Document Type : Research
Authors
1
PhD student of Watershed Sciences and Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.
2
PhD in Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran.
3
Associate Professor, Department of Watershed Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.
10.22092/wmrj.2024.364047.1553
Abstract
Introduction: Soil erosion is one of the threats and environmental hazards of semi-arid and arid regions, which causes the loss of quality or the loss of a large amount of fertile soils all over the world every year, and it affects environmental, agricultural, and food security issues. The growth and development of human activities along with land use change and resource destruction are among the factors affecting the intensity of erosion. Soil erosion in Iran has intensified due to the destruction of natural resources in recent years, and land use change has played a significant role in this process. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the areas prone to erosion and sediment production in the internal sub-basins of Iran, which leads to the loss of thousands of tons of fertile soil every year, and to determine the control activities that can be adapted in these conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the spatial distribution of the risk of soil erosion in the Qarnaveh watershed of Golestan province using the CORINE model along with the geographic information system and remote sensing, and finally, the evaluation results will help in prioritizing the critical areas to adopt appropriate measures to prevent Soil erosion.
Materials and methods: The CORINE model is a model to estimate and evaluate soil erosion risk. This method requires the erodibility, erosivity, slope, and vegetation cover or land use factors to calculate the actual soil erosion. For this purpose, the erosion of the study area was calculated based on the Fournier index and dryness index. Also, soil erodibility was estimated based on soil texture, stoniness and soil depth. The combination of erosion and erodibility maps with the erosion potential map resulting from the slope of the area and the vegetation density produced the actual soil erosion risk map in the study area.
Results and discussion: The results of this study indicated that 3.82% and 96.17% of the sub-basin were under low and medium erosion risk, respectively, and the areas with low erosion risk were mainly located in the east of the basin. In general, the research results showed that this sub-basin had a medium soil loss and soil erosion potential, according to the Corine model factors.
Conclusions: Therefore, according to the importance of erosion and also the location of the sub-basin in supplying the water of the downstream dams, it is suggested to seriously consider evaluating and planning models, make management decisions, promote, educate, and implement beneficial projects related to reducing the rate of soil movement and surface soil loss, to be a small step in reducing the rate of soil erosion and soil loss.
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