Equations and methods employed to estimate soil displacement due to tillage operations(A case study of Chehelgazi Sub-basin, Kurdistan Province)

Natural resources comprise principal ingredients of human life and require special consideration of their potentials and realities within a comprehensive and integrated framework; such an outlook might be only achieved through a disciplined planning and management system. Resource exploitation in the absence of due attention to sustainability principles will lead to irreparable or costly effects. Using the land use map of 2014, the present study employed GIS to estimate soil displacement due to tillage operations in an attempt to develop planning schemes, making managerial decisions, and implementing projects to reduce soil displacement rates across the dry farms in Chehelgazi sub-basin. For this purpose, the land use and sloping maps of the dry farms in the region were prepared and the type of tillage tools (plow and chisel) used were identified using the exiting data and field visits. Subsequently, soil displacement equations were developed according to the type of tools used and soil displacement estimates in the region were obtained. The results showed the high potential of tillage erosion and soil displacement due to the large area under dryland farming in this sub-basin so that the average longitudinal soil displacement due to reversible plough operation as the dominant practice in the basin was estimated to range from 1.40 to 44.53 m. The importance of tillage operations and soil erosion as well as the role of the sub-basin in supplying water to Gheshlagh dam require more decisive actions to reduce soil movement and to monitor and improve the agricultural system in Kurdistan Province and across the whole state.