Field Verification of Erosion Models Based on the Studies of a Small Catchment in the Vorobzha River Basin (Kursk oblast, Russia)
V. N. Golosov, А. П. Жидкин, А И Петелько, M. S. Osipova, Н. Н. Иванова, Maxim Ivanov
Abstract
Abstract Verification of soil erosion models (WATEM/SEDEM for rainfall and tillage soil erosion and regional model of the State Hydrological Institute for snowmelt soil erosion) was carried out on the basis of estimates of soil erosion and deposition rates in an arable catchment of dry valley in the Vorobzha River basin located in the central part of the Srednerusskaya Upland in the forest-steppe zone. The rates of soil loss/gain for the entire period of agricultural use were obtained using the soil truncation method. The rate of sediment deposition in the dry valley bottom for the period after the 1986 was determined based on interpretation the Chernobyl-derived 137Cs depth distribution in the sediments. Comparison of the model calculations with field-based method estimates was generally in good agreement. Also, the erosion model calculation satisfactorily reflected the pattern of zones with different intensity of soil erosion. WATEM/SEDEM made it possible to take into account the movement of soil matter by tillage erosion. Some discrepancies between the modeling results and field data were mainly due to the insufficiently detailed input parameters, e.g., the data on crop rotations or local microrelief specifics. WATEM/SEDEM did not accurately estimate the rate and volume of sediment accumulation, especially for areas beyond cropland.