Content uploaded by Velibor Spalevic
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Velibor Spalevic on Mar 22, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
CALCULATION OF SEDIMENT YIELD USING THE “RIVER BASIN”
AND “SURFACE AND DISTANCE” MODELS: A CASE STUDY OF THE
SHEREMETSKI POTOK WATERSHED, MONTENEGRO
D. Vujacic a, G. Barovic a, V. Djekovic b, A. Andjelkovic b, A Khaledi Darvishan c, L.
Gholami d, M. Jovanovic e and V. Spalevic a
a Geography Department, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Montenegro, Niksic, Montenegro
b Faculty of Forestry, Belgrade University, 1 Kneza Viseslava Street, Belgrade, Serbia
c Department of Watershed Management Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat
Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran
d Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari Univ. of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran
e Sq. D. Obradovic, Geography Department, Faculty of Science, University of Novi Sad, Serbia
* Corresponding author email address: velibor.spalevic@ac.me
Abstract. Sediment is a final result of the soil erosion process and plays an important role in
sustainable development of water resource system, controlling riverine hydrology, river channel
morphology, water quality and aquatic ecology. Sediment yield is the amount of sediment
reaching a point of interest in a given period of time. A comprehensive approach estimating
sediment yield from a watershed is needed to develop proper measures for mitigating sediment
disasters and assessing downstream impacts. The researchers are using qualitative and
quantitative methods for describing hydric soil erosion through field observations and laboratory
experiments. On the other hand, indirect valuations of the erosion processes have generally been
carried out using suspended sediment yield data of rivers or by assessing the sediments deposited
in reservoirs. Hydrological modelling in ungauged basins has been considered as one of the main
challenges in hydrological sciences. The objective of this research was to simulate responses of
soil erosion processes in one of the tributaries of the Lim River in the North Montenegro
calculating sediment yield by using the computer graphic models “River Basin” and “Surface
and Distance”, at the same time looking for answers as to how these findings could be used for
future watershed management options in the wider region of Montenegro, but also in the other
countries of Balkan Peninsula. Our findings pointed out a low potential of soil erosion risk in the
studied area, although in the river basin prevails very steep slopes (Isr, 43.42%). With 2058
m3yr−1 of annual sediment yield, and an area-specific sediment yield of 298 m3km-2yr−1, the
Sheremetski Potok basin belongs to the Montenegrin basins with the low sediment discharge.
There is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied river basin and the calculated
peak discharge, for the incidence of 100 years, was 327 m3s-1. The model outcomes were
validated through measurements of lake sediment deposition at the Potpec hydropower plant
dam. This research is also a modest contribution to the knowledge on soil erosion processes and
the status of sediment yield of the river basins of Montenegro, where the map of Soil erosion is
still not prepared.
Key words: Sediment yield, River Basin model, Surface and Distance model, Watershed
