Assessment and simulation of biological soil conservation countermeasure (Case study: Northern Karoon River Watershed, Iran )

The objectives of the present study are twofold: 1) to evaluate the actual capability of EUROSEM, to simulate the biological method of the soil and water conservation, and 2) to assess the effectiveness of this technique to protect the soil and water in the mentioned study area. The study area is a part of Vanak catchment in the Northern Karoon River Watershed, Southwest of Iran. Runoff and sediment data were collected over a number of periodical rainfall events from the two catchments called biological and control catchments. Parameterization, calibration, and validation of the model were carried out based upon the input parameters. Experimental results confirmed the capability of the model to simulate biological soil and water conservation techniques. The simulation of biological soil and water conservation technique indicated that this protection approach caused significant differences in the total runoff generated, total soil loss, peak flow rates, and time to peak flow rates as compared to the same traits of the control. The result illustrated that this conservation technique reduced both output total runoff and total sediments by 40 to 81% and 45 to 69% respectively, yielding a sustainable ecosystem in the catchment.