Reza Chamani; Hengameh Shekohideh; Khatereh Zare; Reza Zarei; Hamed Amini; Leila Hemati; Vahid Moosavi; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan
Abstract
Introduction
Nowadays, the severe degradation of the environment and the reduction of the performance of watersheds are very important in order to respond to the various demands of human societies. In the meantime, in order to deal with these threats, the use of the approach of integrated management ...
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Introduction
Nowadays, the severe degradation of the environment and the reduction of the performance of watersheds are very important in order to respond to the various demands of human societies. In the meantime, in order to deal with these threats, the use of the approach of integrated management of watersheds as an infrastructure and acceptable management principles in the world community and based on conceptual and mental models has a special emphasis. The SWOT analysis has structural features and suitable flexibility that has a wide range of capabilities in managing different ecosystems. In the SWOT analytical model, strategies are formulated to maximize strengths and opportunities and minimize weaknesses and threats. Therefore, in this research, an attempt was made to evaluate the impact of various anthropogenic and natural factors on the status of Mikhsaz Watershed with the SWOT approach.
Materials and methods
The Mikhsaz Watershed with an area of 11191.1 hectares is located in the west of Mazandaran Province and in Nowshahr City, Kajur district and Zanus Rostaq village. In terms of elevation changes, the lowest height is 1374.7 meters above sea level located at the outlet of the watershed and the highest is 3689 meters located in the southern. The average amount of annual precipitation in the Mikhsaz Watershed is 427.8 mm and the average annual temperature is 10.53 degrees celsius. SWOT analysis is one of the most efficient methods of strategic management which can be used for beneficial results in different study watersheds, analysis of local capacities and generally in order to achieve the goals of integrated development planning studies in economic, social, cultural and physical. The first step in strategic management is the establishment of the SWOT matrix. The SWOT matrix, considering the conditions, internal and external factors governing in a system that provides a good basis for developing approaches. In order to present the strategy in the framework of this approach, four types of strategies have been used, including competitive-offensive, diversity, revision and defensive. In order to provide any type of strategy, two or more components of the existing factors that cover each other or are related were considered. Then, in direction of these combined factors, the best strategies for the study area were determined and finally the factors were ranked. In the execution of SWAT strategies, by using the internal strengths, it is possible to make maximum benefit of external opportunities.
Results and discussion
Two factors of income reliance on different sectors (livestock-agriculture-services) and climatic diversity (rainfall and temperature) in the watershed with a weighted score of 0.23 are usually the most important among the strengths. In the weaknesses, the factor of inadequacy of property compared to family members has been identified as the most important weakness of the watershed with a weighted score of 0.63. Two factors of the possibility of reviving handicrafts and nature suitability for tourism with a common score of 0.3, were the most important opportunities in the watershed. In this watershed, the possibility of spring floods caused by melting snow with a score of 0.2 and early and late cold temperatures with a score of 0.18 are among the most important threats. Therefore, internal factors with a score of 3.54 have a greater effect on improving the situation of Mekhsaz Watershed than external factors with a score of 2.89.
Conclusion
In this research, the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the management of Mekhsaz Watershed in Mazandaran Province was evaluated and measured using the SWOT model. The results showed that in the Mekhsaz Watershed, income reliance on different sectors and climatic diversity are the most important strengths and lack of property compared to the family members is the most important weakness. The prioritization of the region's strategies also indicates that the strategy of reducing the destruction of resources and modification of the livelihood pattern are ranked first and second with the scores of 2.21 and 2.19, respectively.
Padidehossadat Sadeghi; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan
Abstract
Extended abstractIntroductionFire, as one of the important and common occurrences in all forest and rangeland ecosystems, in addition to affecting the physical characteristics of the soil, generally causes the soil to become hydrophobic and thus reduce water permeability. The set of these changes can ...
