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ŠUMARSKI LIST 11-12/2017 str. 26     <-- 26 -->        PDF

the region. Soil erosion and runoff generates considerable amount of sediment yield, which leads to dramatic impacts on natural resources. Therefore, it is very important to predict sediment yield and runoff accurately in terms of applying necessary soil conservation techniques in Turkey (Akay et al., 2008).
There have been several models developed to estimate soil loss, erosion assessment, and sediment yield such as RUSLE, CORINE and WEPP. RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) is used to compute annual soil loss per unit area based on an empirical equation, considering various erosion factors such as climate, soil type, topography, and land type (Renard et al., 1997; Covert, 2003; Yuksel at al., 2007). Based on Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) (Wischmeier, 1976), which is well-known methodology in soil erosion assessment studies, CORINE model was developed by European Community (CORINE, 1992). The CORINE has the advantage of providing soil erosion risk maps for entire study area.
The WEPP, The Water Erosion Prediction Project, was developed to estimate sediment yield and soil erosion considering soil type, climate conditions, ground cover percentage, and topographic condition (Flanagan and Livingston, 1995). The WEPP model is capable of calculating infiltration, runoff, erosion and deposition rates for every day and multiple time periods. In WEPP, there is a set of internet-base interfaces which assists users to quickly predict erosion and sediment yield from forest roads, forest lands, rangelands, and wildfire (Elliot et al., 1999; Flanagan and Nearing, 1995).
In recent decades, advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology made it possible to utilize GIS tools for effectively assessing soil loss and predicting sediment yield (Burrough and McDonnell, 1998). GeoWEPP, a geo-spatial erosion prediction model, was developed to integrate the advanced features of GIS within WEPP model (Renschler, 2002; Wu et al., 2009). GeoWEPP model provides user with ability to process digital data such as Digital Elevation Model (DEM), air photos, soil maps, and land use maps.
In this study, GeoWEPP was used to estimate the sediment yield from a sample watershed located in the city of Kahramanmaras. The current land use type in the study area is classified as rangeland. Even though there are several studies