Soil and water conservation measures (SWCM) are critical for integrated catchment management. Assessing their impact on the coupled dynamics of erosive energy and sediment transport is essential for optimizing the spatial configuration of these measures. In this study, two agricultural catchments on the Chinese Loess Plateau were selected for comparison: Shuiwanggou (untreated) and Heifangou (treated). The effects of SWCM on the energy thresholds of erosive runoff (specifically stream power (omega) and stream energy factor (SE) thresholds) and on energy-sediment relationships were examined using frequency and regression analyses. Furthermore, energy and sediment reduction benefits were estimated using hydrologically similar runoff events. The results indicate that SWCM markedly reduced the energy thresholds for erosive runoff. The thresholds for omega and SE in the untreated Shuiwanggou catchment were 916.46 W center dot m(-1) and 8.49 W, respectively, which were 2.81 and 6.34 times higher, respectively, than those in the treated Heifangou catchment (omega = 325.69 W center dot m(-1), SE = 1.34 W). While SWCM exerted a minor influence on the energy-sediment relationship during erosive runoff events, they had a substantial effect on nonerosive events. Specifically, functional forms and parameters showed little variation during erosive events, whereas nonerosive events exhibited a change in functional form, characterized notably by a rapid increase in the sediment transport parameter relative to the energy parameter. For erosive and nonerosive runoff, the comprehensive energy reduction benefits were 25.48% and 33.67%, respectively, while sediment reduction benefits were 15.43% and 42.61%, respectively. These findings underscore the importance of differentiating management strategies based on runoff types. Specifically, optimizing SWCM spatial configuration requires combining upstream slope measures for nonerosive flows with robust downstream in-channel structures for extreme erosive runoff.