Mahmoudreza Tabatabaei; Amin Salehpour Jam; Jamal Mosaffaie
Abstract
IntroductionRapid population growth and economic development, especially in sensitive areas like watersheds, have increased the demand for water resources, leading to significant challenges. In watershed management, monitoring erosion and sedimentation processes is of paramount importance, as these processes ...
Read More
IntroductionRapid population growth and economic development, especially in sensitive areas like watersheds, have increased the demand for water resources, leading to significant challenges. In watershed management, monitoring erosion and sedimentation processes is of paramount importance, as these processes directly influence the quality and quantity of water resources. Awareness of suspended sediment loads in these basins can facilitate a deeper understanding of ecological processes and assist in the assessment of the environmental status of watersheds, which in turn improves the management and conservation of water resources. The word “transform” in your sentence means to change or significantly improve something. In this context, it suggests that the design and implementation of advanced systems will lead to a significant enhancement or alteration in the way research is conducted regarding watershed management, sediment, and erosion. By aggregating and analyzing hydrologic data, this system provides accurate and up-to-date information on the amount of suspended sediment in rivers, enabling continuous and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of watersheds. This, in turn, facilitates the adoption of necessary measures for the optimal management of these resources.. Materials and methodsIn this research, a specialized spatial system for the management and analysis of hydrological data has been developed using the C# programming language and open-source spatial libraries. This system utilizes the SQLite database as its underlying data storage platform and employs Entity Framework 6 (EF6) and LINQ for facilitating data extraction and management. In the database design, sedimentation and flow discharge data have been comprehensively collected and stored. The system is capable of executing a variety of spatial and descriptive queries and analyses on this data. Furthermore, it provides the capability to perform statistical analyses and extract statistical summaries from the sedimentation data. These features enable researchers to process and analyze the data with ease, allowing for a more precise examination of results related to erosion and sedimentation processes. The designed system serves as an efficient tool, facilitating the monitoring and assessment of watershed conditions. Results and discussionThe results of this research can be summarized into two main sections: system design and construction, and statistical analysis of sedimentation data in the Aras watershed. In the first section, which focuses on the design and development of the spatial system, appropriate graphical interfaces for data storage, user interaction with the database, and data management were designed and coded with the help of modern techniques and advanced methods. By utilizing these tools, the data extraction and management process was streamlined, and the possibility of performing statistical analyses was enabled. As a result, users can process and analyze the data with greater accuracy and ease. In the second section, the statistical results obtained from the analysis of the sedimentation data of the Aras Basin (with 26,156 data points recorded up to 2017) indicate that, at the basin scale, the average daily suspended sediment discharge is 11,814.95 tons per day, the average concentration of suspended sediment is 4,185.68 milligrams per liter, and the average instantaneous flow discharge is 13.16 cubic meters per second. At the level of study units, the highest and lowest average suspended sediment discharge values were found in the study units of Jolfā-Dūzāl (code 1105) with a value of 10,312.33 tons per day, and Qara Ziyaldin (code 1108) with a value of 991.96 tons per day, respectively. Moreover, at the hydrometric station scale, the highest and lowest average daily suspended sediment discharge were observed at the Jolfā hydrometric station (code 807-19) with 571,697.82 tons per day, and Nāvar-Khrouji Neor (code 0195-19) with 2.82 tons per day, respectively. The extreme values of suspended sediment recorded at the Jolfā hydrometric station are significantly high (over 3 million tons per day), so these figures should be used with caution. According to the findings, the land in this area is located in marly zones that are highly susceptible to erosion, and the contribution of lateral erosion in producing sediment is significant in river sections that have developed meandering patterns. However, further studies on land-use changes and other factors influencing sediment generation in this area are required. ConclusionThis research was conducted with the aim of developing a national software infrastructure for managing suspended sediment data and flow discharge from hydrometric stations. The developed system possesses the capability to store, retrieve, and analyze spatial and temporal data, and it is specifically utilized for simulating suspended sediment in rivers. Additionally, advanced graphical interfaces have been created to significantly facilitate user interaction with the data. One of the notable features of this system is its use of open-source technologies in its design and development. This ensures that there are no legal restrictions or dependencies on foreign licenses for its use and development. This characteristic significantly enhances the commercialization potential of the system both domestically and in international markets. In addition to the design and development of this software system, the results obtained from its application in rapid and accurate statistical analysis of sediment data from the Aras watershed clearly demonstrate its unique capabilities in data management and analysis. Given the importance of accurately understanding erosion and sedimentation processes in the watersheds of the country, this system serves as an efficient and effective tool for obtaining precise and reliable information.
