Search results for "universal soil loss equation"
showing 10 items of 28 documents
Linking sediment yield and caesium-137 spatial distribution at basin scale
1999
Abstract Identifying areas of the landscape that are most sensitive or susceptible to erosion stimulated the study of within-basin variability of the sediment delivery processes and the use of spatially distributed models coupled with Geographic Information Systems. The progress of sediment delivery distributed modelling is also dependent on the availability of measurements able to establish the link between eroded soil leaving an area and the patterns of erosion and deposition occurring along the hydraulic path from the considered area to the nearest stream reach. In this paper, the tracer technique using the radionuclide137Cs and its employment in sediment yield studies at basin scale are…
Estimating the USLE soil erodibility factor in Sicily, South Italy
2012
The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is used by professionals and technicians to predict soil loss by water erosion and to establish soil conservation measures. One of the key elements of the USLE is the K factor, which is a measure of the soil erodibility. Given the difficulty in collecting sufficient data to adequately measure K, early in the USLE's history the soil erodibility nomograph method was developed to allow estimation of K based on standard soil properties. Since the nomograph approach was developed based on a small number of soils in the United States, it is necessary for other contexts to check the nomograph's ability to predict the soil's true erodibility. Considering that…
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
Testing alternative erosivity indices to predict event soil loss from bare plots in Southern Italy
2009
Methods for predicting unit plot soil loss for the ‘Sparacia’ Sicilian (Southern Italy) site were developed using 316 simultaneous measurements of runoff and soil loss from individual bare plots varying in length from 11 to 44 m. The event unit plot soil loss was directly proportional to an erosivity index equal to (QREI30)1·47, being QREI30 the runoff ratio (QR) times the single storm erosion index (EI30). The developed relationship represents a modified version of the USLE-M, and therefore it was named USLE-MM. By the USLE-MM, a constant erodibility coefficient was deduced for plots of different lengths, suggesting that in this case the calculated erodibility factor is representative of a…
Reliability of rainfall kinetic power-intensity relationships
2017
The rainfall erosivity plays a fundamental role in water soil erosion processes and it can be expressed by its kinetic power. At first in this paper the raindrop size distributions measured, in the period June 2006- March 2014, by an optical disdrometer installed at the Department of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences of University of Palermo are aggregated into rainfall intensity classes, having different ranges, and the measured kinetic power values are determined. Measured kinetic power values are initially used for testing the applicability of the kinetic power-rainfall intensity relationships proposed by Wischmeier and Smith (1978), used in Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), Brown an…
Establishing soil loss tolerance: an overview
2016
Soil loss tolerance is a criterion for establishing if a soil is potentially subjected to erosion risk, productivity loss and if a river presents downstream over-sedimentation or other off-site effects are present at basin scale. At first this paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil loss and summarises the available definitions and the knowledge on the recommended values and evaluating criteria. Then a threshold soil loss value, at the annual temporal scale, established for limiting riling was used for defining the classical soil loss tolerance. Finally, some research needs on tolerable soil loss are listed.
Deducing the USLE mathematical structure by dimensional analysis and self-similarity theory
2010
The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was originally deduced by a statistical analysis of a large data set of soil loss measurements. The multiplicative structure of the model has been criticised due to the considerable interdependence between the variables. Using the soil erosion representative variables and the reference condition adopted in the USLE, the aim of this paper was to apply dimensional analysis and self-similarity theory to deduce the functional relationship among the selected variables. The analysis yielded a multiplicative equation, similar to the USLE. Therefore, this study suggested that the USLE has a logical structure with respect to the variables used to simulate the …
A comprehensive analysis of Universal Soil Loss Equation-based models at the Sparacia experimental area
2020
Improving Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)‐based models has large interest because simple and reliable analytical tools are necessary in the perspective of a sustainable land management. At first, in this paper, a general definition of the event rainfall‐ runoff erosivity factor for the USLE‐based models, REFₑ = (QR)ᵇ¹(EI₃₀)ᵇ², in which QR is the event runoff coefficient, EI₃₀ is the single‐storm erosion index, and b₁ and b₂ are coefficients, was introduced. The rainfall‐runoff erosivity factors of the USLE (b₁ = 0 and b₂ = 1), USLE‐M (b₁ = b₂ = 1), USLE‐MB (b₁ ≠ 1 and b₂ = 1), USLE‐MR (b₁ = 1 and b₂ ≠ 1), USLE‐MM (b₁ = b₂ ≠ 1), and USLE‐M2 (b₁ ≠ b₂ ≠ 1) can be defined using REFₑ. Then t…
Soil erosion assessment and control in Northeast Wollega, Ethiopia
2018
Soil erosion is the main driver of land degradation in Ethiopia, and in the whole region of East Africa. This study was conducted at the Northeast Wollega in West Ethiopia to estimate the soil losses by means of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The purpose of this paper is to identify erosion spot areas and target locations for appropriate development of soil and water conservation measures. Fieldwork and household survey were conducted to identify major determinants of soil erosion control. Six principal factors were used to calculate soil loss per year, such as rainfallerosivity, soil erodiblity, slope length, slope steepness, crop management and erosion-control practices…
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Forest Crop to Mitigate Erosion Using a Sediment Delivery Distributed Model
1998
In this paper sediment yield data, measured from 1978 to 1997 in a small experimental Calabrian basin reafforested with Eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus occidentalis Engl.), and RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) coupled with a sediment delivery distributed model are used to evaluate the antierosive effects of this forest cover. At first, the soil loss measureinents carried out in two experimental plots, located in the basin, are used to evaluate the crop and management factor C of RUSLE far Eucalyptus coppice. The reliability of the selected C factor value is verified by comparing, at an event scale, the measured and the calculated sediment yield values at the basin outlet. Then, a M…