Estimation of Annual Erosion and Sedimentation in Babolroud Catchment using MPSIAC Model

One of the problems of controlling erosion in catchment areas is the lack of statistical data to accurately estimate the amount of sedimentation and erosion. In order to implement soil protection programs and determine methods to reduce sedimentation, it is necessary to estimate the total volume of annual sediment production. The purpose of this study was to estimate the erosion intensity and sedimentation rate of Babolroud catchment located in Mazandaran province with an area of 962 km2 and the variety of topography, lithology and vegetation using MPSIAC empirical model and to determine the accuracy of this model using Arc-GIS. In this method, the role of 9 factors affecting soil erosion were evaluated and depending on the severity and weakness of each factor, a score is attributed to it. Finally, considering the sum of the scores obtained for different factors, the sedimentation rate of the catchment was estimated. The results showed that, Babolroud catchment area with sedimentation rate of 166.469 m3/km2.y is located on the low zone of sedimentation. One of the causes is the presence of dense pastures and calcareous formations and rocks with medium to high hardness in most areas. Moreover, according to the results, the highest amount of erosion is in the northern part of the catchment. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained from the experimental model, the observed information of the two sedimentation stations was used and the results indicate a relative average difference of 21% in the MPSIAC model.