，使用结合了MUSLE（修正的通用土壤流失方程）方程的HEC-HMS（水文工程中心-水文建模系统）模型对水文变量进行了建模。模型模拟表明，与未经调节的洪流相比，止水坝在减少地表径流方面没有发挥重要作用。在两个流域中，发达的森林覆盖率决定了非常低的径流系数（小于0。3％）的径流产生能力不足。此外，由于止水坝导致的峰值流量下降并不明显，与未经调节的源头水相比，平均下降幅度为-7.4％。尽管水土流失远低于两个流域的容差极限，但检查大坝在安装后大约8-10年内保留了沉积物，减少了约35％的侵蚀。大坝泥沙楔的泥沙保持能力用尽后，受管制的洪流中的泥沙产量比未受管制的流域还要高（约20％）。总体而言，研究表明，应谨慎考虑在地中海半干旱条件下，将防洪坝作为森林上游水域的集水区管理策略，因为这种结构可能无法有效地减少洪水或洪水期间的水和泥沙流量。