Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2020
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department (Legacy)
Department of Geography and Geosciences
Degree Program
Geography (Applied), MS
Committee Chair
Day, C. Andrew
Committee Member
Hadizadeh, Jafar
Committee Member
Sluss, Tamara
Author's Keywords
sediment yield; RUSLE; vegetation; climate change; soil erosion; soil degradation
Abstract
Soil erosion is of escalating importance as increasing population and climate change have put increasing pressures on agricultural food production. Vegetation and precipitation are two factors that control the amount of soil erosion extant within a region. Sediment delivery ratios (SDRs) assess the ratio of soil eroded from a watershed system that is permanently removed from the system through stream sediment discharge. Using 1) river discharge and sediment concentration data and 2) the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), this thesis analyzes fluctuations in monthly SDRs for an average hydroclimatological crop-harvest season for the Senachwine Creek watershed, IL. Through calculating average gross soil erosion and sediment yield, it is found that significant fluctuations in watershed soil erosion and sediment yield occur in response to changes in precipitation and crop vegetation cover.
Recommended Citation
Liebman, Jonah, "Analyzing the effects of of seasonal land cover and precipitation on the sediment delivery ratio of an agriculture dominated watershed." (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3463.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/3463
Included in
Climate Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Geology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Earth Sciences Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Sedimentology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Sustainability Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
