A Distributed Model of Hydrological and Sediment Transport in the Upnm Catchment

Abstract

Sediment transport models in river basins have been developed over the years for various temporal and spatial scales. However, yet few models have been reported for small-scale catchment and still under investigation by many researchers. In this paper, a distributed model based on process was presented for evaluating transportation of sediment in a small catchment scale. The integration of distributed hydrological and sediment model was developed for simulate the soil erosion and sedimentation processes in the catchment area located at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM). The finding prevailed that the simulation of suspended sediment load over a period of four years gave a good significant result with an average Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and a Correlation Coefficient (r) were of 0.60 and 0.78, respectively. Moreover, sensitivity analysis revealed that the suspended sediment load in the UPNM catchment was influenced by soil detachability over land (Kf). Overall, the outputs from the present model can be taken as input to predict the soil erosion and sedimentation processes in a small-scale catchment, especially in Malaysia such as in the UPNM.

Gis and Remote Sensing Integration for Soil Erosion Assessment Based on a Rusle Model in Upnm Catchment

“…The main soil types in this catchment are tropical acrisols with significant clay build-up, high weathering, and leaching. Soil is low-fertile and sensitive to erosion, especially due to agriculture [2]. The catchment has deciduous and evergreen trees.…”

“…The particles of soil that are least likely to erode are known as aggregated soils because they are gathered together and, thus, are more erosionresistant. The soil particles that are most easily eroded are very fine sand and silt [2].…”

“…The low class takes up 43% of the study area. These soils, which include sand and clay, are more permeable and very resistant to the effects of runoff [2]. The protective function of forests and organic plant cover is also a major factor in moderate class erosion.…”

“…The sophisticated natural processes of sediment movement and erosion are greatly influenced by human activities such as deforestation, agriculture, and urbanization [1,2]. Erosion also leads to environmental damage through sedimentation, pollution, and increased flooding.…”