scholarly journals Assessment of uncertainties in soil erosion and sediment yield estimates at ungauged basins: an application to the Garra River basin, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 2471-2485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somil Swarnkar ◽  
Anshu Malini ◽  
Shivam Tripathi ◽  
Rajiv Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Uncertainty Propagation ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Large River ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Mountainous Region ◽  
Ungauged Basins ◽  
Sediment Delivery

Abstract. High soil erosion and excessive sediment load are serious problems in several Himalayan river basins. To apply mitigation procedures, precise estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield with associated uncertainties are needed. Here, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) equations are used to estimate the spatial pattern of soil erosion (SE) and sediment yield (SY) in the Garra River basin, a small Himalayan tributary of the River Ganga. A methodology is proposed for quantifying and propagating uncertainties in SE, SDR and SY estimates. Expressions for uncertainty propagation are derived by first-order uncertainty analysis, making the method viable even for large river basins. The methodology is applied to investigate the relative importance of different RUSLE factors in estimating the magnitude and uncertainties in SE over two distinct morphoclimatic regimes of the Garra River basin, namely the upper mountainous region and the lower alluvial plains. Our results suggest that average SE in the basin is very high (23 ± 4.7 t ha−1 yr−1) with higher values in the upper mountainous region (92 ± 15.2 t ha−1 yr−1) compared to the lower alluvial plains (19.3 ± 4 t ha−1 yr−1). Furthermore, the topographic steepness (LS) and crop practice (CP) factors exhibit higher uncertainties than other RUSLE factors. The annual average SY is estimated at two locations in the basin – Nanak Sagar Dam (NSD) for the period 1962–2008 and Husepur gauging station (HGS) for 1987–2002. The SY at NSD and HGS are estimated to be 6.9 ± 1.2 × 105 t yr−1 and 6.7 ± 1.4 × 106 t yr−1, respectively, and the estimated 90 % interval contains the observed values of 6.4 × 105 t yr−1 and 7.2 × 106 t yr−1, respectively. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed methodology for quantifying uncertainty in SE and SY estimates at ungauged basins.

scholarly journals Assessment of uncertainties in soil erosion and sediment yield estiamtes at ungauged basins: an application to the Garra River basin, India

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somil Swarnkar ◽  
Anshu Malini ◽  
Shivam Tripathi ◽  
Rajiv Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Uncertainty Propagation ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Large River ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Mountainous Region ◽  
Ungauged Basins ◽  
Sediment Delivery

Abstract. High soil erosion and excessive sediment load are serious problems in several Himalayan River basins. To apply mitigation procedures, precise estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield with associated uncertainties are needed. Here, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) equations are used to estimate the spatial pattern of soil erosion (SE) and sediment yield (SY) in the Garra River basin, a small Himalayan tributary of River Ganga. A methodology is proposed for quantifying and propagating uncertainties in SE, SDR and SY estimates. Expressions for uncertainty propagation are derived by first-order uncertainty analysis, making the method viable even for large river basins. The methodology is applied to investigate the relative importance of different RUSLE factors in estimating the magnitude and uncertainties of SE over two distinct morpho-climatic regimes of the Garra River basin, namely, upper mountainous region & lower alluvial plains. The results suggest that average SE in the basin falls in very high category (20.4 ± 4.1 t/ha/y) with higher values in the upper mountainous region (84.4 ± 13.9 t/ha/y) than in the lower alluvial plains (17.7 ± 3.6 t/ha/y). Furthermore, the topographic steepness (LS) and crop practice (CP) factors exhibit higher uncertainties than other RUSLE factors. The annual average SY is estimated at two locations in the basin – Nanak Sagar dam (NSD) for the period 1962–2008 and Husepur gauging station (HGS) for 1987–2002. The SY at NSD and HGS are estimated to be 8.0 ± 1.4 × 105 t/y and 7.9 ± 1.7 ×106 t/y, respectively, and the estimated 90 % confidence interval contains the observed values 6.4 × 105 t/y and 7.2 × 106 t/y. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed methodology for quantifying uncertainty in SE and SY estimates at ungauged basins.

