The influence of drainage network formation and characteristics over a catchment's sediment yield

The influence of certain geomorphologic parameters, such as the bifurcation ratio, on a catchment's sediment yield is rarely reported in the literature in contrast to the catchment area, which is assumed as a predominant morphological parameter for quantifying catchment sediment yields. In this paper, the influence of the catchment bifurcation ratio on the sediment yield is examined. Specifically, the mean weighted bifurcation ratio is proposed so as to give more weight to the first order streams of the overall drainage pattern in the context of sediment productivity and delivery. Mean annual sediment yields from four adjacent catchments in Western Greece have been estimated. It is shown that in catchments with higher bifurcation ratios there is an increase in sediment yield estimates, which is mainly accounted for the neo-tectonic activity and the geomorphologic processes in the area.