Abstract
Climate change induces more extreme precipitation events, which increase the amount of soil loss. There are continuous requests from the decision-makers in the European Union to provide data on soil loss; the question is, which ones should we use? The paper presents the results of USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation), RUSLE (Revised USLE), USLE-M (USLE-Modified) and EPIC (Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator) modelling, based on rainfall simulations performed in the Koppány Valley, Hungary. Soil losses were measured during low-, moderate- and high-intensity rainfalls on cultivated soils formed on loess. The soil erodibility values were calculated by the equations of the applied soil erosion models and ranged from 0.0028 to 0.0087 t ha h ha−1 MJ−1 mm−1 for the USLE-related models. EPIC produced larger values. The coefficient of determination resulted in an acceptable correlation between the measured and calculated values only in the case of USLE-M. Based on other statistical indicators (e.g., NSEI, RMSE, PBIAS and relative error), RUSLE, USLE and USLE-M resulted in the best performance. Overall, regardless of being non-physically based models, USLE-type models seem to produce accurate soil erodibility values, thus modelling outputs.
Highlights
Water erosion is a worldwide problem that causes several economic and environmental impacts [1] due to deteriorating soil functions [2,3]
K-results based on the measured parameters by USLE, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and USLE-M and by the EPIC and USLE nomographs (Figure 2)
In the separated, calculated results, in the case of the USLE and RUSLE models, the wet runs resulted in higher K-values than the dry runs, while USLE-M indicated higher erodibility with dry runs
Summary
Water erosion is a worldwide problem that causes several economic and environmental impacts [1] due to deteriorating soil functions [2,3]. Sediments can deliver pollutants into surface waters or onto other lands, threatening sustainable land use [4]. As Miller et al [5] announced, nearly 90 percent of the total soil loss of nitrogen and phosphorus [6] can be delivered with the soil loss and later accumulated within the sedimented area. Recognizing the severity of accelerated soil erosion processes, a soil loss tolerance value was introduced [7,8] in the USA for soil conservation planning in the. The concept of tolerable soil loss was applied in soil conservation planning, as well as soil loss evaluation and mapping. The annual and long-term average soil loss can serve as the basis of soil erosion predictions and nonpoint source pollution control. Many scientists [14,15,16,17] emphasize that the conservation strategies should take into account large storms rather than average weather conditions
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