Ehsan Fathi; MohammadReza Ekhtesasi; Ali Talebi; Jamal Mosaffaie
Abstract
Introduction
In integrated watershed management, assessing the status and dynamics of watershed health is essential as a fundamental tool for identifying and implementing effective management responses. Diagnosing the issues affecting water and soil resources, along with identifying the causes of various ...
Read More
Introduction
In integrated watershed management, assessing the status and dynamics of watershed health is essential as a fundamental tool for identifying and implementing effective management responses. Diagnosing the issues affecting water and soil resources, along with identifying the causes of various problems in watersheds, constitutes a critical step toward sustainable natural resource management. This understanding not only enables the analysis of threatening factors but also provides a basis for identifying appropriate solutions to protect and restore watershed resources. The DPSIR framework (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, and Response) serves as a comprehensive analytical model, capable of explaining the causal relationships among various factors and effectively evaluating watershed health. The aim of this research is to use the DPSIR framework for a comprehensive analysis of watershed health status and to identify key factors contributing to its decline, with a focus on the watershed area draining to the Ilam Dam, in order to propose effective and sustainable management solutions.
Materials and methods
To accurately identify the factors related to each component of the DPSIR framework, a systematic review of the literature and previous studies was conducted through library research to gather theoretical background and scientific resources. Field visits to the watershed were then undertaken to assess the current conditions and directly observe the natural and human factors affecting the region. Additionally, brainstorming sessions and semi-structured interviews with experts and local stakeholders, including residents of the watershed area, were carried out to collect comprehensive information on the issues and influencing factors. Based on the preliminary findings, a questionnaire was designed and its validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. Cronbach's alpha was used to measure reliability, and the results indicated an acceptable level of reliability. The survey, using a Likert scale, was administered to 20 experts and 20 local residents of the watershed. To analyze the data and prioritize factors from the participants' perspectives, Friedman’s test was used to determine the relative importance of each factor within the DPSIR framework.
Results and discussion
The findings show that in the studied watershed, five driving forces have led to 34 distinct pressures on watershed resources, which in turn have caused 11 unfavorable states. These states have also resulted in 20 unintended impacts. Additionally, 32 management responses were proposed to improve the current situation. The relationships among the factors within each of the main components of the DPSIR framework were examined and prioritized based on the views of both experts and stakeholders. According to the results, the alignment of shared priorities within the top 40% of the most important factors was as follows: 50% for driving forces, 69% for pressures, 80% for states, 75% for impacts, and 84% for responses.
Conclusions
Planning and policymaking aimed at achieving sustainable economic, social, and environmental development require access to accurate and comprehensive information about the conditions and dynamics of watersheds. The results of this study indicate that identifying and implementing appropriate management strategies can play a decisive role in improving the health of natural resources and watershed ecosystems. This research was conducted with the aim of identifying and prioritizing management responses to improve the environmental conditions of the study area. The analyses, carried out using the DPSIR approach as an effective cause–effect analytical framework, provided valuable tools for identifying the main problems and challenges of the watershed. Moreover, the study identified the key factors and pressures impacting natural resources. Therefore, the proposed management responses can serve as practical solutions for improving current conditions and preventing future problems in the sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems in the targeted area. These management responses play a significant role not only from a scientific perspective but also in the practical implementation of comprehensive watershed management programs, offering actionable guidance for decision-makers to enhance the state of natural resources and ecosystems.
jamal mosaffaie; Ataollah Ebrahimi; Mahmood Arabkhedri; Parviz Garshasbi; Amin Salehpour Jam; Mahmoudreza Tabatabaei; Hamidreza Peyrowan; Mohammadreza Gharibreza; Mehran Zand; Bagher Ghermez Cheshme
Abstract
Extended abstractIntroductionIn recent years, the country's watersheds have been exposed to man-made problems and sufferings such as erosion, floods, and droughts, leading to great yearly losses. To effectively manage watersheds, it is necessary to conduct appropriate and practical research, which in ...
