Modelling of Soil Erosion Purpose
Modelling of Soil Erosion Purpose
Purpose
• research tool
• sensitivity analysis during planning
• design of engineering works
USLE
Developed from 15,000 plot years in USA:
Standardised plots : 9% slope, 72.6 ft long
A=RKLSCP
[A is mean annual soil loss in t/ac/yr]
Rainfall
R = rainfall factor = erosivity/100
Erosivity EI 30
E 11.87 8.73 log10 I (J/m 2 / mm) [for USA - Wischmeie r & Smith, 1958]
reciprocal relationship
E 29.8 127.5 / I (J/m 2 / mm) [for Zimbabwe - Hudson, 1965]
R = 0.29 Ey - 26
1
Soil Cons. in Kenya?
2
Soil conservation for agroforestry?
Example (from Morgan, p. 47)
Time from start (min) Rainfall Intensity (mm h-1) Kinetic energy per unit of Total kinetic energy per time
(mm) rain (J m-2 mm-1) slice (col 2 x col 4)
[J m-2]
0-14 1.52 6.08 8.83 13.42
15-29 14.22 56.88 27.56 391.90
30-44 26.16 104.64 28.58 747.65
45-59 31.5 126.00 28.79 906.89
60-74 8.38 33.52 26.00 217.88
75-89 0.25 1.00 - -
Erodibility
K = soil erodibility factor (mean annual soil loss per
unit of erosivity)
A = C S1.4 L0.6
where
A was the average soil loss per unit of AREA ,
C was a constant,
S was land slope (%),
L was slope length (ft).
A = C S1.4 L1.6
In Wischmeier & Smith (no relation) equation:
C = PLU . CC . SC . SR
where
PLU is a previous land use factor,
CC is a crop canopy factor,
SC is surface or ground cover factor and
SR is a surface roughness factor
Practice factor
P = practice factor [relative to erosion from field
with plant rows up/down slope].
y kq m s n
where
y is the sediment yield, q the overland flow and
s the slope angle
Morgan (1980) gives:
y kq s 2 1.66
Others
• Hairsine-Rose model
• Rose model [- both complex mathematical models
for detachment, entrainment, and deposition]
• CREAMS (Chemicals, Runoff, and erosion from
agricultural management systems)
• EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator)
• SCUAF (Soil changes under agroforestry)
• RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) -
see Hudson, 1995 for summary of changes
• WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project;
theoretical analysis; meant to replace USLE see
Chapter 5 in Morgan; also Hudson, 1995
• Stehlík (for Czech Rep. & Slovakia)
Indices of soil erodibility