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Extended abstractIntroductionFire, as one of the important and common occurrences in all forest and rangeland ecosystems, in addition to affecting the physical characteristics of the soil, generally causes the soil to become hydrophobic and thus reduce water permeability. The set of these changes can affect the stability of soil aggregates and splash erosion as the first stage of soil erosion. Therefore, investigating the effect of fire on soil erosion can lead to a better understanding of post-fire processes in ecosystems. Accordingly, the present study was planned with the aim of investigating the effect of fire on soil aggregates stability and splash erosion components in laboratory conditions on the rangeland soil in Kajur watershed located in the north of Iran. Materials and methodsThe corresponding experiments were done in three control plots and 12 plots covered with dry residues of rangeland species with four densities (250, 500, 750 and 1000 g m-2) based on the mass of plant residue per unit area and cpnsequently with four different fire intensities in three replications. Then, splash cups were placed on the soil surface and rainfall with an intensity of 60 mm h-1 and a duration of 30 minutes was simulated, and the splash erosion components including upward, downward, total and net splash were measured. The soil aggregate stability was also investigated by comparing the mean weighted diameter of the soil aggregates before and after the rainfall simulation in all plots. Results and discussionThe results showed that the effect of fire treatment on reducing total and net splash variables and increasing soil aggregate stability was significant at 95% and 99% confidence levels, respectively. With the increase in the intensity of the fire treatment, in general, the trend of changes in soil aggregate stability and splash components was increasing and decreasing, respectively. The fire treatment with an intensity of 250 g m-2 of the dry residues of the rangeland species reduced total and net splash by 35 and 44%, respectively, while the treatment of fire with the intensities of 500, 750 and 1000 g m-2 of the dry residues of the rangeland species reduced total and net splash more than 95%. Although the soil aggregate stability increased significantly with increasing the intensity of the fire treatment, the reduction of the total and net splash in the fire treatments with an amount of >500 g m-2 of the dry residues of the rangeland species was no longer significant. The significant participation of small particles of the soil surface without aggregation in the splash changed the intensity of the effect of fire treatment. The percentage of reduction of total and net splash due to the fire treatment with different intensities was not the same, which shows that the splash in the upstream and downstream directions did not decrease in the same proportion. The soil aggregate diameter from the control treatment to fire treatments with low to high intensities had a decreasing trend, generally. ConclusionsAccording to the results of the present research and the importance and recognition of the effect of fire on soil stability, the effect of fire treatment on soil stability should be done in soils with different textures and organic matter contents, especially considering the fire treatment with lower and higher intensities and shorter and longer dutations. It is suggested that the use of suitable tools to measure soil surface temperature during fire treatments should also be considered in future studies.
Fahimeh Mirchooli; Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan
Abstract
Soil erosion is an important subject in water and soil conservation researches which is influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors. Hence, knowledge on soil erosion amount enables the identification of critical areas and prioritization of measures. One of the effective factors in the evaluation ...
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Soil erosion is an important subject in water and soil conservation researches which is influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors. Hence, knowledge on soil erosion amount enables the identification of critical areas and prioritization of measures. One of the effective factors in the evaluation of soil erosion is slope and length (LS) which could be calculated using different methods and algorithms, so the selection of the best method to provide proper estimation is important. However, the comparison of the performance of the different estimation methods has not been sufficiently considered. Therefore, the present study was conducted to calculate the LS factor and evaluate its effect on estimations of soil erosion in the Shazand Watershed using four common algorithms viz. Renard et al. (1997); Desmet and Govers (1996); Moore et al., 1991, and Böhner and Selige (2006) in geographical information system. The results of this study while confirming the difference of about 15 times among performances of various algorithms, indicated that the mean soil erosion using the algorithm of Renard et al. (1997); Desmet and Govers (1996); Moore et al. (1991), and Böhner and Selige (2006) were 4.95, 19.47, 1.73, 1.34 t ha-1 yr-1 in case of the stability of other factors of RUSLE model. Considering the calculated amounts of slope length on the topographic map, the Desmet and Govers (1996) algorithm performed better than other algorithms in LS calculation for the study watershed. It clearly verified the necessity of selecting pertinent procedures for the calculation of input factors for the precise estimation of soil erosion.
Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan; Jalal Faraji; Leila Gholami; Mohsen Khorsand
Abstract
The dynamics of rainfal erosivity (R), crop management (C) and soil erodibility (K) factors compared to the others (topography-LS and land management-P) is the most important note for the correct estimate of soil erosion at different time bases. Spatio-temporal estimates of soil erosion in the representative ...
