NITIAL RESULTS OF COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOIL EROSION INTENSITY USING THE WIntErO MODEL: A CASE STUDY OF POLIMLJE AND SHIRINDAREH DRAINAGE BASINS

Abstract

This work aims to determine the current state of sediment production and propose land use measures that will affect the reducing the intensity of soil erosion for the areas of the Polimlje drainage basin on the territories of Montenegro and Serbia, and the small Shirindareh sub-basin of Iran. The approach is based on field and laboratory methods, which are processed by Web-based Intensity of Erosion and Outflow (WIntErO)model used to calculate erosion intensity. By using the computer-graphical method of the "WIntErO" software, in the study of erosion intensity, surface values (watershed surface, surface between isohypsies, etc.) and length, i.e. deviations from the map (length of the main watercourse, length of the watershed line, etc.) is processed very precisely, which was not the case before when using mechanical instruments, planimeters and curvimeters. The new WIntErO model is an integrated computer-graphic program package of the third-generation method based on the earlier generations of the modelling tools "River basins", and IntErO and calculates the amount of sediment, the intensity of soil erosion, as well as the maximum runoff from the basin, according to the EPM model of Gavrilović.During the procedure, an accuracy assessment is conducted with measurements of reservoir sediment deposition. These measurements were performed in April 2017 using professional hydrographic recording equipment, following the same methodology as in 2012. The measurement of point locations was conducted using a GPS receiver and a Trimble R6 base station. The reservoir's depth was measured using a single-frequency portable echo sounder, specifically the Odom Hydro Track. The initial assessment shows fairly acceptable results of the implemented WIntErO modelling for both study areas. Z coefficient values ranging from 0.01 to 1.00 for the observed period indicate that the river basins delineate areas with varying levels of susceptibility to water erosion processes—ranging from very low to moderate and high risk—within the studied drainage basins. Based on the analysis, we found that the average erosion intensity in Polimlje is 331.78 m³ km⁻² year⁻¹ per square kilometer. For the Shirindareh sub-basins, the average actual soil losses per square kilometer are 201 m³ year⁻¹ km⁻². Given these findings, it is evident that these basins require prompt implementation of soil conservation measures.