Assessment of the Slop Gradient on the Estimated Erosion and Sediment Delivery Ratio by Using 137Cs in the Khamsan Representative Watershed

Document Type : Research

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Watershed Management Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Watershed Management Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

The sediment budget has been introduced as a valuable concept and tool for describing the production, transport and deposition of sediment in a watershed. In order to study the effect of slope on sediment budget, the distribution map of erosion and sedimentation of the Khamsan Representative Watershed, located in the south of the province of Kurdistan, was prepared using 137Cs and overlapping with the slope map. The results showed that 15 sub-watersheds with an average area of ​​185.39 ha and an average slope of 31.83% had a mean sediment delivery ratio of 28.43%. Increasing the area to the whole watershed (4098.66 ha without rocky outcrops) with an average slope of 25.26%, the ratio decreased to 12.63%. This finding emphasizes on the impact of internal plain with the average slope of 10.27% on sediment trapping and decrease of sediment delivery ratio by 15.8%. The results of comparing the sediment budgets in slope classes showed that an orchard, irrigated agriculture and rangeland treated with soil conservation activities, the sedimentation is a dominant condition in all the slope degrees, while almost all the erosion caused by rain fed agriculture with the slope gradient degrees of 2-20%, and the rangeland with the gradients slope of more than 30%. Therefore, it is recommended to investigate the sediment delivery ratio with an emphasis on the performance of the low-slope areas as a sediment trap before applying the check dams, if necessary, and only in the most efficient places. Also prevent the conversion of rangeland to dryland and farming, also prevent plowing in the slope direction.

