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A spatially distributed model for the dynamic prediction of sediment erosion and transport in mountainous forested watersheds
Author(s) -
Doten Colleen O.,
Bowling Laura C.,
Lanini Jordan S.,
Maurer Edwin P.,
Lettenmaier Dennis P.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2004wr003829
Subject(s) - hydrology (agriculture) , erosion , sediment , watershed , tributary , wepp , drainage basin , sediment transport , geology , mass wasting , environmental science , surface runoff , channel (broadcasting) , sedimentary budget , routing (electronic design automation) , vegetation (pathology) , geomorphology , soil conservation , geotechnical engineering , medicine , ecology , computer network , cartography , engineering , pathology , machine learning , computer science , geography , electrical engineering , biology , agriculture
Erosion and sediment transport in a temperate forested watershed are predicted with a new sediment model that represents the main sources of sediment generation in forested environments (mass wasting, hillslope erosion, and road surface erosion) within the distributed hydrology‐soil‐vegetation model (DHSVM) environment. The model produces slope failures on the basis of a factor‐of‐safety analysis with the infinite slope model through use of stochastically generated soil and vegetation parameters. Failed material is routed downslope with a rule‐based scheme that determines sediment delivery to streams. Sediment from hillslopes and road surfaces is also transported to the channel network. A simple channel routing scheme is implemented to predict basin sediment yield. We demonstrate through an initial application of this model to the Rainy Creek catchment, a tributary of the Wenatchee River, which drains the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains, that the model produces plausible sediment yield and ratios of landsliding and surface erosion when compared to published rates for similar catchments in the Pacific Northwest. A road removal scenario and a basin‐wide fire scenario are both evaluated with the model.