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Modelling mean annual sediment yield using a distributed approach
Author(s) -
Van Rompaey Anton J. J.,
Verstraeten Gert,
Van Oost Kristof,
Govers Gerard,
Poesen Jean
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.275
Subject(s) - sediment , erosion , wepp , hydrology (agriculture) , sediment transport , environmental science , deposition (geology) , drainage basin , yield (engineering) , soil conservation , distributed element model , soil science , geology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , ecology , geography , materials science , physics , cartography , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , agriculture , biology
In this paper a spatially distributed model for the calculation of sediment delivery to river channels is presented (SEDEM: SEdiment DElivery Model). The model consists of two components: (1) the calculation of a spatial pattern of mean annual soil erosion rates in the catchment using a RUSLE (Revised Soil Erosion Equation) approach; and (2) the routing of the eroded sediment to the river channel network taking into account the transport capacity of each spatial unit. If the amount of routed sediment exceeds the local transport capacity, sediment deposition occurs. An existing dataset on sediment yield for 24 catchments in central Belgium was used to calibrate the transport capacity parameters of the model. A validation of the model results shows that the sediment yield for small and medium sized catchments (10–5000 ha) can be predicted with an average accuracy of 41 per cent. The predicted sediment yield values with SEDEM are significantly more accurate than the predictions using a lumped regression model. Moreover a spatially distributed approach allows simulation of the effect of different land use scenarios and soil conservation techniques. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.