Keywords

References

Abbaszadeh Afshar F, Ayoubi S, Jalalian A. 2010. Soil redistribution rate and its relationship with soil organic carbon and total nitrogen using 137Cs technique in a cultivated complex hillslope in Western Iran. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 101(8): 606–614.
Arata L, Meusburger K, Bürge A, Zehringer M, Ketterer M.E, Mabit L, Alewell C. 2017. Decision support for the selection of reference sites using 137 Cs as a soil erosion tracer. Soil. 3(3): 113–122.
Asadi T, Shahooei S, Asadi M, Shahsavar A. 2011. Considering the ability of Cs-137 method application to calculate soil sediment and deposition in Taseran watershed of Kabodar Ahang. Watershed Engineering and Manageme .3(2): 94-101. (In Persian)
Bernard C, Laverdière MR. 1992. Spatial redistribution of Cs-137 and soil erosion on Orléans Island, Québec. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 72(4): 543–554.
Blake WH, Wallbrink PJ, Wilkinson SN, Humphreys GS, Doerr SH, Shakesby RA, Tomkins KM. 2009. Deriving hillslope sediment budgets in wildfire affected forests using fallout radionuclide tracers. Geomorphology. 105(3-4): 104–116.
Borselli L, Cassi P, Torri D. 2008. Prolegomena to sediment and flow connectivity in the landscape. A GIS and field numerical assessment. Catena. 75(3): 268–277.
Boyce RC. 1975. Sediment Routing with Sediment Delivery Ratios. In: Present and Prospective Technology for Predicting Sediment Yields and Sources, US Department of Agriculture Publications, ARS-S-40. 61–65.
Burt TP, Allison RJ. 2010. Sediment cascades in the environment an integrated approach. sediment cascades. Allison. University of Sussex. UK.
Cebecauer T, Hofierka J. 2008. The consequences of land-cover changes on soil erosion distribution in Slovakia. Geomorphology. 98(3–4): 187–198
Celik I. 2005. Land use effects on organic matter and physical properties of soil in a southern Mediterranean highland of Turkey. Soil and Tillage Research. 83(2): 270–277.
Chi W, Zhao Y, Kuang W, He H. 2019. Impacts of anthropogenic land use/cover changes on soil wind erosion in China. Science of the Total Environment. 668: 204–215.
Claudia SG, Ion I, Lilian N, Georgel G, Maria BAA. 2019. Land degradation and management within upper Racova Catchment. Present Environment and Sustainable Development .13(1): 99–113.
de Vente J, Poesen J, Arabkhedri M, Verstraeten G. 2007. The sediment delivery problem revisited. Progress in Physical Geography. 31(2): 155–178.
Del Mar López T, Mitchel Aide T, Scatena F. 1998. The effect of land use on soil erosion in the Guadiana watershed in Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science. 34(3–4): 298–307.
Diodato N, Grauso S .2009. An improved correlation model for sediment delivery ratio assessment. Environmental Earth Sciences. 59(1): 223–231.
Edwards K. 1993. Soil erosion and conservation in Australia. In Pimentel, D. (Ed.). World Soil Erosion and Conservation, Cambridge. pp. 147–169
Estrany J, Garcia N, Martinez-Carreras N, Walling D E. 2012. A suspended sediment budget for the agricultural Can Revull catchment (Mallorca, Spain). Zeitschift für Geomorphologie, Supplementary Issues. 56(3): 169–193.
 Ferro V, Porto P. 2000. Sediment delivery distributed (SEDD) model. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. 5(4): 411–422.
Ferro V. Minacapilli M. 1995. Sediment delivery processes at Basin Scale. Hydrological Sciences Journal. 40(6): 703–716.
Fraser RH, Barten PK, Tomlin CD. 1996. SEDMOD: A GIS-based method for estimating distributed sediment delivery ratios. In: American Water Resources Symposium on GIS and Water Resources (AWRA TPS-96-3). 137–146.
García-Ruiz J. 2010. The effects of land uses on soil erosion in Spain: A review. Catena. 81(1): 1–11.
Gellis AC, Walling DE. 2011. Sediment source fingerprinting (tracing) and sediment budgets as tools in targeting river and watershed restoration programs. In stream restoration in dynamic fluvial systems: Scientific approaches, analyses, and tools, Simon A, Bennett SJ, Castro JM (Eds). Geophysical monograph series 194 USA, American Geophysical Union: Washington. pp. 263–291.
