Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions
Soil erosion is a serious environmental issue in the Gomal River catchment shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan. The river segment between the Gomal Zam dam and a diversion barrage (~40 km) brings a huge load of sediments that negatively affects the downstream irrigation system, but the sediment sourc...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113457 |
| _version_ | 1855531224015044608 |
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| author | Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif Ashraf, M. Anwar, Arif A. |
| author_browse | Anwar, Arif A. Ashraf, M. Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif |
| author_facet | Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif Ashraf, M. Anwar, Arif A. |
| author_sort | Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Soil erosion is a serious environmental issue in the Gomal River catchment shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan. The river segment between the Gomal Zam dam and a diversion barrage (~40 km) brings a huge load of sediments that negatively affects the downstream irrigation system, but the sediment sources have not been explored in detail in this sub-catchment. The analysis of flow and sediment data shows that the significant sediment yield is still contributing to the diversion barrage despite the Gomal Zam dam construction. However, the sediment share at the diversion barrage from the sub-catchment is much larger than its relative size. A spatial assessment of erosion rates in the sub-catchment with the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) shows that most of the sub-catchment falls into very severe and catastrophic erosion rate categories (>100 t h-1y -1 ). The sediment entry into the irrigation system can be managed both by limiting erosion in the catchment and trapping sediments into a hydraulic structure. The authors tested a scenario by improving the crop management factor in RUSLE as a catchment management option. The results show that improving the crop management factor makes little difference in reducing the erosion rates in the sub-catchment, suggesting other RUSLE factors, and perhaps slope is a more obvious reason for high erosion rates. This research also explores the efficiency of a proposed settling reservoir as a sediment load management option for the flows diverted from the barrage. The proposed settling reservoir is simulated using a computer-based sediment transport model. The modeling results suggest that a settling reservoir can reduce sediment entry into the irrigation network by trapping 95% and 25% for sand and silt particles, respectively. The findings of the study suggest that managing the sub-catchment characterizing an arid region and having steep slopes and barren mountains is a less compelling option to reduce sediment entry into the irrigation system compared to the settling reservoir at the diversion barrage. Managing the entire catchment (including upstream of Gomal Zam dam) can be a potential solution, but it would require cooperative planning due to the transboundary nature of the Gomal river catchment. The output of this research can aid policy and decision-makers to sustainably manage sedimentation issues in the irrigation network. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace113457 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| publisherStr | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1134572024-06-26T10:09:21Z Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif Ashraf, M. Anwar, Arif A. soil erosion sediment yield irrigation systems sediment transport modelling arid zones sustainability strategies revised universal soil loss equation rainfall-runoff relationships normalized difference vegetation index crop management rivers catchment areas reservoirs canals Soil erosion is a serious environmental issue in the Gomal River catchment shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan. The river segment between the Gomal Zam dam and a diversion barrage (~40 km) brings a huge load of sediments that negatively affects the downstream irrigation system, but the sediment sources have not been explored in detail in this sub-catchment. The analysis of flow and sediment data shows that the significant sediment yield is still contributing to the diversion barrage despite the Gomal Zam dam construction. However, the sediment share at the diversion barrage from the sub-catchment is much larger than its relative size. A spatial assessment of erosion rates in the sub-catchment with the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) shows that most of the sub-catchment falls into very severe and catastrophic erosion rate categories (>100 t h-1y -1 ). The sediment entry into the irrigation system can be managed both by limiting erosion in the catchment and trapping sediments into a hydraulic structure. The authors tested a scenario by improving the crop management factor in RUSLE as a catchment management option. The results show that improving the crop management factor makes little difference in reducing the erosion rates in the sub-catchment, suggesting other RUSLE factors, and perhaps slope is a more obvious reason for high erosion rates. This research also explores the efficiency of a proposed settling reservoir as a sediment load management option for the flows diverted from the barrage. The proposed settling reservoir is simulated using a computer-based sediment transport model. The modeling results suggest that a settling reservoir can reduce sediment entry into the irrigation network by trapping 95% and 25% for sand and silt particles, respectively. The findings of the study suggest that managing the sub-catchment characterizing an arid region and having steep slopes and barren mountains is a less compelling option to reduce sediment entry into the irrigation system compared to the settling reservoir at the diversion barrage. Managing the entire catchment (including upstream of Gomal Zam dam) can be a potential solution, but it would require cooperative planning due to the transboundary nature of the Gomal river catchment. The output of this research can aid policy and decision-makers to sustainably manage sedimentation issues in the irrigation network. 2021-03-23 2021-04-20T10:23:44Z 2021-04-20T10:23:44Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113457 en Open Access MDPI Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Ashraf, M.; Anwar, Arif A. 2021. Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions. Sustainability, 13(6):3547. (Special issue: Sustainable Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Engineering Applications) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063547] |
| spellingShingle | soil erosion sediment yield irrigation systems sediment transport modelling arid zones sustainability strategies revised universal soil loss equation rainfall-runoff relationships normalized difference vegetation index crop management rivers catchment areas reservoirs canals Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif Ashraf, M. Anwar, Arif A. Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| title | Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| title_full | Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| title_fullStr | Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| title_short | Soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| title_sort | soil erosion and sediment load management strategies for sustainable irrigation in arid regions |
| topic | soil erosion sediment yield irrigation systems sediment transport modelling arid zones sustainability strategies revised universal soil loss equation rainfall-runoff relationships normalized difference vegetation index crop management rivers catchment areas reservoirs canals |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/113457 |
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