Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study

To implement soil conservation approaches, it is necessary to estimate the amount of annual sediment production from a watershed. The purpose of this study was to determine the erosion intensity and sedimentation rate from a watershed by employing empirical models, including the modified Pacific Sou...

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Main Authors: Ehsan Shahiri Tabarestani, Hossein Afzalimehr, Jueyi Sui
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1602
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author Ehsan Shahiri Tabarestani
Hossein Afzalimehr
Jueyi Sui
author_facet Ehsan Shahiri Tabarestani
Hossein Afzalimehr
Jueyi Sui
author_sort Ehsan Shahiri Tabarestani
collection DOAJ
description To implement soil conservation approaches, it is necessary to estimate the amount of annual sediment production from a watershed. The purpose of this study was to determine the erosion intensity and sedimentation rate from a watershed by employing empirical models, including the modified Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee (MPSIAC), the erosion potential method (EPM), and Fournier. Moreover, the accuracy of these empirical models was studied based on field measurements. Field measurements were conducted along two reaches of Babolroud River. Total sediment transport, including suspended load and bed load, was predicted. Bed load transport rate was measured using a Helly–Smith sampler, and suspended load discharge was calculated by a sediment rating curve. The results of this study indicate that the erosion intensity coefficient (Z) of the Babolroud watershed is 0.54, with a deposition rate of 166.469 m<sup>3</sup>/(km<sup>2</sup><sub>.</sub>year). Due to the existence of unusable crops, the highest amount of erosion appeared in the northern region of the watershed. The results using the EPM and MPSIAC models were compared with field measurements and indicated that both models provided good accuracy, with differences of 22.42% and 20.5% from the field results, respectively. Additionally, it could be concluded that the Fournier method is not an efficient method since it is unable to consider the erosion potential.
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spelling doaj.art-457bca231fc642b5aba716fa584d85c72023-11-23T13:34:58ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-05-011410160210.3390/w14101602Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case StudyEhsan Shahiri Tabarestani0Hossein Afzalimehr1Jueyi Sui2Faculty of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846-13114, IranFaculty of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846-13114, IranSchool of Engineering, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, CanadaTo implement soil conservation approaches, it is necessary to estimate the amount of annual sediment production from a watershed. The purpose of this study was to determine the erosion intensity and sedimentation rate from a watershed by employing empirical models, including the modified Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee (MPSIAC), the erosion potential method (EPM), and Fournier. Moreover, the accuracy of these empirical models was studied based on field measurements. Field measurements were conducted along two reaches of Babolroud River. Total sediment transport, including suspended load and bed load, was predicted. Bed load transport rate was measured using a Helly–Smith sampler, and suspended load discharge was calculated by a sediment rating curve. The results of this study indicate that the erosion intensity coefficient (Z) of the Babolroud watershed is 0.54, with a deposition rate of 166.469 m<sup>3</sup>/(km<sup>2</sup><sub>.</sub>year). Due to the existence of unusable crops, the highest amount of erosion appeared in the northern region of the watershed. The results using the EPM and MPSIAC models were compared with field measurements and indicated that both models provided good accuracy, with differences of 22.42% and 20.5% from the field results, respectively. Additionally, it could be concluded that the Fournier method is not an efficient method since it is unable to consider the erosion potential.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1602erosion intensityBabolroud watershedempirical methodsfield measurementssediment rating curve
spellingShingle Ehsan Shahiri Tabarestani
Hossein Afzalimehr
Jueyi Sui
Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study
Water
erosion intensity
Babolroud watershed
empirical methods
field measurements
sediment rating curve
title Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study
title_full Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study
title_fullStr Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study
title_short Assessment of Annual Erosion and Sediment Yield Using Empirical Methods and Validating with Field Measurements—A Case Study
title_sort assessment of annual erosion and sediment yield using empirical methods and validating with field measurements a case study
topic erosion intensity
Babolroud watershed
empirical methods
field measurements
sediment rating curve
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1602
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AT hosseinafzalimehr assessmentofannualerosionandsedimentyieldusingempiricalmethodsandvalidatingwithfieldmeasurementsacasestudy
AT jueyisui assessmentofannualerosionandsedimentyieldusingempiricalmethodsandvalidatingwithfieldmeasurementsacasestudy