Glymph LM. 1954. Studies of sediment yields from watersheds. International Association of Scientific Hydrology Publication. 36: 173–191.
Gorji M, Khodadadi M, Ghanadi Maragheh M, Bahrami Samani A, Seyed Hosseini HM, Zahedi Amiri G. 2014. Using 137Cs measurements to estimate soil redistribution rates in a cultivated land in Iran, World Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 10(1): 01–08.
Haan CT, Barfield BJ, Hayes JC. 1994. Design hydrology and sedimentology for small catchments. Academic Press. USA. 588 p.
Jing K, Shi CX. 2007. Study on the relationship between sediment yield and drainage area. Journal of Sediment Research .01: 17–23.
Khodadadi M, Mabit L, Zaman M, Porto P, Gorji M. 2019. Using 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements to explore the effectiveness of soil conservation measures in semi-arid lands: a case study in the Kouhin region of Iran. Journal of Soils and Sediments. 19(4): 2103–2113.
Kosmas C, Danalatos N, Cammeraat L, Chabart M, Diamantopoulos J, Farand R, Gutierrez L, Jacob A, Marques H, Martinez-Fernandez J, Mizara A, Moustakas N, Nicolau JM, Oli­veros C, PinnaG, Puddu R, Puigdefabregas J, Roxo M, Simao A, Stamou G, Tomasi N, Usai D, Vacca A. 1997. The effect of land use on runoff and soil erosion rates under Mediterranean conditions. Catena. 29(1): 45–59.
Kothyari UC, Jain SK .1997. Sediment yield estimation using GIS. Hydrological Sciences Journal. 42(6): 833–843.
Li M, Yao W, Li Z, Liu P, Yang E, Shen Z. 2012. Using 137Cs to quantify the sediment delivery ratio in a small watershed. Applied Radiation and Isotopes. 70(1): 40–45.
Li Y, Li J, Are KS, Huang Z, Yu H, Zhang Q. 2019. Livestock grazing significantly accelerates soil erosion more than climate change in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Evidenced from 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 285: 106–643.
Lim KJ, Sagong M, Engel BA, Tang Z, Choi J, Kim KS. 2005. GIS-based sediment assessment tool. Catena. 64(1): 61–80.
Loughran RJ, Campbell BL, Walling DE. 1987. Soil erosion and sedimentation indicated bycaesium-137: Jackmoor Brook catchment, Devon. England. Catena. 14(1-3): 201–212.
Mabit L, Benmansour M, Walling DE. 2008. Comparative advantages and limitations of the fallout radionuclides 137Cs, 210Pbex and 7Be for Assessing Soil Erosion and Sedimentation. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 99(12): 1799–1807.
Mabit L, Bernard C, Laverdière MR. 2007. Assessment of erosion in the Boyer River watershed (Canada) using a GIS oriented sampling strategy and 137Cs measurements. Catena. 71(2): 242–249.
Maner SB. 1958. Factors affecting sediment delivery rates in the Red Hills physiographic area. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union. 39(4): 669–675.
Martínez-Casasnovas JA, Sánchez-Bosch I. 2000. Impact assessment of changes in land use/con­servation practices on soil erosion in Penedès-Anoia vineyard region (NE Spain). Soil & Tillage Research. 57(1–2): 101–106.
Matinfar H, Kalhor M, Shabani A, Arkhi S. 2013. Estimating soil erosion and sedimentation using cesium-137 method: A case study (Raymaleh Watershed, Lorestan, Sci. J. Manage. Syst.  35(2): 37–54. (In Persian).
Mohammad A, Adam M. 2010. The impact of vegetation cover type on runoff and soil erosion under different land uses. Catena. 81(2): 97–103.
Morgan R. 1980. Soil erosion and conservation in Britain. Progress in Physical Geography. 4(1): 24–47.
Navas A, López-Vicente M, Gaspar L, Palazón L, Quijano L. 2014. Establishing a tracer based sediment budget to preserve wetlands in Mediterranean Mountain Agroecosystems (NE Spain). Science of the Total Environment. 496: 132–143.
Nearing  MA, Romkens MJM, Norton LD, Stott DE, Rhoton FE, Laflen JM, Flanagan C, Alonso CV, Binger RL, Dabney SM, Doering OC, Huang CH, McGregor KC, Simon A, Trimble SW, Crosson P. 2000. Measurements and Models of Soil Loss Rates. Science. 290(5495): 1300–1301.
Nosrati K, Haddadchi A, Zare MR, Shirzadi L. 2015. An evaluation of the role of hillslope components and land use in soil erosion using 137Cs inventory and soil organic carbon stock. Geoderma. 243: 29–40.