Read More
Extended abstractIntroductionIn recent years, the country's watersheds have been exposed to man-made problems and sufferings such as erosion, floods, and droughts, leading to great yearly losses. To effectively manage watersheds, it is necessary to conduct appropriate and practical research, which in turn requires solving the problems related to this area. To identify and determine the problems of the research department, getting the opinions of experts, researchers, and elites and thinking together with them is considered a suitable solution, which can later solve problems and problems. This article intends to analyze their problems in soil conservation and watershed management based on common thinking with the research and education centers of agriculture and natural resources of the country. Methods and materialsFor this purpose, these problems were collected based on the request of the SCWMRI from the agricultural and natural resources research and training centers of the province. Then, the announcements were categorized in two organizational and thematic ways (general and partial). In the organizational classification, each of the issues raised by the provinces was assigned to one of the departments according to their relationship with each of the organizational departments of the SCWMRI. In the subject classification, in the first stage, each of the issues raised by the provinces was assigned to three sub-sectors including research or technological, structural, and support, according to the nature of the subject. In the second stage, the issues raised by the provinces were assigned to more detailed categories according to the nature of the subject. Results and discussionThe results indicate that in this survey, 25 out of 32 provincial centers (78% participation) have announced 182 cases as problems in the research department in soil conservation and watershed management. Thematic classification of the announced instances showed that the subjects of knowledge-based productivity of watershed resources, watershed monitoring and evaluation, and solving the gap in the research department with implementation have the most importance with 28, 26, and 25 cases (15%, 14%, and 13%), respectively. The results of organizational classification also indicate that the departments of the directorate and research departments of watershed management and hydrology and water resources development have the most importance with 34, 28, and 24 cases (19%, 15%, and 14%), respectively. ConclusionBased on the results of this research, the managers and decision-makers of the research and implementation departments of soil and watershed protection in the country will be able to have better targeting for their future policies, strategies, and actions.
Jamal Mosaffaie; Amin Salehpour Jam
Abstract
Evaluation of the impacts of past watershed projects provides useful insights for future projects. In this study, the hydrology and water resources status of Akujan Catchment of Qazvin Province has been the object of the study in which the effects of various measures of watershed managements were evaluated. ...
Read More
Evaluation of the impacts of past watershed projects provides useful insights for future projects. In this study, the hydrology and water resources status of Akujan Catchment of Qazvin Province has been the object of the study in which the effects of various measures of watershed managements were evaluated. For this purpose, the changes of water resources discharge, increased infiltration, water storage, peaks and volumes of catchment floods, were compared before and after the implementation of watershed management projects. Results showed that 114000 m3 more runoff storage has been carried out by watershed management operations that 20.1% of this volume was related to the structural operations and 79.9% of it was due to biological and biomechanical projects of the catchment. Results of the flood analysis indicated that the role of structural measures in the change of time of concentration is low and even negative. Therefore the reduction of the peak flow and flood volume at the outlet of the catchment is due to the implementation of biological and biomechanical measures which reduces the peak flows by 42.7, 25.4, 20.8, 17.1, 15.3 and 13.8% and flood volumes by 41.8, 24.8, 20.2, 16.5, 14.8 and 13.3% respectively for the return periods of two, five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years. Another observation is that the effect of watershed management practices on the reduction of flood peak and volume decreases when the return period of flood is increased.
Amin Salehpour Jam; Fahimeh Rasooli; Amir Sarreshtehdari; Jamal Mosaffaie; Mohammad Kia Kianian
Abstract
People participation in the implementation of natural resources practices is one of the approeches that ensure the fulfillment of the goals and success of the projects. In this study, based on expert experience and different projects of natural resources implemented in watershed area surrounding city ...
