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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #154717
Title: APPLICATION OF THE WEPP MODEL TO HILLSIDE LANDS WITH CONVENTIONAL TILL IN THE TUXTLAS, VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Author
item LAROSE, MYRIAM - MONTECILLO, MEXICO
item OROPEZA-MOTA, J - MONTECILLO, MEXICO
item Norton, Lloyd

Submitted to: 25 Years of Assessment of Erosion
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/22/2003
Publication Date: 9/22/2003
Citation: LAROSE, M., OROPEZA-MOTA, J.L., NORTON, L.D. APPLICATION OF THE WEPP MODEL TO HILLSIDE LANDS WITH CONVENTIONAL TILL IN THE TUXTLAS, VERACRUZ, MEXICO. 25 YEARS OF ASSESSMENT OF EROSION. 2003. p. 419-425.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In attempts to better manage soil and water resources, soil erosion models have received increasing attention. Until recently, the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) has been used as a soil erosion model on the field scale. Since then, more process-based soil erosion models have been developed such as the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model. This new technology represents the state-of-the-art in modeling the effects of changes in surface characteristics on soil erosion by water. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is a process-based computer model used to predict soil loss and sediment deposition from overland flow on hillslopes, soil loss and sediment deposition from concentrated flow in small channels, and sediment deposition in impoundments (Flanagan and Nearing, 1995). Several studies have been conducted to test the sensitivity of key model parameters and evaluated the overall performance of the model hillslope throughout the United States. However, limited studies have been carried out in other parts of the world, due to the complexity of the program and the need of extensive input data sets. Hence, the main objective of this study was to test the hillslope application of the WEPP erosion model for simulating runoff and soil loss in selected runoff plots with traditional farming systems to consequently identify the issues and constraints surrounding the model applicability. The breakpoint climate data generator (BPCDG) was used to generate the climate file. Over results indicate the model gives reasonable results for conventional tillage in this soil/climatic zone. However, it is noted the model over-predicts small erosion events and under-predicts larger events. More calibration of the model is needed with field data from this region. The impact of this research is that better conservation efforts can be conducted by using the model to identify critical areas for concentrating soil protection.