Evaluation of MPSIAC and EPM empirical models in Western ‎Azerbaijan Province based on sediment surveying behind small dams

Soil erosion and sediment transport is an important issue in many Iranian watersheds. Watershed planning without accurate estimates of erosion and sediment yield with appropriate models is not possible. The objective of this study was evaluating of two common empirical models of MPSIAC and EPM. First، 10 small watersheds were selected in Western Azerbaijan Province، with several consecutive check dams on their streams implemented under watershed management projects. No flow over the last downstream check dam was considered as the main criterion in each selected basin. In addition to the direct measurement of sediment deposited behind the dams، sediment yield of watersheds were estimated using the models. Comparison of means using (Mann-Whithney) did not show any significant difference at 0. 05 percent level between measured and estimated data. At final step، both models were tested by MAE and MBE statistics. The MPSIAC showed better performance than EPM with MAE=1. 34 and MBE =-0. 12.