The Significance of Digital Elevation Models in the Calculation of LS Factor and Soil Erosion

Maria Michalopoulou, Nikolaos Depountis (), Konstantinos Nikolakopoulos and Vasileios Boumpoulis
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Maria Michalopoulou: Department of Geology, Division of Applied Geology and Geophysics, University of Patras, 265 04 Patras, Greece
Nikolaos Depountis: Department of Geology, Division of Applied Geology and Geophysics, University of Patras, 265 04 Patras, Greece
Konstantinos Nikolakopoulos: Department of Geology, Division of Applied Geology and Geophysics, University of Patras, 265 04 Patras, Greece
Vasileios Boumpoulis: Department of Geology, Division of Applied Geology and Geophysics, University of Patras, 265 04 Patras, Greece

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-36

Abstract: This study focuses on the role of topography in soil erosion modelling by examining the impact of topographic data from various sources on the calculation of the slope length and slope steepness factor (LS). For this purpose, the Pinios dam drainage basin in the Ilia Regional Unit, Western Greece, was selected as a pilot area of this study. Specifically, six Digital Elevation Models (DEM) from four different sources with various resolutions (5, 30, and 90 m) were compared with ground control point (GCP) values to assess their relative vertical accuracy. These DEM were acquired for the calculation of the LS factor by using two different equations. Then the calculated LS factors were implemented in the RUSLE model for the estimation of soil loss. The current study includes a comparative analysis of the elevation, the slopes, the LS factor, and the soil loss. The results showed that the 5 m resolution DEM had the best vertical accuracy, and thus it is considered to be the most suitable DEM for soil erosion modelling. Moreover, the comparison of the DEM elevation values showed high similarity, in contrast to the slope values. In addition, the comparative assessment of the LS and soil loss values calculated from each DEM with the two LS equations revealed a great divergence. It is noticeable that both LS and soil loss results presented higher values for slopes greater than 20°. It is concluded that the comparison of the LS values calculated with the two examined approaches and the use of different DEM with various resolutions and different sources does not change consistently with the increase of DEM grid size and accuracy. Thus, it is very significant in soil erosion modelling to use an LS equation that imports thresholds in its formula to avoid overestimation in soil loss calculations.

Keywords: soil erosion; topographic factor; digital elevation models; revised universal soil; loss equation; geographical information systems; Greece (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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