Using 137Cs Technique to Investigate Soil Redistribution Rates by Portable HPGe (Case Studies, Kachik Paired Subcatchments)

137Cs technique for determining soil particles redistribution is of tremendous importance considered by most soil and water conservation experts. Due to time and monetary limitations for spectrometry in the lab, a portable High Pure Germanium Detector was used in this study. For this, Kachik paired subcatchments were chosen and 60 positions in each subcatchment were used for spectrometry analyses. A total of 108 soil samples from the reference area were selected and their spectrometries acquired in the lab. With regards to in situ spectrometry, 90% of each of the subcatchment positions belonged to erosion and covered all areas of interest. However sedimentation positions belonged only to stream and river facies. Using Mass Balance II, the annual soil erosion for test and sample subcatchments were 10.1 and 11.4 t/ha, respectively. For these subcatchments, SDR was 98 and 99. It should be noted that the use of a portable High Pure Germanium Detector needs a reference area as the traditional 137Cs technique.