Seasonal and annual variations of sediment trapping and particulate organic carbon burial in Yellow River reservoirs

The Yellow River is distinguished by the highest sediment load in mainland China and significant siltation in artificial reservoirs along its main channel, reducing water availability, sediment trapping, and carbon burial in the hydrological project. Since 2002, the Water Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS) has been progressively implemented as a hydraulic management strategy to mitigate reservoir sedimentation in the middle-lower basin reservoirs. However, this substantial release of sediment and water has also affected river morphology, carbon burial, and sediment trapping. This research assesses the evolution of particulate organic carbon burial and sediment trapping in eight Yellow River reservoirs from 2002 to 2018, covering the upper and middle-lower basins and two reservoirs in the Yiluo River sub-basin. We calculated the annual and seasonal variations using hydrological data from 11 stations along the Yellow River. A hydrological framework was developed to calculate sediment trapping, and a Monte Carlo analysis was performed to estimate particulate organic carbon burial across all the evaluated reservoirs. We found that sediment trapping and carbon burial in upper basin reservoirs are most influenced by shifts in the precipitation regime, particularly by natural events such as severe droughts or heavy rainfall. A strong correlation was observed between annual precipitation variations and sediment load. In middle-lower basin reservoirs, the major artificial sediment regulation is strongly linked to a significant reduction in sediment trapping and particulate organic carbon burial. This impact is especially notable in the Yiluo River Sub-basin reservoirs, which have experienced a >90 % reduction compared to levels before the WSRS implementation. Finally, we highlight the consequences of climate change and artificial water management strategies in reservoirs, demonstrating how both affect their capacity for sediment trapping and impact their role as significant carbon sinks. [Display omitted] •Since 2002, the sediment trapping in the reservoirs dropped by >55 %.•Sediment and POC changes in upper basin reservoirs are influenced by climate phenomena.•Since 2012, Particulate organic carbon burial in reservoirs has dropped by 80 %.•Sediment trapping and POC burial of Yiluo River reservoirs decreased by 95 %.•POC and Sediment load follow a power relationship in the YR reservoirs.