Role of Watershed Management Practices on Flood Hydrograph Characteristics (Case Study: Kakhk Paired Watershed)

In the present study, the impact of watershed management practices on flood hydrograph characteristics was investigated using HEC-HMS model. In order to design, calibrate, and validate the model, data from a representative paired watershed (Kakhk Watershed, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran) was collected and field surveys were performed to have the dataset further completed. Results of paired sample t-test, relative error statistics, Nash–Sutcliffe relative error and coefficient of determination for both real data and simulated results utilizing the HEC-HMS simulation software confirmed efficiency of the model in simulating flood hydrographs of the control and sample watersheds. Based on the results, watershed management practices could attenuate hydrologic response of the watershed and flood hydrograph characteristics such as flood coefficient (p-value: 0.001), peak discharge (p-value: 0.027), and flood volume (p-value: 0.026). Moreover, a comparison between structural practices and biological practices showed that, the biological practices could further attenuate the peak discharge and flood volume by 8.8 and 12.64%, respectively.