Soil erosion, sediment yield and sedimentation of reservoir: a review

Sedimentation is an important parameter to assess the life of a reservoir. Seventy-eight years ago, Cook was the first to identify mathematically, the three major factors affecting soil erosion in the catchment of a reservoir. As sedimentation is dependent on sediment yield and sediment yield depends on soil erosion, it is required to predict all three parameters to estimate the life of a reservoir. Since then many researchers carried their research dealing with soil erosion, sediment yield and sedimentation in various reservoirs for its practical significance. The aim of this article is to present a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of the important investigations on soil erosion, sediment yield and sedimentation in various reservoirs highlighting the governing mathematical background of these problems. 198 references are included in this review paper.