Check dams are widely recognized as highly efficacious engineering interventions for preventing soil erosion, and they have been extensively promoted and employed worldwide. However, there is a dearth of comprehensive research on the carbon storage and carbon sequestration potential of check dams, impeding our understanding of carbon fate in sedimentary regions of terrestrial systems. The goal of this study is to evaluate the carbon storage and carbon sequestration potential of check dams within the Helong Region (HLR), utilizing measured data from subcatchments and collected key dam data. The results indicated that the horizontal distribution characteristics of organic carbon (OC) in the seven subcatchments within the Yanhe catchment exhibited a gradually increasing trend from upstream to downstream. The vertical distribution of OC content can be categorized into three patterns: initial decrease followed by fluctuation, initial decrease followed by fluctuating increase, and sudden increase followed by stability. The variation range of OC stored in the dam land was 1.47–598.21 Mg, and there existed a strong quadratic relationship between OC storage and the dam land area. The HLR encompasses a total of 3703 key dams, with a combined storage capacity of 39.89 × 108 m3 and controlling an area of 17951.6 km2. As of 2011, the sediment load and OC buried in key dams within the HLR were estimated to be 24.98 × 108 t and 6385.98 Gg, respectively. Assuming complete filling of all key dams, the estimated carbon sequestration potential of the key dams amounted to 6869.41 Gg. The research findings can provide a theoretical foundation for comprehending carbon redistribution and carbon sequestration in the erosion–deposition environment of terrestrial systems.

中文翻译：

---

黄土高原鹤龙地区拦水坝固碳潜力评价


拦水坝被广泛认为是防止水土流失的高效工程干预措施，并已在全球范围内得到广泛推广和使用。然而，目前缺乏对拦水坝碳储存和碳封存潜力的全面研究，阻碍了我们对陆地系统沉积区碳归宿的理解。本研究的目的是利用来自子流域的测量数据和收集的关键大坝数据，评估和龙龙地区 （HLR） 内拦水坝的碳储存和碳封存潜力。结果表明：盐河流域7个流域有机碳（OC）水平分布特征呈由上游向下游逐渐增加的趋势。OC 含量的垂直分布可分为 3 种模式：初始下降后波动、初始下降后波动增加和突然增加后稳定。坝地OC储量变化范围为1.47—598.21 Mg，OC储量与坝地面积呈较强的二次关系。HLR 共包括 3703 座重点大坝，总蓄水量为 39.89 × 10 ⁸ m ³ ，面积为 17951.6 公里 ² 。截至 2011 年，估计 HLR 内主要大坝埋藏的泥沙负荷和 OC 分别为 24.98 × 10 ⁸ t 和 6385.98 Gg。假设所有关键大坝都完全填满，估计关键大坝的碳封存潜力为 6869.41 Gg。 研究结果可为理解陆地系统侵蚀-沉积环境中的碳再分配和碳封存提供理论基础。