Scaling from field to region for wind erosion prediction using the Wind Erosion Prediction System and geographical information systems

ABSTRACT:

The Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) simulates soil erosion and dust emissions from agricultural soils. Due to the severe risk of wind erosion in Adams County, Washington, WEPS and ArcGIS were used to simulate soil loss and particulate matter ⩽ 10 μ in diameter (PM10) emissions. On a countywide basis, WEPS predicted an annual soil loss of 14,250 kg ha⁻¹ (6.4 tons ac⁻¹) and PM10 loss of 390 kg ha⁻¹ (0.2 tons ac⁻¹) from fields in summer fallow. Soil loss from fields in summer fallow was highest in west-central and south-central Adams County; thus, soil conservation strategies aimed at reducing wind erosion may be most effective in these parts of the county. The USDA Soil Survey Geographic database classifies Adams County into six wind erodibility groups (WEG) with soil loss increasing in severity from WEG1 to WEG6. Our assessment of soil loss using WEPS indicated that soil loss was highest for soils designated as WEG1 and lowest for soils designated as WEG2 whereas PM10 emissions were highest for WEG4 and lowest for WEG2. This study demonstrated that wind erosion assessments and inventories can be made by scaling from field to region using WEPS and a geographic information system.