Nosrati K, Jalali S, Zare M, Shirzadi L. 2017. Estimate of erosion and sediment by using Cs-137. Journal of Environment and Water Engineering. 3(2): 109–118. (In Persian).
Ouyang D, Bartholic J. 1997. Predicting sediment delivery ratio in Saginaw Bay watershed. 22nd National Association of Environmental Professionals Conference Proceedings. 19–23 May 1997 .Orlando. pp. 659–671.
Owens PhN, Walling DE, He Q, Shanahan J, Foster IDL. 1997. The Use of Caesium-137 Measurements to Establish a Sediment Budget for the Start Catchment, Devon, UK. Hydrological Sciences Journal. 42(3): 405–423.
Park Y S, Kim J, Kim N, Kim S, Jeon J, Engel BA, Jang W, Lim KJ. 2010. Development of New R, C. and SDR Modules for the SATEEC GIS System. Computers & Geosciences. 36(6): 726–734.
Parsons AJ, Stromberg SGL. 1998. Experimental analysis of size and distance of travel of unconstrained particles in interrill flow. Water Resources Research. 34(9): 2377–2381.
Poesen JW, Torri D, Bunte K. 1994. Effects of rock fragments on soil erosion by water at different spatial scales: a review. Catena. 23(1–2): 141–166.
Poręba G, Śnieszko Z, Moska P, Mroczek P, Malik I. 2019. Interpretation of soil erosion in a polish loess area using OSL, 137Cs, 210Pbex, dendrochronology and micromorphology–case study: Biedrzykowice site (s Poland). Geochronometria. 46(1): 57–78.
Porto P, Walling DE, Callegari G, Capra A. 2009. Using caesium-137 and unsupported lead-210 measurements to explore the relationship between sediment mobilisation, sediment delivery and sediment yield for a Calabrian catchment. Marine and Freshwater Research. 60(7): 680–689.
Porto P, Walling DE, Callegari G, Capra A. 2009. Using caesium-137 and unsupported lead-210 measurements to explore the relationship between sediment mobilisation, sediment delivery and sediment yield for a Calabrian catchment. Marine and Freshwater research. 60(7): 680–689.
Porto P, Walling DE, Callegari G. 2013. Using Cs-137 and Pbex-210 measurements to investigate the sediment budget of a small forested catchment in southern Italy. Hydrological Processes. 27)6): 795–806.
Porto P, Walling DE, Spada CL, Callegari G. 2016. Validating the Use of 137Cs Measurements to Derive the Slope Component of the Sediment Budget of a Small Rangeland Catchment in Southern Italy. Land Degradation & Development. 27(3): 798–810.
Rahimi MR, Ayoubi S, Abdi MR. 2012. Magnetic susceptibility and 137Cs inventory variability as influenced by land use change and slope positions in a hilly, semiarid region of west-central Iran. Journal of Applied Geophysics. 89: 68–75.
Renfro GW. 1975. Use of erosion equations and sediment-delivery ratios for predicting sediment. Sediment Yield. Present and Prospective Technology for Predicting Sediment Yields and Sources. pp. 33-45.
Richards K. 1993. Sediment delivery and the drainage network. K. Beven, M.J. Kirkby (Eds.) Channel Network Hydrology. Wiley. Chichester. pp. 221–254.
Roehl JE. 1962. Sediment source areas and delivery ratios influencing morphological factors. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publications. 59: 202–213.
Seyedalipour H, Feiznia S, Ahmadi H, Zare MR, Hosseinalizadeh M. 2014. Comaprison of Soil Erosion by 137CS and RUSLE-3D for Loess Deposits North-East of Iran (Study area: Aghemam Catchment). Journal of Water and Soil Conservation. 21(5): 27–47. (In Persian).
Smith S, Belmont P, Wilcock PR. 2011. Closing the gap between watershed modeling, sediment budgeting, and stream restoration. Geophysical Monograph Series. 194. pp. 293.
Stout JC, Belmont P, Schottler SP, Willenbring JK. 2014. Identifying sediment sources and sinks in the Root River, Southeastern Minnesota. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 104(1): 20–39.
Swanwerakamton R. 1994. GIS and hydrologic modeling for management of small watersheds. ITC Journal. 4(1): 343-348.
Swift L, loyd W. 2000. Equation to Dissipate Sediment from a Gridcell Downslope. U.S. Forest Service.
Szilassi P, Jordan G, van Rompaey A, Csillag G. 2006. Impact of historical land use changes on ero­sion and agricultural soil properties in Kali Basin at Lake Balaton, Hungary. Catena. 68(2–3): 96–108.
