Modelling of Soil Erosion and Accumulation in an Agricultural Landscape—A Comparison of Selected Approaches Applied at the Small Stream Basin Level in the Czech Republic

Jiří Jakubínský,Pavel Cudlín,Jan Procházka,Vilém Pechanec

doi:10.3390/w11030404

Abstract

This article deals with the modelling of erosion and accumulation processes in the contemporary cultural landscape of Central Europe. The area of interest is the headwater part of the small stream catchment—the Kopaninský Stream in central Czech Republic. It is an agricultural and forest–agricultural landscape with a relatively rugged topography and riverbed slope, which makes the terrain very vulnerable to water erosion. The main aim of this article is to compare the results of four selected soil erosion and sediment delivery models, which are currently widely used to quantitate the soil erosion and sediment accumulation rates, respectively. The models WaTEM/SEDEM, USPED, InVEST and TerrSet work on several different algorithms. The model outputs are compared in terms of the total volume of eroded and accumulated sediment within the catchment per time unit, and further according to the spatial distribution of sites susceptible to soil loss or sediment accumulation. Although each model is based partly on a specific calculation algorithm and has different data pre-processing requirements, we have achieved relatively comparable results in calculating the average annual soil loss and accumulation. However, each model is distinct in identifying the spatial distribution of specific locations prone to soil loss or accumulation processes.

Highlights

Soil erosion is a physical process occurring almost everywhere in the world, even in landscapes with low slopes
In Europe, a number of research projects have been carried out in the past focusing on soil erosion and its modelling, and the importance of the theme is illustrated by the fact that the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) was established within the Joint
The WaTEM/SEDEM (W/S) model calculates the “netto erosion”

Summary

Introduction

Soil erosion is a physical process occurring almost everywhere in the world, even in landscapes with low slopes. 10 million hectares of fertile land are eroded each year, and about 115 million hectares of soil are affected by erosion in Europe [2]. This topic has been dealt with in the long term by both the professional community and political decision makers – as evidenced by the fact that soil erosion, as the main soil degradation process, has been identified as a key priority within the Soil Thematic. In Europe, a number of research projects have been carried out in the past focusing on soil erosion and its modelling, and the importance of the theme is illustrated by the fact that the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) was established within the Joint.

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion