Erosion Risk Mapping Using CORINE Methodology for Goz Watershed in Kahramanmaras Region, Turkey

Authors
M. Reis 1
A. E. Akay 2
G. Savaci 3
1 Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
2 Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Bursa Technical University, 16200 Bursa, Turkey.
3 Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Kastamonu University, 37100 Kastamonu, Turkey.
Abstract
Soil erosion may cause serious environmental impacts on soil and water resources such as excessive sedimentation, especially on steep terrain and erodible soils in arid and semi-arid areas. The sediment yield due to erosion has also economic consequences on dam watersheds by affecting economic life of dams, which are one of the most important infrastructure investments in Turkey. Thus, it is very important to determine potential erosion risk in order to develop adequate erosion prevention measures in dam watersheds. This study aimed to develop erosion risk map for Goz Watershed of Menzelet Dam in the eastern Mediterranean city of Kahramanmaras in Turkey. In the methodology, Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies were employed based on COoRdination of INformation on the Environment (CORINE) methodology. The results indicated that 54.52% of the Goz Watershed was under moderate erosion risk, while there was a high erosion risk in 45.48% of the watershed based on the potential erosion risk map. According to actual erosion risk maps, 11.97 and 88.03% of the watershed area was subject to moderate and high erosion risk, respectively. It was found that the most important factors for erosion risks in the watershed were steep slope (average of 38%) and lack of vegetation cover (only 11.67% of forest cover). Besides, the results indicated that potential and actual erosion risk mapping by CORINE method is a quite efficient and cost effective approach.

Keywords

1. Akay, A. E. and Sessions, J. 2005. Applying the Decision Support System, Tracer, to Forest Road Design. West J. Appl. For., 20(3): 184-191.
2. Akay, A. E., Erdas, O., Reis, M. and Yuksel, A. 2008. Estimating Sediment Yield from a Forest Road Network by Using a Sediment Prediction Model and GIS Techniques. Build. Environ., 43(5): 687-695.
3. Arnolds, H. M. 1980. An Approximation of the Rainfall Factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation. In: “Assessment of Erosion”, (Eds.): De Boodt M., And Gabriels D.. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Chichester, West Sussex, UK, PP. 127–132.
4. Aydin, A. and Tecimen, H. B. 2010. Temporal Soil Erosion Evaluation: A CORINE Methodology Application at Elmalı Dam Watershed, Istanbul. Environ. Earth Sci., 61: 1457-1465.
5. Bayramin, D. O., Baksan, O. and Parlak, M. 2003. Soil Erosion Risk Assessment with ICONA Model; Case Study: Beypazarı Area. Turk. J. Agric. For., 23: 105-116.
6. Bayramin, I., Erpul, G. and Erdogan, H. E. 2006. Use of CORINE Methodology to Asses Soil Erosion Risk in the Semi-arid Area of Beypazarı, Turk. J. Agric. For., 30: 81-100.
7. Beasley, D. B., Huggings, L. F. and Monke, E. J. 1980. ANSWERS: A Model for Watershed Planning. Trans. ASAE, 23(4): 938-944.
8. CORINE. 1992. Soil Erosion Risk and Important Land Resources in the Southeastern Regions of the European Community. EUR 13233.
9. Dinc, U., Senol, S., Kapur, S., Atalay, I., Cangir, C. 2001. Turkey Soils. Cukurova University. Faculty of Agriculture. General Publication Number: 51, Adana, pp. 141-164.
10. Dogan, O. 1998. Sustainable Policies for Soil Resource Management in Turkey. Research Institute-Ankara, GDRS, No: 212.
11. Elibuyuk, M. and Yilmaz, E. 2010. Altitude Steps and Slope Groups of Turkey in Comparison with Geographical Regions and Sub-regions. J. Geogr. Sci., 8: 27-55.
12. Evrendilek, F., Berberoglu, S., Gulbeyaz, O. and Ertekin, C. 2007. Modeling Potential Distribution and Carbon Dynamics of Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Case Study of Turkey. Sensor., 7: 2273-2296.
13. Flanagan, D. C. and Livingston, S. J. 1995. Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Version 95.7: User summary. NSERL Report No. 11. West Lafayette, Ind.: USDA‐ARS National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory.
14. Fournier, F. 1960. Climat et Erosion. Presses Universitaires de France. 201 PP.
15. GDREC. 2008. General Directorate of Reforestation and Erosion Control. Visited on January 8th, 2008, http://www.agm.gov.tr.
16. Kılıc, S., Evrendilek F., Berberoglu, S. and Demirkesen, A. C. 2006. Environmental Monitoring of Land-use and Land-cover Changes in a Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Environ. Monit. Assess., 114:157-168.
17. Lal, R. and Pierce, F. C. 1991. The Vanishing Resource. In Soil Management for Sustainability. Soil and Water Conservation Society, U. S. A., pp. 1-5.
18. Lal, R. 1994. Soil Erosion Research Method. Second Edition, Soil and Water Conservation Society. Ankeny IA, 352s, USA.
19. Mitasova, H., Hofierka, J., Zlocha, M. and Iverson, R. L. 1996. Modeling Topographic Potential for Erosion and Deposition Using GIS. Intl. J. Geograph. Inform. Sci., 10(5): 629-641.
20. Oduro-Afriye, K. 1996. Rainfall Erosivity Map for Ghana. Geoderma.,6: 1125.
21. Pla, I. S. 1997. Soil Water Balance Model for Monitoring Soil Erosion Processes and Effects on Steep Lands in the Tropics. Soil Technol., 11: 17-30.
22. Sadeghi, S. H. R. 2005. A Semi-detailed Technique for Soil Erosion Mapping Based on BLM and Satellite Image Applications. J. Agri. Sci. Tech. (JAST), 7(3 and 4): 133-142.
23. Sadeghi, S. H. R. and Tavangar, Sh. 2015. Development of Stational Models for Estimation of Rainfall Erosivity Factor in Different Timescales. Natur. Hazard., 77: 429-443.
24. Sazbo, J., Pasztor, L., Suba, Z. and Varallyay, G. 1998. Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in Land Degradation Mapping. Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Soil Science, August, Montpellier, France, PP. 63-75.
25. SSM. 1993. Soil Survey Manual. USDA Handbook No: 18, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA, 437 PP.
26. Steel, R. G. D. and Torrie, J. H. 1980. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. Second Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
27. Terranova, O., Antronico, L., Coscarelli, R. and Laquinta, P. 2009. Soil Erosion Risk Scenarios in the Mediterranean Environment Using RUSLE and GIS: An Application Model for Calabria (Southern Italy). Geomorphol., 112: 228-245.
28. Vrieling, A., Sterk, G. and Beaulieu, N. 2002. Erosion Risk Mapping: A Methodological Case Study in the Colombian Eastern Plains. J. Soil Water Conserv., 57(3): 158-163.
29. Wischmeier, W. H. 1976. The Use and Misuse of the Universal Soil Loss Equation. J. of Soil Water Conserv., 31(1): 5-9.
30. Yuksel, A., Akay, A. E. and Gundogan, R. 2008a. Using ASTER Imagery in Land Use/Cover Classification of Eastern Mediterranean Landscapes According to CORINE Land Cover Project. Sensor., 8: 1237-1251.
31. Yuksel, A., Gundogan, R. and Akay, E. A. 2008b. Using the Remote Sensing and GIS Technology for Erosion Risk Mapping of Kartalkaya Dam Watershed in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Sensor., 8: 4851-4865.
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 18, Issue 3
May and June 2016
Pages 695-706