Investigation of Talar Watershed Health the using Watershed Health Assessment Framework
Subject Areas : Agriculture, rangeland, watershed and forestry
kaka shahedi
1
(Department of Watershed Management, University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran)
behrooz mohseni
2
(Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, University of Payam- e- Noor, Tehran, Iran)
babak moumeni
3
(Department of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, University of Payam- e- Noor, Tehran, Iran)
Keywords: strategies, Integrated Management, Continuity, Talar, : Watershed Management,
Abstract :
Integrated management of water, land and biological resources in a watershed leads to an assured water supply from water resources of that watershed. One of the key components of resource management strategies is to increase the protection of waters (healthy watersheds). Also, one of the most important and basic issues in sustainable management of the watershed is awareness of watershed health. In this study, by dividing the Talar watershed into 37 sub-watersheds in GIS environment, the watershed health index was evaluated. For this purpose, in each of the sub-watersheds, the main and effective criteria in the health of the watershed were selected. Considering the connections and interactions of the constituent parts of each sub-watershed, the health index was evaluated based on five indicators: geomorphology, water quality, hydrology, biological status and hydrological continuity. The sub-watersheds were prioritized according to each of the indicators and at the end, the final health map was obtained from the combination of all indicators. The results showed that sub-watershed No. 34 with a score of 71.66 compared to the others had the maximum health score and sub-watershed No. 26 with a score of 40.79 had the minimum health score. The health status of the sub-watersheds also showed that 24 sub-watersheds are in the 40-60 class and in the average level and the rest (13 sub-watersheds) are in the 80-60 class and have high health. The results of watershed health assessment parameters for each health component can be used to advance the main watershed management planning process at the watershed scale based on specific management objectives. Also, by combining any of the other sub-parameters in the Talar watershed, the priority of the areas in terms of watershed health can be determined.
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