- Title
- Modelling soil erosion with a downscaled landscape evolution model
- Creator
- Coulthard, Tom J.; Hancock, Greg R.; Lowry, John B. C.
- Relation
- Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Vol. 37, Issue 10, p. 1046-1055
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.3226
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2012
- Description
- The measurement and prediction of soil erosion is important for understanding both natural and disturbed landscape systems. In particular numerical models of soil erosion are important tools for managing landscapes as well as understanding how they have evolved over time. Over the last 40 years a variety of methods have been used to determine rates of soil loss from a landscape and these can be loosely categorized into empirical and physically based models. Alternatively, physically based landscape evolution models (LEMs) have been developed that provide information on soil erosion rates at much longer decadal or centennial scales, over large spatial scales and examine how they may respond to environmental and climatic changes. Both soil erosion LEMs are interested in similar outcomes (landscape development and sediment delivery) yet have quite different methodologies and parameterizations. This paper applies a LEM (the CAESAR model) for the first time at time and space scales where soil erosion models have largely been used. It tests the ability of the LEM to predict soil erosion on a 30 m experimental plot on a trial rehabilitated landform in the Northern Territory, Australia. It then continues to discuss the synergies and differences between soil erosion and LEMs. The results demonstrate that once calibrated for the site hydrology, predicted suspended sediment and bedload yields from CAESAR show a close correspondence in both volume and timing of field measured data. The model also predicts, at decadal scales, sediment loads close to that of field measured data. Findings indicate that the small-scale drainage network that forms within these erosion plots is an important control on the timing and magnitude of sediment delivery. Therefore, it is important to use models that can alter the DEM to reflect changing topography and drainage network as well as having a greater emphasis on channel processes.
- Subject
- soil erosion; landscape evolution; modelling; Australia
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1302540
- Identifier
- uon:20495
- Identifier
- ISSN:0197-9337
- Language
- eng
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