Soil Sediment Loading and Related Environmental Impacts from Farms

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vito Ferro
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Sediment Delivery Ratio ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Soil Particles

Beyond damage to rainfed agricultural and forestry ecosystems, soil erosion due to water affects surrounding environments. Large amounts of eroded soil are deposited in streams, lakes, and other ecosystems. The most costly off-site damages occur when eroded particles, transported along the hillslopes of a basin, arrive at the river network or are deposited in lakes. The negative effects of soil erosion include water pollution and siltation, organic matter loss, nutrient loss, and reduction in water storage capacity. Sediment deposition raises the bottom of waterways, making them more prone to overflowing and flooding. Sediments contaminate water ecosystems with soil particles and the fertilizer and pesticide chemicals they contain. Siltation of reservoirs and dams reduces water storage, increases the maintenance cost of dams, and shortens the lifetime of reservoirs. Sediment yield is the quantity of transported sediments, in a given time interval, from eroding sources through the hillslopes and river network to a basin outlet. Chemicals can also be transported together with the eroded sediments. Sediment deposition inside a reservoir reduces the water storage of a dam. The prediction of sediment yield can be carried out by coupling an erosion model with a mathematical operator which expresses the sediment transport efficiency of the hillslopes and the channel network. The sediment lag between sediment yield and erosion can be simply represented by the sediment delivery ratio, which can be calculated at the outlet of the considered basin, or by using a distributed approach. The former procedure couples the evaluation of basin soil loss with an estimate of the sediment delivery ratio SDRW for the whole watershed. The latter procedure requires that the watershed be discretized into morphological units, areas having a constant steepness and a clearly defined length, for which the corresponding sediment delivery ratio is calculated. When rainfall reaches the surface horizon of the soil, some pollutants are desorbed and go into solution while others remain adsorbed and move with soil particles. The spatial distribution of the loading of nitrogen, phosphorous, and total organic carbon can be deduced using the spatial distribution of sediment yield and the pollutant content measured on soil samples. The enrichment concept is applied to clay, organic matter, and all pollutants adsorbed by soil particles, such as nitrogen and phosphorous. Knowledge of both the rate and pattern of sediment deposition in a reservoir is required to establish the remedial strategies which may be practicable. Repeated reservoir capacity surveys are used to determine the total volume occupied by sediment, the sedimentation pattern, and the shift in the stage-area and stage-storage curves. By converting the sedimentation volume to sediment mass, on the basis of estimated or measured bulk density, and correcting for trap efficiency, the sediment yield from the basin can be computed.

scholarly journals MODELLING RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION AT BIN EL OUIDANE DAM, MOROCCO

AGROFOR ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
El Mouatassime SABRI ◽  
Ahmed BOUKDIR ◽  
Rachid El MASLOUHI ◽  
Mustapha MABROUKI ◽  
Abdellah EL MAHBOUL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Reservoir Sedimentation ◽  
Mountainous Areas ◽  
Sediment Delivery Ratio ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
Bin El Ouidane

This study was conducted in the Oued El Abid watershed upstream of the Bin ElOuidane dam, in Tadla-Azilal province (Morocco) to quantify the dam siltationrates. To assess the annual soil erosion and the sediment yield the universal soilloss equation (USLE) was used. A geographic information system (GIS) was usedto generate and integrate maps of the USLE factors. A spatial distribution of soilerosion in the Oued El Abid watershed was obtained. The soil erosion wasdetermined for each rural commune in order to identify the soil erosion hotspot andestimate the amount of soil that has been transported downstream (Bin El OuidaneDam). Soil erosion ranged from very limited values for flat and well covered areasto over 2100 t /ha/y in mountainous areas with sparse vegetation. The total annualsoil loss within the watershed is estimated at 19. 6 million tons per year. Anequation of sediment delivery ratio (SDR) based on river gradient was calculated.It was found that the value of SDR at the outlet of the watershed Oued El Abid was0. 65 with a sediment yield of 12. 74 million tons per year which affect thedurability of the dam.

scholarly journals A New Indicator to Better Represent the Impact of Landscape Pattern Change on Basin Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield in the Upper Reach of Ganjiang, China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 990
Author(s):  
Yongfen Zhang ◽  
Nong Wang ◽  
Chongjun Tang ◽  
Shiqiang Zhang ◽  
Yuejun Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Landscape Metrics ◽  
Landscape Pattern ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Soil Erodibility ◽  
Land Use Pattern

