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Geospatial application of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Model

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is a process-based technology for prediction of soil erosion by water at hillslope profile, field, and small watershed scales. In particular, WEPP utilizes observed or generated daily climate inputs to drive the surface hydrology processes (infiltration, runoff, ET) component, which subsequently impacts the rest of the model, including subsurface hydrology (percolation, subsurface lateral flow), hillslope erosion (interrill & rill detachment, sediment transport & deposition), channel hydrology/erosion (channel flow routing, detachment, sediment transport, deposition), plant growth, and residue decomposition. At the hillslope profile and/or field scale, simple Windows graphical user interfaces (GUIs) have been developed to easily specify the slope, soil, and management inputs. Likewise, simple watershed configurations of a few hillslopes and channels can be easily created and simulated with this GUI. However, as the catchment size increases, the complexity of developing and organizing all WEPP model inputs greatly increases, due to the multitude of potential variations in topography, soils, and land management practices. For these types of situations, numerical approaches and special user interfaces have been developed to allow for easier WEPP setup, utilizing either publicly-available or user-specific geospatial information (Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), Geographic Information System (GIS) soil layers, GIS land-use layers).

Keywords

Geographic Information Systems, soil erosion, Prediction, WEPP

Citation

Flanagan, D. C.; Frankenberger, J. R.; Cochrane, T. A.; Renschler, C. S.; Elliot, W. J. 2011. Geospatial application of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) Model. ISELE Paper Number 11084. Paper presented at the international symposium on erosion and landscape evolution; September 18-21, 2011; Anchorage, AK. 8 p.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/41497