Predicting plot soil loss by empirical and process-oriented approaches. A review

Soil erosion directly affects the quality of the soil, its agricultural productivity and its biological diversity. Many mathematical models have been developed to estimate plot soil erosion at different temporal scales. At present, empirical soil loss equations and process-oriented models are considered as constituting a complementary suite of models to be chosen to meet the specific user need. In this paper, the Universal Soil Loss Equation and its revised versions are first reviewed. Selected methodologies developed to estimate the factors of the model with the aim to improve the soil loss estimate are described. Then the Water Erosion Prediction Project which represents a process-oriented technology for soil erosion prediction at different spatial scales, is presented. The available criteria to discriminate between acceptable and unacceptable soil loss estimates are subsequently introduced. Finally, some research needs, concerning tests of both empirical and process-oriented models, estimates of the soil loss of given return periods, reliability of soil loss measurements, measurements of rill and gully erosion, and physical models are delineated.