Efficiency Evaluation of Empirical Factorial Scoring Model in Some Regions of Iran

Accelerated soil erosion and the production and transfer of large amounts of sediment are considered as one of the most important issues in many parts of Iran. Having enough knowledge on soil erosion and sediment production as well as identification of critical areas are necessary in order to reduce the adverse effects of this problem through soil and water conservation measures. Due to lack of gauge stations in the outlets’ of small watersheds, empirical models are considered as the proper tools for estimating soil erosion and sedimentation. One of these methods which was developed based on Meditranean sediment data, is the Factorial Scoring Model (FSM). Towards this, the main objective of this research is to compare estimated vs. observed sediment yields in some selected regions of Iran. For this purpose, 58 small chatchments equipped by reservoirs in their outlets were selected in Semnan, Central, Isfahan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, West Azarbaijan, Lorestan, Fars, Golestan and Khorasan Razavi Provinces. The comparison of the results showed that all estimates of the original model (before calibration) are several times bigger than observed values obtained by surveying (0.44 to 459.44 t.km-2.y-1). In order to correct the model coefficients for Iran, calibration was performed in two scenarios; once using all data and in the second secenario after allocating data into three geographic regions, which in both cases resulted in significant improvement of estimates. The Nash‐Sutcliffe Efficiency coefficient for all catchments was 0.39, and for Central, Zagros and Northeast regions were 51.1, 0.66 and 0.78, respectively. Based on obtained findings, the application of original FSM must be avoided in study areas. Instead, we strongly recommend using calibrated models based on observational values for different geographic regions.