Assesment of Badlands Stabilization Methods in Sefid Rud Watershed Executer

Effective factors on degradation of watersheds, particularly arid and semiarid Watersheds generally present their signs in tsrms of gragual vegetal cover decrease, Presence of accelrated soil erosion, variation of hydrological manor and deterioration of ecological balance on a watershed . Presence and domination of the above mintioned characteristics in any given watershed mean degradation and deterioration of the existing balance between soil , water and plants which tends to expansion and acceleration of desertification factors and their effects in arid watershed. zanjan province is located on the Northwest of Iran . the geografical characteristics of this province are : 47,10 to 50,10 east longitude 30,25 to 37, 10 north latitude. About 21059.37 squre kilometres of total geografical aria of this province is part of Sefid Rud watwrshed with 5.60 million hectares of total area. The average amount of sediment yield of this watershed hs estimated to be about 50.00 million tons per year. this amount of sediment has been caused and sthll is caushng ]otsof problems to the Sefid Rud Dam and the area development as well . Due to server soil erosin problem and tremendous amount of sediment yield, the application if soil erosion control projects have been and still is imprative in this watershed. According to the studies about 10 percent of geografical area of this watershed is occupied by Neogen Mad formation which is sours of 75 percent of annual sediment. Therefore, in order to find the applhcable and worcable method(s) for soil and water conservation and control of different typs of soil erosion as well as reducation of sediment yield form the areas convered by Neogen Marl formation and marine soil , a research study project using five different treaments were used for 7 years as follow: 1- Mixed straw mulch 2- Watering by fence and rice straw 3- Applying cationic mulch 4- Applying anionic mulch 5- Control plot All five treatments were used by construction of research plots having the size of 2 * 10 meters on the south aspect of selected area which is located in the down stream of zanjan Rud River so called Sarcham area. In order to measure depth, intensity and duration of rainfalla automatic rain gage recorder was use and data were collected . The amount of run off and sediment were measured by using storage tanks having a volume of 220 litters 1m down slops of each plots right of each rainfall event . All collected data during seven years of study starting from 6 Dec. 1998 to 20 Feb. 1995 were analysed by using variance analysing method. compression between mean of yielded sediment for each treatment by four replication for each one were down by using Duncan Test Method. The least Significant Range (L.S.R ).was calculated and the result were analysed . The results of this study were shown that the intensity of effective rain is the most effective factor for generation of run-off and soil erosion as well as sediment and the application of watering has most influence in stabilisation of the marine soil and minimising the amount of sediment yield frOm Neogenous marl formation in cimpression to the other used treatments.