Integrated Modeling of Soil Erosion for a Canadian Watershed in Response to Projected Changes in Climate and Consequent Adoption of Mitigating Best Management Practices

Soil erosion is an environmental concern that affects agriculture, wildlife and water bodies. Soil erosion can be avoided by maintaining a protective cover on the soil to create a barrier to the erosive agent or by modifying the landscape to control runoff amounts and rates. This research is focused on Sebeya catchment located in the Western Province of Rwanda. Sebeya catchment is one of the most affected areas by soil erosion hazards causing loss of crops due to the destruction of agricultural plots or riverbanks, river sedimentation and damages to the existing water treatment and hydropower plants in the downstream part of the river. The aims of this research were to assess the performance of erosion remediation measures and to propose the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion control in Sebeya catchment. Using literature review, site visits, questionnaire and interviews, various erosion control measures were analyzed in terms of performance and suitability. Land slope and soil depth maps were generated using ArcGIS software. The interview results indicated that among the 22 existing soil erosion control measures, about 4.57% of farmers confirmed their existence while 95.43% expressed the need of their implementation in Sebeya catchment. Furthermore, economic constraints were found to be the main limitative factors against the implementation of soil erosion control measures in Sebeya catchment. Also, the majority of farmers suggest trainings and mobilization of a specialized technical team to assist them in implementing soil conservation measures and to generalize the application of fertilizers in the whole catchment. Finally, soil erosion control measures including agro-forestry, terraces, mulching, tree planting, contour bunds, vegetative measures for slopes and buffer zones, check dams, riverbanks stabilization were proposed and recommended to be implemented in Sebeya catchment. Keywords: Erosion control measures, Sebeya catchment, Rwanda

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Comparison of RUSLE and MMF Soil Loss Models and Evaluation of Catchment Scale Best Management Practices for a Mountainous Watershed in India

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13010232 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 232

Author(s):

Susanta Das ◽

Proloy Deb ◽

Pradip Kumar Bora ◽

Prafull Katre

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Catchment Scale ◽

Suitable Alternative ◽

Best Management ◽

Management Plans

Soil erosion from arable lands removes the top fertile soil layer (comprised of humus/organic matter) and therefore requires fertilizer application which affects the overall sustainability. Hence, determination of soil erosion from arable lands is crucial to planning conservation measures. A modeling approach is a suitable alternative to estimate soil loss in ungauged catchments. Soil erosion primarily depends on soil texture, structure, infiltration, topography, land uses, and other erosive forces like water and wind. By analyzing these parameters, coupled with geospatial tools, models can estimate storm wise and annual average soil losses. In this study, a hilly watershed called Nongpoh was considered with the objective of prioritizing critical erosion hazard areas within the micro-catchment based on average annual soil loss and land use and land cover and making appropriate management plans for the prioritized areas. Two soil erosion models namely Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Modified Morgan–Morgan–Finney (MMF) models were used to estimate soil loss with the input parameters extracted from satellite information and automatic weather stations. The RUSLE and MMF models showed similar results in estimating soil loss, except the MMF model estimated 7.74% less soil loss than the RUSLE model from the watershed. The results also indicated that the study area is under severe erosion class, whereas agricultural land, open forest area, and scrubland were prioritized most erosion prone areas within the watershed. Based on prioritization, best management plans were developed at catchment scale for reducing soil loss. These findings and the methodology employed can be widely used in mountainous to hilly watersheds around the world for identifying best management practices (BMP).

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Erosion and Sediment Control Best Management Practices in Agricultural Farms for Effective Reservoir Sedimentation Management at Cameron Highlands

International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering - 2 ◽

10.35940/ijrte.d5138.118419 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 6198-6205

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Erosion Control ◽

Agricultural Area ◽

Reservoir Sedimentation ◽

Agricultural Activities ◽

Sediment Control ◽

Best Management ◽

Cameron Highlands

For many years, lands in Cameron Highland have been opened and leveled for agricultural farming and intensive crop production. Land-disturbing activities such as agricultural operations that are conducted on regions with steep slopes leads to a high potential of soil erosion, sedimentation and landslide occurrences. As a results, this phenomenon producing large amounts of sediment transported and deposited to the receiving waters or reservoirs. The development of best management practices (BMPs) for agricultural activities is an important step towards minimizing the amount of soil erosion and landslide incidents in Cameron Highlands. Therefore, this Erosion and Sediment Control Guideline for Agricultural Activities in Hilly Area aims to minimize erosion and sedimentation from the agricultural area in Cameron Highlands especially in the scope of reservoir sedimentation management. There numbers of steps taken in order to establish this guidelines. The first step is to define the scope with the purpose of the guideline and conduct a literature review. In order to assess the quality and feasibility of the study to formulate the frameworks, engagement with stakeholders was conducted. Lastly is to undergo review and update based on the recommendations by related stakeholders. Finally, before the establishment of guidelines, all recommendations by related stakeholders are take in account that consists of Best Management Practices components which will be applied in the agricultural area to mitigate issues and problems especially in erosion control and reservoir sedimentation management. The Erosion Control Measures are including agronomic measures, soil management, mechanical methods and Rainwater Harvesting Techniques. Subsequently, these measures are used to apply in open or sheltered farming to control the erosion and sedimentation issues based on the erosion risk level. As a conclusion, this guideline will be useful for the stakeholders especially to local community, dam owners and local authority to mitigate and solve the issues related to erosion and sedimentation in hilly agricultural area

