ANALYSIS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN WATER EROSION FEATURES AND EFFECTIVE PARAMETERS ON THEIR INTENSITY AND SPATIAL PATTERNS (CASE STUDY: BALEGHLI CHAY WATERSHED, ARDEBIL, IRAN)

Soil erosion results from an interaction of several parameters, which vary in space and time. Awareness of environmental changes and their impact on the intensity and spatial pattern of water erosion can effectively help in recognition of erosional reactions versus the affecting factors. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a methodology based on present knowledge and available data, for evaluation of water erosion behavior and risk as well as an estimation of soil erosion. Accordingly, based on the conducted research on different types of water erosion in some areas of Baleghli Chay Watershed, between two hydrometric gauging stations were studied, with an exclusion of erosion due to mass movements. Four major types of water erosion namely: sheet, rill, channel and streambank which play a considerable role in sediment yields of the area, were separately studied. In order to determine the inter-effects of erosive factors, the study was conducted using multivariate statistical tests. For each erosion type, an individual model was then presented. The results indicated complex and different interactions between the likelihood of water erosion and environmental changes in the study area. Sheet and rill erosions act differently from channel erosion while streambank erosion is completely different from others. Therefore, a study of individual types of water erosion can help in recognition of accelerating factors that effectively influence water erosion, and consequently to come up with appropriate models.