Abstract
Land-use and climate changes are the most environmental issues in the Hircanian Forest, Northern Iran. Valasht Lake is a mountainous basin desirable for studying sedimentation rates as off-site impacts of environmental changes. The research objective was to quantify the historical trend of sedimentation rate in response to anthropogenic and climate factors influencing the catchment of Valasht Lake. The sediment chronology performed using fallout radioisotopes (226Ra, 137Cs, and 210Pb) and the Constant Rate of Supply Model. The off-site impacts of the whole complies of land use changes including deforestation and climate change resulted in sediment flux into the Valasht Lake with a mean rate of 0.94 kg m−2 y−1, since 1864. The studied sediment profile shows three different sedimentation periods manifested by three specific sediment layers with a mean sedimentation rate of 0.25 ± 0.05 (1984–1964), 0.76 ± 0.17 (1964–2006), and 2.28 ± 0.7 (after 2006) kg m−2 yr−1. During the forming of layers, the annual sediment yield has been 50, 152, and 456 tonnes, which infers land degradation and an increase in flash flood frequency. The 210Pb dating method revealed extreme events of sediment deliveries, especially in 1963, 1983, 2002, 2007, and 2011–2019 years. Organic-rich mud deposits (TOC, 17.9 ± 4%) accumulated during the last period since 2006. It can be attributed to the increasing trend of burning the forest clear-cuts and ash flux into the lake. Integrated watershed management practices and desirable land-use planning are recommended to preserve the natural resources of Valasht Lake and its catchment.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna for technical and financial support under the national TC project (IRA5013), the Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute of Iran (SCWMRI), Nuclear Science & Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Atomic energy organization of Iran, and National Liaises Office (NLO) for technical cooperation with the IAEA.
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This work was supported by International Atomic Energy Agency (Grant number IRA5013).
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Gharibreza, M., Zaman, M., Mahmoudi, M. et al. Assessing the impact of land use and climate changes on the sedimentary regime of Valasht mountainous Lake (Iran) using radionuclide techniques. Environ Earth Sci 81, 357 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10484-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10484-9