Search results for "RUSLE"

Soil erosion in sloping vineyards assessed by using botanical indicators and sediment collectors in the Ruwer-Mosel valley

2016

Steep slopes, erodible soils, rill and ephemeral gullies, compaction due to wheel. traffic and human trampling are common features in vineyards around the world and result in high soil erosion rates. However, little is known about seasonal and spatial variations of soil erosion rates due to factors such as the impact of the vine plantation, harvest, and tillage on the soil redistribution over the long-term temporal scale. The goal of this study is to assess long-term soil erosion rates and the impact of management on sediment and runoff yield by means of Gerlach troughs and a topographical approach based on botanic benchmarks in two paired vineyards with different ages (3 and 35 years) loca…

Water erosion prediction by stochastic and empirical models in the Mediterranean: A case study in Northern Sicily (Italy)

2012

The present thesis aimed to explore the methodological advantages as well as limitations in applying different modelling approaches to predict water soil erosion in Mediterranean environments. The research was accomplished in the central northern part of Sicily (Italy), considering this region to be representative of Mediterranean environmental conditions. In this region soil degradation problems, due to water erosion are becoming more and more serious. Consequently, defining models being able to predict erosion susceptibility and to discriminate environmental factors causing erosion is important to protect soil resources. The prediction of the spatial distribution of soil erosion processes…

Soil Erosion and Deposition Rate Inside an Artificial Reservoir in Central Italy: Bathymetry versus RUSLE and Morphometry

2022

This study, using different direct and indirect methodologies, evaluated the sedimentation rate in an artificial reservoir in central Italy. This reservoir is regionally representative and was built in the 1960s for hydroelectric purposes; it has experienced a strong decrease in trap efficiency and a loss of over 70% of the stored water volume. Direct measurements of the lake bottom bathymetry, carried out in 2006 and 2015, and 3D reconstructions performed in a GIS environment, made it possible to calculate the volume of filling material and to verify an increasing trend in the sedimentation rate since 2006. The sample reservoir denudation rate was compared with that obtained using the Revi…

Testing the long term applicability of USLE-M equation at a olive orchard microcatchment in Spain

2016

Abstract Universal Soil Loss Equation USLE-based erosion models have been used extensively to complement erosion measurements, to understand the interactions of the different geophysical features into erosion processes and to assess adequate alternative management practices and scenarios analyses. Despite its proved usefulness on different land-uses around the world, there is an urgent need to set up simple tools which do not require an advanced management expertise in terms of both choose of model parameters and calculation ability and which are accurate particularly at the event scale. In this paper the suitability of the Modified USLE (USLE-M) model at the event and the annual scale were…

Exploring calibration strategies of the SEDD model in two olive orchard catchments

2017

To optimize soil conservation strategies in catchments, it is required an accurate diagnosis of the areas contributing to soil erosion by using models such as SEDD (Sediment Delivery Distributed model). In this study, different calibration strategies of the SEDD model were explored to adapt its use in two olive catchments with different environmental features and managements. A data series of rainfall–runoff–sediment load, collected in the catchments for 6 years was used: i) to evaluate calibration strategies for different management and flow conditions through the analysis of the C and R factors, and ii) to describe the temporal patterns of sediment delivery ratio (SDR) at the event and an…

Time Scale Effects and Interactions of Rainfall Erosivity and Cover Management Factors on Vineyard Soil Loss Erosion in the Semi-Arid Area of Souther…

2019

Several authors describe the effectiveness of cover crop management practice as an important tool to prevent soil erosion, but at the same time, they stress on the high soil loss variability due to the interaction of several factors characterized by large uncertainty. In this paper the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model is applied to two Sicilian vineyards that are characterized by different topographic factors

Influence of the rainfall measurement interval on the erosivity determinations in the Mediterranean area

2006

Summary The single-storm erosion index, EI, of the USLE and RUSLE models may vary appreciably with the rainfall measurement interval, Δ t . However, the effect of Δ t on EI has not been investigated in the Mediterranean area. Approximately 700 erosive events and 1.5 years of rainfall energies measured by a rainfall impact measurement device were used to evaluate the effect of the rainfall measurement interval (5 min ⩽ Δ t  ⩽ 60 min) on the erosivity determinations in the Mediterranean semi-arid area of Sicily. According to both literature and practical considerations, a reference time interval equal to 15 min was used in this investigation. Hourly rainfall data led to an appreciable underes…

Application of RUSLE model for the assessment of soil erosion in the western sector of Palermo Mountains (north-western Sicily)

2009

The aim of this work is to study the impact of vegetation cover on water erosion phenomena by exploiting an integrated approach to the assessment of soil loss rates. The investigated area is located in the western portion of the mountainous group named “Monti di Palermo” and occupies an area of approximately 475 km2; this area, which extends from sea level up to about 1,300 m, is mainly characterized by the presence of lithosols and luvisols laying above carbonate and terrigenous substrates. The assessment of erosion intensity was indirectly obtained by applying the RUSLE model, that allowed to estimate soil loss produced by rill-interrill erosion phenomena. Starting from topographical and …

Evaluating the effects of man-induced topographic changes in landscape structure on soil erosion by water: a case study in Sicily

2012

Practical thresholds to distinguish erosive and rill rainfall events

2019

Abstract In this paper, 1017 rainfall events from 2008 to 2017 are used to identify the rainfall threshold that produces upland erosion at the Masse (central Italy) and Sparacia (southern Italy) experimental stations. The rainfall events are classified into three classes: non-erosive, interrill-only and rill. The threshold values for separating as correctly as possible the erosive rains (case I) and the rill rains (case II) are derived solely from the hyetograph. Each threshold value is obtained by imposing that the long-term erosivity of the events above the threshold is equal to the long-term erosivity of all erosive events (case I) or only rill events (case II). The performances of selec…