Erosion risk assessment and sediment yield production of the King Talal Watershed, Jordan

King Talal Dam (KTD) watershed is the most important one in Jordan. At its outlet lies the KTD (80 MCM capacity) which serves irrigation purposes in t he Jordan Valley. However, the dam suffers from accelerated annual sediment ation. Therefore, this study is directed to assess the erosion risk over th e watershed, and to simulate annual sediment yield at the dam in order to d evise the appropriate conservation practices. Generalized assessment was fi rst conducted over the watershed on the basis of drainage texture, rainfall erosion index (R), and the ratio p(2)/P. As a result, the watershed is div ided into zones of severe, high (gullying), high (overland flow) and low er osion risk. Sediment yield at the dam was evaluated by a simulation model. For model validation the stimulation results were compared to the measured values over 12 years period, and a good agreement was obtained in some of t he years. The simulation results allow us to assess the application of two practical conservation practices: terracing and plantation of trees.