Background Red soil zone is one of the most severe hydraulic eroded area in China, Jiangxi province belongs to the typical southern red soil area, and the area of soil erosion on the red soil slope exceeds 20% of the total land area of the province. The influence of external forces on the slope erosion of soil is the main cause of soil erosion. Thus, figuring out the influence of external force on red soil slope erosion is of great importance to land management and agricultural development.

Methods In this study, the small watershed of Tiger Mountain in Taihe county, Jiangxi province, red soil zone in the south was selected. A total of 6 runoff communities with a slope of 8° of 20 m long and 5 m wide were set up in the slope runoff field.The amount of soil erosion was calculated based on the amount of sediment. This study analyzed the relationship of runoff and sediment yield on the red soil hillslope with rainfall and land-use, based on observed runoff data from Tiger MountainWatershed Comprehensive Observation, using correlation analysis and regression analysis methods.

Results The average annual reduction benefit of soil and water conservation measures adopted by the experimental station in 2018—2020, the runoff and sediment yield can be reduced by 20.60% to 83.99% and 58.48% to 99.53%, respectively, and the sediment reduction benefit was greater than the reduction benefit. Between different land uses, the capacity of forest land interception was large. Between different months, over 60% runoff discharge and sediment yield occurred during June and July.

Conclusions Compared to bare land, grasss land showed better performance on decreasing the capability of water and sediment transfer on hillslope. The suggestion in the process of local soil and water conservation ecological construction, mixed forest measures should be appropriate, attention should be paid to the care and management of under-forest vegetation in single-species woodlands, increasing the coverage under the forest. At the same time, attention should be paid to the prevention and control of soil erosion during different periods.