The Influence of Land use Change on Soil Erosion and proper land use at Zaremrod Watershed in azandaran

Land use is one of the important factors of soil erosion and soil productivity. Sustainable development is possible by land use mapping. This research has been done using Geographical Information System to determine the desirable land use for decreasing soil erosion in Zaremrod Watershed. EPM model has been applied in GIS environment to estimate soil erosion. There are four scores for 4 factors in EPM model. Land use factor or Xa is one of the factors of EPM model. If land use is changed, consequently land use score or Xa will change. So using practical models one can investigate the effect of land use changes on soil erosion and sediment production. Three EPM models have been provided in GIS environment for Zaremrod Watershed that they were different in land use score or Xa (gardens and farms only) and erosion was investigated with these models quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that land use changes can decrease erosion intensity and volume notably. Also the costs and incomes of the different land uses in Zaremrod Watershed were considered and the desirable land use was selected in terms of soil erosion and incomes.