Landscape patterns are a result of the combined action of natural and social factors. Quantifying the relationships between landscape pattern changes, soil erosion, and sediment yield in river basins can provide regulators with a foundation for decision-making. Many studies have investigated how land-use changes and the resulting landscape patterns affect soil erosion in river basins. However, studies examining the effects of terrain, rainfall, soil erodibility, and vegetation cover factors on soil erosion and sediment yield from a landscape pattern perspective remain limited. In this paper, the upper Ganjiang Basin was used as the study area, and the amount of soil erosion and the amount of sediment yield in this basin were first simulated using a hydrological model. The simulated values were then validated. On this basis, new landscape metrics were established through the addition of factors from the revised universal soil loss equation to the land-use pattern. Five combinations of landscape metrics were chosen, and the interactions between the landscape metrics in each combination and their effects on soil erosion and sediment yield in the river basin were examined. The results showed that there were highly similar correlations between the area metrics, between the fragmentation metrics, between the spatial structure metrics, and between the evenness metrics across all the combinations, while the correlations between the shape metrics in Combination 1 (only land use in each year) differed notably from those in the other combinations. The new landscape indicator established based on Combination 4, which integrated the land-use pattern and the terrain, soil erodibility, and rainfall erosivity factors, were the most significantly correlated with the soil erosion and sediment yield of the river basin. Finally, partial least-squares regression models for the soil erosion and sediment yield of the river basin were established based on the five landscape metrics with the highest variable importance in projection scores selected from Combination 4. The results of this study provide a simple approach for quantitatively assessing soil erosion in other river basins for which detailed observation data are lacking.

scholarly journals Estimation of Potential Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield: A Case Study of the Transboundary Chenab River Catchment

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3647
Author(s):  
Muhammad Gufran Ali ◽  
Sikandar Ali ◽  
Rao Husnain Arshad ◽  
Aftab Nazeer ◽  
Muhammad Mohsin Waqas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Chenab River

Near real-time estimation of soil loss from river catchments is crucial for minimizing environmental degradation of complex river basins. The Chenab river is one of the most complex river basins of the world and is facing severe soil loss due to extreme hydrometeorological conditions, unpredictable hydrologic response, and complex orography. Resultantly, huge soil erosion and sediment yield (SY) not only cause irreversible environmental degradation in the Chenab river catchment but also deteriorate the downstream water resources. In this study, potential soil erosion (PSE) is estimated from the transboundary Chenab river catchment using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), coupled with remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS). Land Use of the European Space Agency (ESA), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data, and world soil map of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization were incorporated into the study. The SY was estimated on monthly, quarterly, seasonal, and annual time-scales using sediment delivery ratio (SDR) estimated through the area, slope, and curve number (CN)-based approaches. The 30-year average PSE from the Chenab river catchment was estimated as 177.8, 61.5, 310.3, 39.5, 26.9, 47.1, and 99.1 tons/ha for annual, rabi, kharif, fall, winter, spring, and summer time scales, respectively. The 30-year average annual SY from the Chenab river catchment was estimated as 4.086, 6.163, and 7.502 million tons based on area, slope, and CN approaches. The time series trends analysis of SY indicated an increase of 0.0895, 0.1387, and 0.1698 million tons per year for area, slope, and CN-based approaches, respectively. It is recommended that the areas, except for slight erosion intensity, should be focused on framing strategies for control and mitigation of soil erosion in the Chenab river catchment.

scholarly journals Different approaches to estimate the sediment yield in a tropical watershed

RBRH ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Barbosa Colman ◽  
Karina Mendes Pinheiro Garcia ◽  
Rodrigo Bahia Pereira ◽  
Enio Arriero Shinma ◽  
Fernanda Ely Lima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Ungauged Basins ◽  
Sediment Delivery Ratio ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Yield Values ◽  
Sdr Model ◽  
Tropical Watershed ◽  
Soil Loss Equation

ABSTRACT Several Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) models have been used to estimate Sediment Yield (SY), mainly in data-scarce and ungauged basins, such as in many regions of Brazil. However, it is difficult to choose the most suitable SDR model, mainly because of the lack of investigations of this approach using observed data. Here, we investigated the performance of five widely used SDR models (SDREST) to estimate sediment yield values (SYEST ) based on observed data in a tropical watershed. We used observed sediment yield values (SY OBS) during September 2011 to July 2017 in three sub-basins of the Guariroba Basin, Midwestern Brazil. To estimate the average annual soil loss, we used the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. The SDROBS and SYOBS ranged from 5.56 to 10.54% and 940.76 to 5,400.32 t yr-1, respectively. The Williams and Berndt (1972) method presented the best performance, with a percent bias ranging from -2.34 to 3.30% in SRD estimation. Therefore, this model provided suitable SDR and SY estimates, and may be useful to estimate SY in other tropical data-scarce and ungauged basins.