Tejwani K. 1980.Soil and Conservation In: Handbook of Agriculture. Indian council of Agriculture Research. New Delhi. pp. 120–157
Trimble SW, Crosson P. 2000. U.S. Soil Erosion Rates: Myth and Reality. Science. 289(5477): 248–250.
Trimble SW. 1999. Decreased rates of alluvial sediment storage in the Coon Creek Basin. Wisconsin. 1975–93. Science. 285(5431): 1244–1246.
USDA-SCS. 1983. Sediment Sources yields and delivery Ratios. National Engineering Hand book. Section 3 Sedimentation.
Valentin C, Casenave A. 1992. Infiltration into sealed soil as influenced by gravel cover. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 56(6): 1667–1673.
Vanoni VA. 1975. Sedimentation engineering. ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practices.
Walling DE, Collins AL. 2008. The catchment sediment budget as a management tool. Environmental Science & Policy. 11(2): 136–143.
Walling DE, He Q, Whelan PA. 2003. Using Cs-137 measurements to validate the application of the AGNPS and ANSWERS erosion and sediment yield models in two small Devon catchments, Soil & Tillage Research. 69(1–2): 27–43.
Walling DE, He Q, Zhang Y. 2014. Conversion models and related software. In: Guidelines for Using Fallout Radionuclides to Assess Erosion and Effectiveness of Soil Conservation Strategies. IAEA-TECDOC-1741. IAEA Publication. Vienna. Austria. pp. 125-148.
Walling DE, Porto P, Zhang Y, Du P. 2014. Upscaling the use of fallout radionuclides in soil erosion and sediment budget investigations: addressing the challenge. International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 2(3): 1-21.
Walling DE, Webb BW. 1983. Patterns of sediment yield. In: Gregory, K.J. (Ed.). Background to Palaeohydrology. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pp. 69–100
Walling DE, Zhang Y, He Q. 2011. Models for deriving estimates of erosion and deposition rates from fallout radionuclide (Caesium-137, Excess Lead-210, and Beryllium-7) measurements and the development of user-friendly software for model implementation. In: Impact of Soil Conservation Measures on Erosion Control and Soil Quality, IAEA-TECDOC-1665. pp. 11–33
Walling DE. 1994. Measuring sediment yield from river basins. In: R. Lal (Ed). Soil Erosion Research Methods. Routledge. pp. 39–82.
Walling DE. 2006. Tracing versus monitoring: new challenges and opportunities in erosion and sediment delivery research. In Soil Erosion and Sediment Redistribution in River Catchments, Owens PN, Collins AJ (eds). CABI: Wallingford. pp. 13–27.
Wang W, Wang LL, Fan DM. 2016. Scale effects on sediment transport in small cascading dammed Loess Hilly-Gully watershed. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment. 30(8): 108–112.
Wasson RJLJ, Olive C. 1996. Rosewell. Rates of erosion and sediment transport in Australia. D.E. Walling. R. Webb (Eds.). Erosion and Sediment Yield: Global and Regional Perspectives. pp. 139–148.
Williams JR, Berndt HD. 1972. Sediment yield computed with universal equation. Journal of the Hydraulics Division. 98: 2087–2098.
Zapata F. (Ed.). 2002. Handbook for the assessment of soil erosion and sedimentation using environmental radionuclides. 219: 9348054-9348059.Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 9348054–9.
Zhang HY, Shi ZH, Fang NF, Guo MH. 2015. Linking watershed geomorphic characteristics to sediment yield: Evidence from the Loess Plateau of China. Geomorphology. 234: 19–27.
Zhang X, Yu X, Wu S, Zhang M, Li J. 2007. Response of land use/coverage change to hydrological dynamics at watershed scale in the Loess Plateau of China. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 27(2): 414–421.
Zhang XJ, Zhang GH, Liu BL, Liu B. 2016. Using Cesium-137 to quantify sediment source contribution and uncertainty in a small watershed. Catena. 140: 116–124.
Zhou P, Luukkanen O, Tokola T, Nieminen J. 2008. Effect of vegetation cover on soil erosion in a mountainous watershed. Catena. 75(3): 319–325.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 09 September 2019
  • Revise Date: 07 November 2019
  • Accept Date: 17 December 2019

Share

How to cite

Statistics