Simulation of runoff and soil erosion using cellular automata

from Erosion and runoff caused by rainfall in catchments is an important issue in natural resources management. The Cellular Automata (CA) approach is an idealized physical system, which has capability for simple simulation of a complex process like erosion and runoff. This study was conducted with the aim of studying performance of CA method in simulation of erosion and runoff caused by rainfall. This method was used in an experimental plot located in the farm of Nuclear Agricultural Research Center in Zaferanieh (Karaj). Results of simulation showed that the size of the cells, hydraulic parameters, selection of appropriate time steps, and the number of iterations had a large effect on simulation results. In comparison between observed and simulated results, the values of correlation coefficient and root mean square error for runoff was found to be 0.98 and 0.034, respectively, and for sediment yield it was found to be equal to 0.97 and 0.045, respectively. The results showed that the CA method can be used as an accurate and applicable scheme for predicting the amount of erosion and runoff originated rainfall.