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Evaluation of SWAT Flow and Sediment Estimation and Effects of Soil Erosion Best Management Practices

Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers ◽

10.5389/ksae.2012.54.1.099 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 99-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ji-Min Lee ◽

Ji-Chul Ryu ◽

Hyun-Woo Kang ◽

Hyeong-Sik Kang ◽

Dong-Hyuk Kum ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Best Management

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Logging Sediment Control Act and Forestry Best Management Practices in West Virginia: A Review

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/njaf/21.2.93 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 93-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jingxin Wang ◽

Joe McNeel ◽

Steve Milauskas

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

West Virginia ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

The State ◽

The West ◽

Sediment Control ◽

Best Management

Abstract Best management practices (BMP) for controlling soil erosion and sedimentation are the operational guidelines for logging in the state of West Virginia, which have been revised in 1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, and 2002. The West Virginia legislature passed the Logging Sediment Control Act (LSCA) in 1992. This Act specifically mandates logger licensing, logger certification, harvesting operation notification, and enforcement capability for activities causing erosion and sedimentation on logging sites. Since the first BMP assessment conducted in 1981, the West Virginia Division of Forestry has periodically evaluated compliance with BMP. The evaluations have taken place in 1986, 1991, and 1996 respectively. The state LSCA, BMP, and compliance evaluations were reviewed, and the results indicate a trend of increasing compliance with BMP in West Virginia.

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Homeowner Best Management Practices for the Home Lawn

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis-ep236-2004 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 2004 (8) ◽

Author(s):

Laurie E. Trenholm

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Environmentally Friendly ◽

Publication Date ◽

University Of Florida ◽

Best Management ◽

The Look

Everyone enjoys the look of a nice, healthy lawn in a landscape. Not only do lawns increase the value of property, they help to cool the environment and reduce soil erosion. Most importantly, a healthy lawn reduces pollution resulting from stormwater runoff, because it is able to actively filter and trap sediment or pollutants that might contaminate ground or surface waters. It is very important that homeowners follow best management practices when maintaining their lawns so as to not cause pollution to Florida's water resources. For a happy, healthy, and environmentally friendly lawn, follow the tips outlined in this document. This document is Fact Sheet ENH979, one of a series of the Environmental Horticulture department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: April 2004. ENH979/EP236: Homeowner Best Management Practices for the Home Lawn (ufl.edu)

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The status of soil erosion in the Upper Blue Nile Basin: Identification of hot spot Areas and Evaluation of Best Management Practices in the Toba Watershed

10.21203/rs.3.rs-868407/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wakjira Takala Dibaba ◽

Dessalegn Geleta Ebsa

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Watershed Management ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Management Practices ◽

Nile Basin ◽

Blue Nile ◽

Best Management ◽

Blue Nile Basin ◽

Upper Blue Nile Basin

Abstract Land degradation caused by soil erosion has become the most serious problem in the Ethiopian highlands. Quantifying the spatial variations of soil loss with a strong evidence helps to prioritize the watersheds for the implementation of different management practices. The study was carried out in the Toba Watershed of the Upper Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia. Its objective was to evaluate the rate of soil erosion and identify the hotspots with high risk of soil erosion for watershed management planning. Then, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of best management practices (BMP) in reducing soil loss. The performance of SWAT in simulating streamflow and sediment yield was evaluated through sensitivity analysis, uncertainty, calibration and validation process. Statistically, the calibrated and validated sediment yields (SY) against the observed sediment data were reasonably accurate (R2 = 0.67, 0.65, NSE = 0.66, 0.64, PBIAS=-8.4%, 9.8% respectively). The annual SY in Toba watershed varies from 0.09 t ha− 1 yr− 1 to 44.8 t ha− 1 yr− 1 with an average SY of 22.7 t ha− 1 yr− 1. To prioritize the SY of the watershed, the annual severity of SY was divided into six classes: very low, low, moderate, high, very high and severe. The study also showed that SY in most watersheds (about 53.8%) were higher than the average. Cultivation on steep slopes leads to the highest SY, while forested areas have lower SY contribution. five management scenarios were evaluated using the Calibrated model. Seventeen sub-basins with SY exceeding the tolerable erosion of Ethiopia (t ha− 1 yr− 1) were considered for the analysis of the BMP scenario. The results show that reforestation combined with vegetative strips was the most effective for soil erosion control (87.8% reduction) followed by the combination of soil/stone bund and vegetative strips (83.7% reduction). Overall, the results of this study provided important data for watershed management and are very useful to ensure the sustainable management of land and natural resources at watershed level.

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