SEDCON: A Model of Nutrient and Heavy Metal Losses in Suspended Sediment

Abstract

A prototypical computer simulation model has been developed to aid watershed managers in estimating impacts of alternative land management practices on nutrient and heavy metal losses due to transported sediment on forested watersheds of the southwestern United States. The model, called SEDCON, allows users at remote locations with modest computer terminal equipment and commonly available data to obtain reliable estimates of nutrient and heavy metal concentrations in suspended sediment originating on uniformly-stocked, forested watersheds in the Southwest. SEDCON has been structured in an interactive mode to facilitate its use by persons not familiar with computer operations. Written in FORTRAN IV computer language, the model requires approximately 5000 words of core. SEDCON is operative on a DEC-10 computer at the University of Arizona.