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First-year post-fire erosion rates in Bitterroot National Forest, Montana

Publications Posted on: March 04, 2020
Accelerated runoff and erosion commonly occur following forest fires due to combustion of protective forest floor material, which results in bare soil being exposed to overland flow and raindrop impact, as well as water repellent soil conditions.

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; environmental consequences fact sheet 12: Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Fuel Management (FuMe) tool

Publications Posted on: August 01, 2018
The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Fuel Management (FuMe) tool was developed to estimate sediment generated by fuel management activities. WEPP FuMe estimates sediment generated for 12 fuel-related conditions from a single input. This fact sheet identifies the intended users and uses, required inputs, what the model does, and tells the user how to obtain the model.

Protecting the source: Tools to evaluate fuel treatment cost vs. water quality protection

Pages Posted on: March 08, 2018
High-intensity wildfires are one of the leading causes of severe soil erosion in western U.S. watersheds. This erosion can lead to disruptive deposits of sediment in reservoirs and water supply systems.  For this reason, land managers can benefit from estimating the erosion potential of high-intensity wildfires in order to decide where to focus fuel reduction efforts. To help forest managers prioritize forest fuel reduction decisions, scientists from the Rocky Mountain Research Station and other agencies and organizations have developed several modeling tools that predict fire risk and erosion potential in and around watersheds. These tools, which include FSim, FlamMap, and WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project), are helping land managers preserve long-term forest health and preserve water supply and access in the western United States.

Modeling streamflow in a snow-dominated forest watershed using the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model

Publications Posted on: January 09, 2018
The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model was originally developed for hillslope and small watershed applications. Recent improvements to WEPP have led to enhanced computations for deep percolation, subsurface lateral flow, and frozen soil. In addition, the incorporation of channel routing has made the WEPP model well suited for large watersheds with perennial flows.

Impact of surface coal mining on soil hydraulic properties

Publications Posted on: January 06, 2017
Soil erosion is strongly related to soil hydraulic properties. Understanding how surface coal mining affects these properties is therefore important in developing effective management practices to control erosion during reclamation.

Protecting the source: Tools to evaluate fuel treatment cost vs. water quality protection

Publications Posted on: October 25, 2016
High-intensity wildfires are one of the leading causes of severe soil erosion in western U.S. watersheds. This erosion can lead to disruptive deposits of sediment in reservoirs and water supply systems. Fuel treatments such as controlled burns and forest thinning can reduce wildfire intensity and help preserve topsoil.

Planning it forward: Building erosion prediction databases to support rapid assessment of post-fire erosion risks

Science Spotlights Posted on: August 17, 2016
The Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS), in collaboration with Michigan Technological Research Institute (MTRI), received a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop an online database that would quickly combine the information provided by satellite images that showed the distribution of fire severity with USGS and NRCS databases and deliver that information in a format that was readily accessible by the Water Erosion Prediction Project Geospatial Interface (GeoWEPP).

Watershed-scale evaluation of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model in the Lake Tahoe basin

Publications Posted on: April 21, 2016
Forest managers need methods to evaluate the impacts of management at the watershed scale. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) has the ability to model disturbed forested hillslopes, but has difficulty addressing some of the critical processes that are important at a watershed scale, including baseflow and water yield.

Validation of Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model for low-volume forest roads

Publications Posted on: March 28, 2016
Erosion rates of recently graded nongravel forest roads were measured under rainfall simulation on five different soils. The erosion rates observed on 24 forest road erosion plots were compared with values predicted by the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Model, Version 93.1. Hydraulic conductivity and soil erodibility values were predicted from methods developed for rangeland and cropland soils.

Quantifying phosphorus delivery pathways in forest watersheds

Science Spotlights Posted on: October 07, 2015
Forest Service scientists developed the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model for forest conditions. Recent improvements to this model are the addition of shallow lateral flow as one of the primary sources of runoff from steep forested watersheds and the development of a phosphorus delivery model.

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