Abstract
A geographic information system-based (GIS) method for estimating the length-slope (LS) factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation using national-scale datasets was developed and validated. The method was applied to approximately two-thirds of the Mississippi River basin, focusing on agricultural subwatersheds in the Midwest. The results were validated by comparing the GIS-based statistical distributions of LS-factor values with the distribution of LS-factors calculated from the Natural Resources Inventory database at the eight-digit watershed level. The GIS-based approach was shown to produce statistical distributions of LS-factor values very similar to those described by the Natural Resources Inventory database of field measurements, providing for the first time strong support for using GIS-based methods to represent the spatial heterogeneity and magnitude of LS-factors. Development and validation of the GIS-based approach is an important step toward conducting large-scale erosion potential assessments that have soil conservation implications in natural resources management, agronomy, and agrochemical exposure risk assessments.
Footnotes
Michael F. Winchell is a senior GIS specialist at Stone Environmental Inc., Montpelier, Vermont. Scott H. Jackson is a principal scientist managing North American Free Trade Agreement regulatory strategy and stewardship at BASF Corporation, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Adrian M. Wadley is a senior research scientist at Stone Environmental Inc., San Francisco, California. Raghavan Srinivasan is director of the Spatial Sciences Laboratory, Department of Ecosystem and Science Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
- © 2008 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
