Soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems affecting the quality of soil, land, and water resources upon which humans depend for their sustenance. A soil erosion hazard map is highly useful for environmental planning, soil conservation and management in soil erosion prone areas. In order to assess the soil erosion hazard, remote sensing (RS) and geographical information syst...

Existing interrill erosion equations based on mini-plot experiments have largely ignored the effects of slope length and plot size on interrill erosion rate. This paper describes a series of simulated rainfall experiments which were conducted according to a randomized factorial design for five slope lengths (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, and 2 m) at a width of 0.4 m, five slope gradients (17%, 27%, 36%, ...

Quantifying crop residue cover on the soil surface is important for improving estimates of surface energy balance, net primary productivity, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. Quantifying crop residue cover is also an important factor in controlling soil erosion and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation tillage practices. By reducing the movement of eroded soil into streams and ...

The decision of where, when, and how to apply the most effective postfire erosion mitigation treatments requires land managers to assess the risk of damaging runoff and erosion events occurring after a fire. To meet this challenge, the Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) was developed. ERMiT is a web-based application that uses the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) technology to estimate...

Improved computer models of erosion have been developed, considering soil hydraulic conductivity. The models deal with erosion of levees, dams and embankments due to overtopping. The simulations trace the formation of rills and gullies, beginning with initial overtopping and continuing to final breaching. Physical models performed at 1-g and high g using a geotechnical centrifuge have been used...

The water balance and phosphorus inputs of surface waters of the Weiße Elster catchment, Germany, have been quantified using the models GROWA/MEPhos and SWAT. A comparison of the model results shows small differences in the mean long-term total runoff for the entire study area. All relevant pathways of phosphorus transport were considered in MEPhos with phosphorus inputs resulting to about 65% ...