TY - JOUR T1 - Water erosion assessment based on expert knowledge and limited information using an ordered logit model JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 592 LP - 599 VL - 54 IS - 3 AU - B.G.J.S. Sonneveld AU - P.J. Albersen Y1 - 1999/07/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/54/3/592.abstract N2 - This paper presents a model that reproduces the qualitative water erosion assessment given by soil experts for different types of land use. The model uses limited information on land characteristics as explanatory variables, which makes it suitable for sites where lack of detailed data prevents the application of quantitative models. An ordered logit model is used to relate the qualitative ranked observations of the expert to independent variables on site characteristics and land use. The estimated model reproduces 78% (hit ratio) of the assessment by the expert. In 8% of the cases, the model gives a higher class and, more seriously, in 14% it yields one class lower. The model has a higher accuracy rate in predicting the presence or absence of erosion (hit ratio of 86%). However, it is less precise in distinguishing between higher erosion classes, probably due to perception differences among the experts on the degree of erosion. ER -