A comparative study of rainfall erosivity estimation for southern Italy and southeastern Australia

Abstract In this paper, using Sicilian and Australian rainfall intensity data, a comparison between different estimators (modified Fournier index F, FF index) of the rainfall erosivity factor in the USLE was made. The relationship between the modified Fournier index and the mean annual rainfall, P, was theoretically derived. The K constant, linking the FF index and P, and its cumulative distribution function (CDF) were used to establish hydrological similitude among different geographical regions of southern Italy and southeastern Australia. To predict the erosion risk for an event of given average recurrence interval, the probability distribution of the annual value F a.j of the Arnoldus i…