Author(s): Selen Deviren Saygin; Chi Hua Huang; Dennis C. Flanagan; Gunay Erpul

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Critical shear stress; dispersion; erosion; interrill and rill erodibility; revised universal soil loss equation; water–sediment interface interactions

Abstract: Functional relationships between soil erodibility equations of empirically-based revised universal soil loss equation and process-based water erosion prediction project models were investigated using new datasets from rainfall simulation experiments to overcome conceptual differences of models in estimating soil erodibility. Erodibility potentials of two different soils were quantified for three different initial soil moisture conditions, and relations between the process-based erodibility, partitioned as interrill erodibility, rill erodibility and critical shear stress, and empirically-based erodibility were examined. A process-based soil erodibility assessment within the universal soil loss equation was attempted. Statistically significant differences are found when considering the effects of surface hydrologic conditions on soil erodibility. Process-based soil erodibility estimates under dry conditions were found to be comparable with original water erosion prediction project datasets. The results showed that procedure could be useful for tapping into the large number of datasets available and building the next generation of process-based erosion models.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2017.1312577

Year: 2018