Influence of Site and Check Dam Characteristics on Sediment Retention and Structure Conservation in a Mexican River

Abstract

Previously, in a large river of Mexico regulated by more than 200 check dams, we demonstrated that vegetation cover and channel characteristics were the dominant factors on the structure conditions and capacity to store sediments. This study focuses on other categorical (i.e., check dam type and location, soil texture and land use) and numerical (i.e. water discharge, check dam dimensions) variables, to whom statistical analysis is applied, in order to assess their influence on sediment filling degree and conditions (functional or destroyed) of the check dams in the same river. ANOVA has shown that: (i) check dam type (gabion or stone) and location (headwater, middle or valley reaches), and soil texture significantly influence the sediment filling degree of structures; (ii) vegetation cover of the drained sub-watersheds, water discharge, channel width and check dam upstream depth significantly affect the structure conditions (functional or destroyed). PCA has provided two derivative variables, related to the geomorphological characteristics of channels and vegetation cover, to whom sediment retention behind check dams is related.