Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student of Watershed Science and Engineering, Yazd University, Iran.

2 Associate Prof Department of Watershed management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Ferdosi University of Mashhad, Iran

3 Associate Prof department of watershed management, Yazd University, Iran

Abstract

The management of sedimentation problems in rivers and reservoirs depend greatly on the sediment yield from the catchment land surface. In this research the effects of biological measures and ranges enclose on suspended load in two sub-catchments of Kakhk experimentalWatershed in Gonabad has been studied. This catchment contains both control and experimental sub-catchments. These sub-catchments are similar in all aspects and differ only based on watershed management operations. Experimental sub-catchment has been under rangeland enclosures and operation of biological, biomechanical and mechanical measurements since 1998 whereas control sub-catchment is under normal operation. To determine the biological impact of management and biological measurements on sediment production, the yield suspended load on hillslopes in 18 experimental erosion plots during 4 rainfall events occurred in 2011-2012 has been analyzed in both control and experimental sub-catchments. Analysis was performed in SPSS software using independent-sample T test and ANOVAwith repeated measure test. Based on these comparisons, difference between the amount of suspended load in two sub-catchments was significant at 1 percent level, while runoff depth was significant at 5 percent level. Also results showed that correlation between the runoff depth and suspended load has been 94 percent in Control sub-catchment and 62 percent in Sample sub-catchment. Slope of the line changes between the runoff depth and suspended load in Control sub-catchment has been 5.3 times of the Sample sub-catchment. The research clearly showed the effect of the biological measures and ranges enclose on reduction of suspended load and runoff depth in experimental sub-catchment.
 
 

Keywords

 

[1] Abrahams, A.D., Parsons, A.J. and Wainwright, J. (1995). Effects of vegetation change on interrill runoff and erosion, Walnut Gulch, southern Arizona, Journal of Geomorphology, 13, 37-48.
[2] Alzerreca, A.H., Schupp, E.W. and Kitchen, S.G. (1998). Sheep Grazing and Plant Cover dynamics of shadscale Community, Journal of Range Manage, 51(2), 214-221.
[3] Breshears, D.D., Nyhan, J.W., Heil, C.E. and Wilcox, B.P. (1998). Effects of woody plants on microclimate in semiarid woodland: soil temperature and evaporation in canopy and intercanopy patches, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 159, 1010-1017.
[4] Hematzadeh, Y., Barani, H. and Kabir, A. (2009). The role of vegetation management on surface runoff (Case study: Kechik catchment in north-east of Golestan Province), Journal of Water and Soil Conservation, 16(2), 19-33.
[5] Joshi. V.U and Tambe, D.T. (2010). Infiltration rate, run-off and sediment yield under rainfall experiments, Journal of Earth System Science, 119(6), 763-773.
[6] Eshghizadeh, M. (2012). Plan review of Kakhk paired catchment, Forests, Range & Watershed Management Organization of Iran, 162p.
[7] Ludwig, J.A., Wilcox, B.P., Breshears, D.D., Tongway, D.J. and Imeson, A.C. (2005). Vegetation patches and runoff-erosion as interacting ecohydrological processes in semiarid landscapes, Journal of Ecology, 86, 288-297.
[8] Moreiraa, L.F.F., Silvaa, F. de O., Righetto, A.M. and Medeiros, V.M. de A. (2008). Overland flow and soil erosion in an undisturbed Brazilian Northeastern Semiarid Experimental Plot, International Environmental Modelling and Software Society (iEMSs), 422-429.
[9] Najafinejad, A. (1997). Hand book of watershed management (studies and programming of watershed basins), 1ed Edition, Publications of Gorgan Agriculture and Natural Resources Sciences University.
[10] Parsons, A.J., Abrahams, A.D. and Wainwright, J. (1996). Responses of interrill runoff and erosion rates to vegetation change in southern Arizona, Journal of Geomorphology, 14, 311-317.
[11] Pierson, F.B., Bates, J.D., Svejcar, T.J. and Hardegree, S.P. (2007). Runoff and erosion after cutting western juniper, Journal of Rangeland Ecology and Management, 60, 285-292.
[12] Refahi, H. (2006). Water erosion and Control, 5ed Editions, Tehran University press.
[13] Shelby, M.J. (1982). Hillslope materials and processes, Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 263p.
[14] Spaeth, K. (1995). Small plot rainfall simulation: background and procedures, Washington, DC, USA: US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Technical Note, 230-15-12, 31p.
[15] Wainwright, J., Parsons, A.J. and Abrahams, A.D. (2000). Plot-scale studies of vegetation, overland flow and erosion interactions: case studies of Arizona and New Mexico. Journal of Hydrological Processes, 14, 2921-2943.
[16] Winnaar, G. de., Jewitt, G.P.W. and Horan, M. (2007). A GIS-based approach for identifying potential runoff harvesting sites in the Thukela River basin, South Africa, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 32, 1058-1067.
[17] Zhang, G.H., Liu, G.B., Wang, G.L. and Wang, Y.X. (2011). Effects of vegetation cover and rainfall intensityon sediment-bound nutrient loss, size composition and volume fractal dimension of sediment particles, Journal of Pedosphere, 21(5), 676-684.
[18] Ziaii, H. (2007). Principles of Engineering