Special Issue on Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield Modeling

Abstract

Soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems because it removes fertile soil that is rich in nutrients and, in turn, increases the natural level of sedimentation in rivers and reservoirs, reducing their storage capacity and life span. Land degradation stems from a combination of factors related to land use, agricultural intensification, and intense rainstorms. For maintaining and improving soil productivity, soil resources need to be conserved for optimal land use. In other words, to restore the productivity of soil and prevent further damage, planning for conservation and management of watersheds become vital. For assessing soil erosion and sediment yield from watersheds, several empirical models on the basis of geomorphological parameters have been developed and are available in the literature. Among several methods, the sediment yield index (SYI) method and universal soil loss equation (USLE) are extensively used for the estimation of soil erosion and prioritization of watersheds for their treatment. Research in hydrological modeling and related watershed planning issues form a significant component of the prevailing environmental activities. During the last three decades, a number of empirical and conceptual hydrological models have been developed for the prediction of soil erosion and sediment yield modeling. Thus, there is a need to have another look at different aspects of soil erosion and sediment yield modeling and enhance their understanding for improved practical applications. The present special issue of the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering focuses on soil erosion and sediment yield modeling, including the effects of land use/cover changes, extended applications using empirical and physically based soil erosion and sediment yield models, and watershed management coupling remote sensing and the geographic information system (GIS). Within this framework, the papers of this special issue have been grouped into the following: studies on the basis of physically based, conceptual, and empirical models; advancement and review; watershed management; and experimental work. Papers titled “Identification of Critical Erosion Watersheds for Control Management in Data Scarce Condition Using the SWAT Model,” “Use of Caesium-137 Measurements and Long-Term Records of Sediment Load to Calibrate the Sediment Delivery Component of the SEDD Model and Explore Scale Effect: Examples from Southern Italy,” “Application of SWAT Model and Geospatial Techniques for Sediment-Yield Modeling in Ungauged Watersheds,” “Soil Erosion and Sediment-Yield Prediction at Basin Scale in Upstream Watershed of Miyun Reservoir,” “Improved Hillslope Erosion Module for the Digital Yellow-River Model,” and “Evaluation of GIS-Based Watershed Model for Streamflow and Sediment-Yield Simulation in the Upper Baitarani River Basin of Eastern India” fall in the category of physically based soil erosion and sediment yield modeling. Papers titled “Inductive Group Method of Data Handling Neural Network Approach to Model Basin Sediment Yield,” “Modeling Suspended Sediment Using Artificial Neural Networks and TRMM-3B42 Version 7 Rainfall Dataset,” and “Accounting for Conceptual Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield Modeling Uncertainty in the APEX Model Using Bayesian Model Averaging” deal with conceptual modeling for soil erosion and sediment yield. Papers titled “Application of GISCoupled Modified MMF Model to Estimate Sediment Yield on a Watershed Scale,” “Impact of Climate Change on Future Soil Erosion in Different Slope, Land Use, and Soil-Type Conditions in a Part of the Narmada River Basin, India,” and “Spatially Distributed Sheet, Rill, and Ephemeral Gully Erosion” employ empirical models for the estimation of sediment yield. The paper “Sediment Graphs Based on Entropy Theory,” which derives an instantaneous unit sediment graph (IUSG or USG) to determine sediment discharge and establishes a relation between sediment yield and runoff volume, exhibits an advancement in the field of sediment yield modeling. Conversely, the paper “Geographic Variation of USLE/RUSLE Erosivity and Erodibility Factors” provides a comprehensive review on the subject. The papers “Integrated Modeling Approach to the Response of Soil Erosion and Sediment Export to Land-Use Change at the Basin Scale,” “Evaluating the Impact of the Spatial Distribution of Land Management Practices on Water Erosion: Case Study of a Mediterranean Catchment,” and “Sediment Fingerprinting for Calibrating a Soil Erosion and Sediment-Yield Model in Mixed Land-Use Watersheds” deal with watershed management. The papers “Establishing a Soil Loss Threshold for Limiting Rilling,” “Transport Capacity of Overland Flow with High Sediment Concentration,” “Modeling Rainfall Erosivity by Measured Drop-Size Distributions,” “Modeling Rill Erosion at the Sparacia Experimental Area,” “Rapid Weathering and Erosion of Mudstone Induced by Saltwater Migration near a Slope Surface,” and “Rain Microstructure and Erosivity Relationships under Pressurized Rainfall Simulator” are on the basis of experimental work. The aim of this issue is to present high-quality technical articles representing the most recent developments in the field of soil erosion and sediment yield modeling, including practical applications. This special issue is expected to become the first in a sequence of future issues on this topic.