VFSMOD-W a graphical Windows system for the evaluation and design of vegetative filter strips for sediment trapping 1

Design of vegetative filter strips for trapping sediment and sediment-borne chemicals can be done on a stormevent basis using VFSMOD. This approach requires confidence in a number of input parameters such as soil infiltration characteristics, surface topography, vegetative composition and roughness, and incoming sediment load and particle size distribution. We have developed a simple program, UH, to estimate runoff hydrographs and sediment transport from a source area based on the NRCS Unit Hydrograph Method and the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE). VFSMOD uses this information from the source area to predict the amount of sediment trapped in the filter strip. UH and VFSMOD have been integrated into one system using a graphical user interface program, VFSMOD-W. The integrated system allows the user to develop input data sets and perform complex modeling analyses such as sensitivity and uncertainty analyses.