Effectiveness of watershed management measures on soil erosion and sediment yield reduction (Case study: Doholkooh Watershed, South Khorasan Province)

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article

Authors

1 Graduated M.Sc. Student/ Department of Geology, Sedimentary, Petrology, and Sedimentology, Faculty of Convergent Sciences and Technologies, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. Candidate/Department of Watershed Management Sciences and Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

3 Graduated M.Sc. Student/ Department of Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
Decreased fertility, destruction of aggregates and erosion are the most common forms of soil degradation. Soil erosion is carried out by erosive agents, which remove the soil from its origin place. Among the measures to control unauthorized erosion are measures that prevent water erosion agents, which are called watershed management. Given the 60-year history of watershed management measures in the country, the evaluation of these measures has received less attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate watershed management measures to reduce erosion and sedimentation in Doholkooh Watershed.
Materials and Methods
Considering that before the implementation of watershed management measures, erosion and sedimentation of the study area was calculated using the Modified PSIAC (MPSIAC) model, in new studies for the accuracy of the work (evaluation of the executive effects on the rate of erosion and sedimentation), the same model (MPSIAC) was used. In this model, nine effective factors in erosion are considered, each of which has a score depending on its severity and weakness, and finally, by considering these scores, the amount of sediment in the area is considered.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that due to the implementation of watershed management plans, the average specific sedimentation of the watershed has increased from 6.7 to 5.18 t ha-1. As a result, the average of special sedimentation at the watershed level has decreased and the area covered by the upper classes of special sedimentation has also been reduced. During the 11-year statistical period after the implementation of the project, the total erosion of Doholkooh Watershed was reduced from 28393.7 t y-1 to 16679.5 t y-1 (40% reduction) and the total sediment of the watershed was also reduced from 15647.6 t y-1 to 12103.5 t y-1 (21% reduction). During the implementation process in some sub-watersheds, confinement operations were not performed properly, in which the amount of litter decreased and the amount of bare soil increased, which resulted in a high volume of runoff in these sub-watersheds. Surface erosion has increased compared to the past and other areas have decreased.
Conclusion
Given that the purpose of watershed management operations is to stabilize the soil and provide suitable conditions for plant growth, the implementation of extensive biological operations and exclosure management in the basin had a positive effect on reducing erosion and sedimentation of the watershed and was able to prevent soil particles from separating slowly. Also, the soil particles that were separated from their place, after a path, finally, were collected inside the canals behind the constructed dams, and by accumulating sediments behind the constructed structures, its transfer to the canals was prevented.

Keywords

References

Arab Khedri, M., Shadfar, S., Jafari Ardakani, A., Bayat, R., Khajavi, A., Mahdian., M. H. (1397). Investigation of water erosion in Iran. Journal of Watershed Management Research (Research and Construction), 31 (120), 13-27 (in Persion).
Bagherian Kalat, A., Lashkaripour, G., & Ghafouri, M. (2021). Assessing the impact of watershed management measures on vegetation and erosion and sedimentation in Kakhk watershed. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 23(7), 51-63 (in Persion).
Bai, L., Wang, N., Jiao, J., Chen, Y., Tang, B., Wang, H., Chen, Y., Yan, X., & Wang, Z. (2020). Soil erosion and sediment interception by check dams in a watershed for an extreme rainstorm on the Loess Plateau, China. International Journal of Sediment Research, 35(4), 408-416.
Darabi, H.M., Qaradaghi, H., & Najabat, H.M. (2018). Evaluation of performance of watershed management projects on the rate of erosion and sedimentation in the watershed of Sivand Dam, Fars province. Hydrogeomorphology, 14, 199-218 (in Persion).
Ghaffari, G., Ahmadi, H., Bahmani, A., & Nazari Samani, A.A. (2015). Evaluation of the effect of watershed management plan of the watershed on the rate of erosion and sediment. Rangeland and Watershed Management, 68(3), 607-624 (in Persion).
Ghaffari, G., Ahmadi, H., Bahmani, A., & Nazari Samani, A.A. (2017). Investigating the performance of watershed management measures in Kan-Sulqan Watershed. Rangeland and Watershed Management, 70(1), 169-180 (in Persion).
Haseb Karaji Consulting Engineering Company, (2004). Detailed-Executive Studies of Dehlkuh Watershed. Erosion and Sediment Report (in Persion).
Mehrvarzmoghanloo, K. (2014). Evaluation of the effectiveness of watershed management measures on reducing erosion and sediment in the Chalan basin, The 2nd National Conference on Agriculture and Sustainable Natural Resources, Tehran, Iran (in Persion).
Nosrati, K. (2012). Sedimentation based on uncertainty. Iranian Journal of Water Research, 9, 60-51 (in Persion).
Parvizi, Y., Bayat, R., Heshmati, M., & Qitouri, M. (2018). Quantitative comparison of the effect of mechanical and biological watershed management operations in controlling erosion and sedimentation of Hajiabad watershed in Kermanshah. Iranian Journal of Watershed Management Science and Engineering, 12(42), 52-59 (in Persion).
Refahi, H. (2015). Water erosion and its control. 7th Edition: University of Tehran Press, 672 Pages (in Persion).
Wu, S., Sun, L., Zhang, B., Yin, Z., Guo, H., Siddique, K.H., & Yang, J. (2022). Assessing the performance of conservation measures for controlling slope runoff and erosion using field scouring experiments. Agricultural Water Management, 259, 107212.
Yuan, S., Li, Z., Li, P., Xu, G., Gao, H., Xiao, L., Wang, T., & Wang, T. (2019). Influence of check dams on flood and erosion dynamic processes of a small watershed in the Loss Plateau. Water, 11(4), 834.
Zhang, Z., Chai, J., Li, Z., Chen, L., Yu, K., Yang, Z., Zhang, X., & Zhao, Y. (2022). Effect of check dam on sediment load under vegetation restoration in the Hekou-Longmen Region of the Yellow River. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 713.
Water and Soil Management and Modelling
Volume 2, Issue 4
December 2022
Pages 1-17

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 02 February 2022
  • Revise Date: 30 March 2022
  • Accept Date: 30 March 2022

Share

How to cite

Statistics