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The dynamics of rainfal erosivity (R), crop management (C) and soil erodibility (K) factors compared to the others (topography-LS and land management-P) is the most important note for the correct estimate of soil erosion at different time bases. Spatio-temporal estimates of soil erosion in the representative paired watersheds are of particular importance due to their educational functions as well as the possibility of generalizing the results to larger areas of the country. Therefore, in the present study, while examining the dynamics of R, C and K factors in the Khamsan representative paired watershed, the distribution map of soil erosion in seasonal and annual time scales were prepared using RUSLE model for two water years of 2015-2016 and 2017-2018. The results showed that soil erosion in winter with values of 3.94 and 4.95 t ha-1 y-1 accounted for about 49 and 74% of the total erosion of the year, respectively. Considering the melting conditions in calculating the K factor for the winter along with the lack of vegetation in this season led to a higher estimate of soil erosion than other seasons. These results are in consistent with plots soil loss data recorded in different seasons and the higher concentration of suspended sediments in the rivers especially in March. In the water year of 2015-2016, the distribution of rainfalls in the autumn was much higher than in the spring, so that soil erosion in the autumn accounted for about 33% of the total erosion of the year. In the water year of 2017-2018, although the average annual soil erosion was less, but due to more distribution of erosive rainfalls in winter at the same time with the lack of vegetation on the soil surface and the soil melting, the rate of winter erosion was very high.
Mohammad Rasoul Rajabi; Ali Nasiri Khiavi; Mahin Kalehhouei; Sonia Mehri; Azam Mumzaei; Khadijeh Haji; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan
Abstract
The present research aimed at presenting a new SWOT strategy for integrated watershed management of Asiabrood in Mazandaran Province. At first, the SWOT matrix and the tables identifying the strategic indicators of internal and external factors were formed and then internal and external evaluation matrices ...
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The present research aimed at presenting a new SWOT strategy for integrated watershed management of Asiabrood in Mazandaran Province. At first, the SWOT matrix and the tables identifying the strategic indicators of internal and external factors were formed and then internal and external evaluation matrices were analyzed. A new strategy used in the discussion of the weighting of SWOT strategies was based on the fact that the final value of each strategy was multiplied by the number of effective strengths and opportunities and the final results were analyzed based on these priorities. Based on analysis of strengths and weaknesses, nine strengths and eight weaknesses were identified. The suitable water quantity and quality with a weight of 0.444, low air temperature with a weight of 0.395, mineral water utilization with a weight of 0.288 and economic poverty with a weight of 0.493, respectively, were the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. According to the internal-external factors evaluation matrix in the SWOT model, the strategy of increasing the sense of satisfaction of residents, based on the conventional method and the new strategy, gave the highest value. With a careful look, it can be concluded that strengthening the sense of satisfaction between residents happens when People problems in different sectors of livelihoods, including economic, social and cultural, have been considered more and, by presenting correct programs, have increased satisfaction and reduced migration to urban areas. In general, it can be concluded that due to the problems and solutions presented in this study, proper and applied planning should be used to compensate for the weaknesses and to strengthen the strengths as much as possible in the development of Asiabrood watershed.
Leila Gholami; Ataollah Kavian; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan; Azame Alipour; Zahra Besarand
Abstract
Determination of time to runoff and runoff volume in watershed response management against rainfall are the key parameters in watershed system management. Among different factors of effect on time to runoff and runoff volume, the rainfall intensity is one of the most important factors. In this study, ...
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Determination of time to runoff and runoff volume in watershed response management against rainfall are the key parameters in watershed system management. Among different factors of effect on time to runoff and runoff volume, the rainfall intensity is one of the most important factors. In this study, the effect of rainfall pattern on variables of time to runoff, runoff volume and coefficient was studied under simulated rainfall in the southeastern Noshahr city, Mazandaran province. To achieve the study purposes, four rainfall patterns, each with three changes in rainfall intensity (I: Low-Medium-High, II: Low-High-Low, III: High-Medium-Low, IV; High-Low-High) were simulated. Then, the time to runoff, runoff volume and runoff coefficient were measured for each rainfall pattern. The measured data were analyzed in Excel and SPSS 23 softwares to determine the relationship between the rainfall pattern and variables of time to runoff, runoff volume and runoff coefficient. The results showed that there was a significant difference (P≤0.05) in variables time to runoff, runoff volume and runoff coefficient resulted rainfall patterns. Also the results showed that, in all of rainfall patterns between mean amounts were the significant differences on time to runoff, runoff volume and runoff coefficient in level of 99 percent. The results showed that the rainfall pattern I had the longest time to runoff and rainfall pattern III had the largest amounts of runoff volume and runoff coefficient. The average time to runoff in rainfall patterns of I, II, III was 5.90, 4.24, 0.71 and 1.25 min, respectively. Also, the average runoff coefficient in rainfall patterns of I, II, III and IV measured 30.03, 49.63, 88.82 and 75.16 percent, respectively.