Modeling soil erosion between 1985 and 2014 in three watersheds on the carbonate-rock dominated Guizhou Plateau, SW China, using WaTEM/SEDEM

2020 ◽  
pp. 030913332096127
Author(s):  
Yao Luo ◽  
Hongya Wang ◽  
Jeroen Meersmans ◽  
Sophie M. Green ◽  
Timothy A. Quine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
High Ratio ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Sw China ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Guizhou Plateau

The Guizhou Plateau, SW China is largely underlain by carbonate rocks. Because soils are thin, soil loss remains a serious problem despite low erosion rates. Further understanding the impacts of changes in rainfall, land use and differences in topography on sediment yield and delivery may assist in the development of suitable policies to reduce soil erosion on the plateau. A spatially distributed soil erosion and sediment delivery model (WaTEM/SEDEM) was applied to investigate temporal–spatial changes in soil erosion between 1985 and 2014 in three watersheds (Dadukou (DDK), Caopingtou (CPT) and Gaoche (GC)) located in the southwest Guizhou Plateau. The WaTEM/SEDEM model was calibrated and validated using data on sediment yields measured at the watershed scale. The total sediment yield (SY) and soil erosion modulus (SEM) firstly decreased followed by an increase, whereas the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) remained almost unchanged over the 30-year period. The major sediment source was dry farmlands. SY was the highest in the largest DDK watershed. The highest SEM occurred in the CPT watershed due to steep terrain and high ratio of dry farmland areas on steeper slopes. SEM was the lowest in the GC watershed where slope gradient and ratio of dry farmland on steeper slopes are low. SDR was the highest in the GC watershed because of its topographic characteristics. SEM was sensitive to precipitation fluctuations in the GC, DDK and particularly in the steep and intensively eroded CPT watershed, while changes in dry farmland ratio influenced the SEM in the CPT and DDK watersheds but not in the gentle and mildly eroded GC watershed. Changes in forest ratio had significant impacts on SEM only in the GC watershed. Since responses of soil erosion to variations or differences in the main impact factors differ in the different watersheds, soil conservation strategies should be watershed specific.

scholarly journals Soil erosion and sediment yield assessment using RUSLE and GIS-based approach in Anjeb watershed, Northwest Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewoye Tsegaye ◽  
Rishikesh Bharti
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Very High ◽  
Soil Loss Rate

AbstractSoil erosion is a serious and continuous environmental problem in Ethiopia. Lack of land use planning, environmental protection, over-cultivation, and overgrazing are prominent causes of erosion and sedimentation. This study is conducted in Anjeb watershed located in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. In this study, the quantity and distribution of soil erosion, sediment delivery ratio (SDR), and sediment yield of the watershed were assessed by employing remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and revised universal soil loss equation analysis capabilities. Important data sets of topography, soil, conservations practices, cover management, and rainfall factors were processed and superimposed in GIS analysis, and soil loss rate, SDR, and sediment yield of the watershed were derived. Based on the result found, the watershed was categorized into six classes of erosion: slight (0–5), moderate (5–10), high (10–15), very high (15–30), severe (30–50), and very severe (> 50) t ha−1 yr−1. The estimated average annual soil loss was 17.3 t ha−1 yr−1. The soil loss rate is higher in the steeper and topographically dissected part of the watershed. The average sediment delivery capacity was about 0.122. The result showed that the average sediment yield in the watershed was grouped into classes of low (< 2.5), moderate (2.5–7.5), high (7.5–12.5), very high (12.5–22.5), severe (22.5–40), and very severe (> 40) t ha−1 yr−1. It is found that from a total of 20,125.5 t yr−1 eroded soil over the whole watershed 2254.5 t yr−1 of sediment has been brought and deposited to the channels. Sediment accumulation from the watershed threatens the storage capacity and life span of Anjeb reservoir which is the source of irrigation water downstream. The study provides an insight to planners and resource managers to design and implement practices of watershed management to reduce erosion and enhance land productivity and to minimize the reservoir sediment accumulation.

scholarly journals CliFEM – Climate Forcing and Erosion Modelling in the Sele River Basin (Southern Italy)

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1693-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Diodato ◽  
M. Fagnano ◽  
I. Alberico
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Scale Invariant ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Erosion Modelling ◽  
Soil Losses

Abstract. This study presents a revised and scale-adapted Foster-Meyer-Onstad model (Foster et al., 1977) for the transport of soil erosion sediments under scarce input data, with the acronym CliFEM (Climate Forcing and Erosion Modelling). This new idea was addressed to develop a monthly time scale invariant Net Erosion model (NER), with the aim to consider the different erosion processes operating at different time scales in the Sele River Basin (South Italy), during 1973–2007 period. The sediment delivery ratio approach was applied to obtain an indirect estimate of the gross erosion too. The examined period was affected by a changeable weather regime, where extreme events may have contributed to exacerbate soil losses, although only the 19% of eroded sediment was delivered at outlet of the basin. The long-term average soil erosion was very high (73 Mg ha−1 per year ± 58 Mg ha−1). The estimate of monthly erosion showed catastrophic soil losses during the soil tillage season (August–October), with consequent land degradation of the hilly areas of the Sele River Basin.

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