Read More
People participation in the implementation of natural resources practices is one of the approeches that ensure the fulfillment of the goals and success of the projects. In this study, based on expert experience and different projects of natural resources implemented in watershed area surrounding city of Tehran, the preventing social indices and sub-indices affecting on people participation were recognized and determined into three indices and 10 sub-indices. Obtained results from prioritizing effective social indices on preventing people participation in natural resources plans based on obtained weights from AHP method and expert questionary indicate that “unfavorable behaviorial indices” with weight of 0.623 and “unfavorable demographic indices” with weight of 0.130 have respectively maximum and minimum priorities, in the manner that prioritization of indices based on weights from maximum to minimum importance are “unfavorable behaviorial indices”, “cultural problems” and “unfavorable demographic indices”.Obtained results from prioritizing effective sub-indices based on expert questionary and the Kendalls' W rank test indicate that sub-indices have different roles on preventing people participation in natural resources plans, in the manner that the indices of “shortage of people trust in considering their ideas” with rank mean of 6.80 and “being low literacy and knowledge” with rank mean of 3.16 have respectively maximum and minimum priorities. The results also show that the index of “shortage of people trust” has the most priority as a preventing factor affecting on people participation, in the manner that two sub-indices of “shortage of people trust in considering their ideas” and “shortage of trust to continue projects”are two first priorities, respectively. Sub-indices of “shortage of young people in villages” from index of “unfavorable demographic indices” and also “being low or lack of culture of participation” from index of “cultural problems” were ranked as the most important social sub-indices.
Jamal Mosaffaie; Davood Nikkami; Amin Salehpour Jam
Abstract
In order to achieve sustainable development, planning an appropriate management program is essential. Watersheds are the main units of land management and the main objective of this paper is to review the history, current status and future management needs of these units in Iran. For this purpose, the ...
Read More
In order to achieve sustainable development, planning an appropriate management program is essential. Watersheds are the main units of land management and the main objective of this paper is to review the history, current status and future management needs of these units in Iran. For this purpose, the concepts of watershed and watershed management were explained and organizational structure, activities and current approach to watershed management have been investigated. Four case studies of the approach and practices of watershed management in Iran and abroad were also mentioned (two internal samples and two external). The historic course of watershed management in Iran indicates that signs of changing approach are ongoing from a traditional mechanical to the systemic management approach. As a general conclusion for improving integrated management of watersheds in Iran, some suggestions were offered as follow: improving the current organizational structure of watershed management and establishing committees called watershed council, considering the scale of the watershed, applying a united and appropriate watershed management model, shifting the attitudes from technical engineering to managerial approaches toward the nature of watershed management, watershed participatory governance and establishing an unitary and coherent organizational structure.
Amin Salehpour Jam; Mahmoudreza Tabatabaei; Amir Sarreshtehdari; Jamal Mosaffaie
Abstract
Investigation of drought event has a great importance in the natural resources management and planning water resources management. In this research, the drought characteristics in the selected synoptic stations in northwest of Iran, including Ardebil, Khoy, Oroomieh, Tabriz, Zanjan, Sanandaj and Saghez ...
Read More
Investigation of drought event has a great importance in the natural resources management and planning water resources management. In this research, the drought characteristics in the selected synoptic stations in northwest of Iran, including Ardebil, Khoy, Oroomieh, Tabriz, Zanjan, Sanandaj and Saghez were investigated using the Deciles Index. First, after rebuilding monthly missing data in the period of 1977-2014, time series of precipitation in each station normalized using Box-Cox Transformation. Then, the Deciles Index in different time scales of monthly, seasonal and yearly was calculated based on the normalized monthly precipitation of stations in the period of 1977-2014 by MATLAB and DIP softwares. Then, the drought characteristics, including intensity, duration and frequency were calculated in each synoptic station. In this research, to find the trend of precipitation in the 38 years, 1977-2014, First, trends of the selected stations were determined using Mann-Kendall trend test at the different time scales of the 19 year period, 1977-1995, then compared with trend of the 38 years and finally, determined the changes of the mean precipitation values in two subsequent periods, 1977-1995 and 1996-2014. Obtained results show that the mean annual precipitation at the all stations was decreased in the second period than base period. The results also show that the drought occurrence with different intensity, duration and frequency occurred in selected synoptic stations in northwest of Iran. The results also indicate that there is the decreasing trend of precipitation at the synoptic stations of Saghez and Sanandaj in yearly time scales. Although the stations of Saghez and Zanjan have no trend in the period of 1977-1995, they have decreasing and increasing trends in some time scales in the period of 1977-2014.
