Regional analysis of sediment load and preparation of soil water erosion map, case study: Middle Alborz region

Awareness of erosion and its spatial changes is a guide for managers and planners in the important matter of water and soil protection in watersheds. In the present study water flow and sediment data of 40 hydrometric stations in the Middle Alborz region and in the statistical period between the wateAwareness of erosion and its spatial changes is a guide for managers and planners in the important matter of water and soil protection in watersheds. In the present study, with the aim of presenting a map of soil water erosion, water flow and sediment data of 40 hydrometric stations in the Middle Alborz region and in the statistical period between the water years of 1980-1981 to 2020-2021 were used. First, the most important factors affecting erosion and sedimentation in the studied sub-basins including 30 hydrological, physiographic, geomorphological, geological and soil characteristics, climate, land use and vegetation as independent variables and two sediment characteristics; including total yield and specific deposition as dependent variables were identified. Using factor analysis and principal component analysis methods, the most important characteristics of effective basins in sedimentation were identified. In the next stage, the study area basins are divided into six homogeneous groups based on selected characteristics and cluster analysis and multivariate regression stepwise method was used to model between specific sedimentation and basin characteristics. According to the selected regression models, it is determined that the amount of special sediment in the Middle Alborz region to five factors of agricultural land area (rainfed, irrigated and orchards), the area of sub-basins, the total area of erosion-sensitive and Quaternary structures, the average annual discharge and the form factor of the basin depend on the fact that these five factors control 92% of the sediment production changes in the selected sub-basins. Then, considering the sediment transfer coefficient of the sub-basins, the amount of soil erosion was determined and the soil erosion map was drawn for the Middle Alborz region. The results showed that the average sedimentation rate and the average weight of soil erosion in the study area were 3.84 and 13.56 tons per hectare per year, respectively. In general, the factors affecting erosion and sedimentation of the Middle Alborz region can be divided into three groups: land use change due to human activities, geology and physiography.r years 1980-1981 to 2020-2021 were used. First, the most important factors include 30 hydrological, physiographic, geomorphological, geological and soil characteristics climate land use and vegetation as independent variables and two sediment characteristics. The most important characteristics of effective basins in sedimentation were identified. In the next stage, the study area basins are divided into six homogeneous groups based on selected characteristics and cluster analysis and using multivariate regression by stepwise method to model between specific sedimentation and basin characteristics. According to the selected regression models, it is determined that the amount of special sediment in the Middle Alborz region to five factors of agricultural land area (rainfed, irrigated and orchards), the area of sub-basins, the total area of erosion-sensitive and Quaternary structures, The average annual discharge and the form factor of the basin depend on the fact that these five factors control 92% of the sediment production changes in the selected sub-basins. Then, considering the sediment transfer coefficient of the sub-basins, the amount of soil erosion was determined and the soil erosion map was drawn for the Middle Alborz region. The results showed that the average sedimentation rate and the average weight of soil erosion in the study area were 3.84 and 13.56 tons per hectare per year, respectively. In general, the factors affecting erosion and sedimentation of the Middle Alborz region can be divided into three groups: land use change due to human activities, geology and physiography.