Ramyar Aliramayee; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan; Mahmood Arabkhedri
Abstract
Various factors such as rainfall intensity and slope affect hydrological processes such as infiltration and runoff. Study on rainfed soils is very important because of intense degradation and sensitive ecosystem. The present research was conducted to investigate the effect of rainfall intensity and slope ...
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Various factors such as rainfall intensity and slope affect hydrological processes such as infiltration and runoff. Study on rainfed soils is very important because of intense degradation and sensitive ecosystem. The present research was conducted to investigate the effect of rainfall intensity and slope gradient on infiltration and surface runoff using rainfall simulator in rainfed lands of Kalaleh region, Golestan Province. To achieve the study purposes, four rainfall events with the intensities of 33, 64, 80 and 110 mm hr-1 and duration of 15 min were simulated. Three slope gradients of 6, 12 and 25% were selected and infiltration and surface runoff were measured in four 25×25 cm2 plots. The results showed that the infiltration average rate and runoff average coefficient were increased with increasing rainfall intensity and slope gradient. The main and interaction effects of rainfall intensity and slope gradient on infiltration and surface runoff were significant (p≤0.01). The results of subgroups of rainfall intensity and slope gradient using Duncan test showed that two turning points in hydrological response of plot are distinguishable, one between rainfall intensities of 64 and 80 mm hr-1 and another between slope gradients of 12 and 25%. In other words, at the rainfall intensity more than about 70 mm hr-1 and the slope gradient more than about 15%, average infiltration rate and average runoff coefficient were significantly decreased and increased, respectively. These results emphasized on land use management via avoiding change from rangeland to rainfed land especially when the slope is more than 15%. Agricultural and land cover management was also emphasized especially in high rainfall intensities (more than 70 mm h-1).
Leila Gholami
Abstract
In severely eroded areas, especially steep slopes, establishment of vegetation cover is not possible. The application of organic and inorganic amendments can therefore improve the conditions leading to establish vegetation cover through playing an effective role in runoff control. Accordingly, in the ...
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In severely eroded areas, especially steep slopes, establishment of vegetation cover is not possible. The application of organic and inorganic amendments can therefore improve the conditions leading to establish vegetation cover through playing an effective role in runoff control. Accordingly, in the present study, woodchips as a soil organic amendment was applied to control runoff variables including time to runoff, runoff volume and coefficient. For this purpose, three levels of woodchips treatment of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kgm-2 were used in three replications at in 1 m2- plot scale. The plots were located in 30% slope in accordance with field conditions under simulated rainfall of 60 mmh-1 and duration of 15 min. The results showed that application of woodchips in 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kgm-2, time to runoff increased 97.50, 192.38 and 203.31%, respectively. The runoff volume decreased 35.23, 55.11 and 60.43% and runoff coefficient also decreased 42.43, 67.40 and 72.14% in three levels of woodchips treatments, respectively. The results of GLM showed that woodchips treatment had a significant increasing effect on time to runoff (p≤0.01) as well as a significant decreasing effect on runoff volume and coefficient (p≤0.05). The application of woodchips as a conservation treatment on the soil surface showed that this amendment can be used for runoff control especially where large quantities of woodchips are simply available.
Vafa Homayounfar; Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan
Abstract
Laboratory plots and rainfall simulators are useful tools for erosion studies, but transferring soil and consequent preparation steps which leads to damage soil structure, are among the disadvantages of laboratorial soil erosion studies yet. In other words, soil preparation steps can cause considerable ...
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Laboratory plots and rainfall simulators are useful tools for erosion studies, but transferring soil and consequent preparation steps which leads to damage soil structure, are among the disadvantages of laboratorial soil erosion studies yet. In other words, soil preparation steps can cause considerable errors in the results of runoff and erosion in laboratorial conditions. On the other hand, measuring splash erosion, as the first ability to detach and move the soil particles, is very important in soil erosion studies. Knowing the uncertainties of splash results due to soil preparation methods is therefore essential to improve the accuracy of laboratory results. The present study has been therefore conducted to measure and compare the amount of splash in a sandy-clay-loam soil in both undisturbed and disturbed conditions in a hillslope in the southern part of Alborz Mountains under three rainfall intensities of 40, 60 and 80 mm h-1. The results showed that disturbing soil in erosion laboratory studies could significantly increase the upslope, downslope, gross splash (p<0.01) and net splash (p<0.05). The effects of soil disturbance on the ratio between upslope and downslope splash was not significant. According to the results, the increasing rates of upslope, downslope, gross and net splash due to soil disturbance were 216, 241, 234 and 257%, respectively.
