TY - JOUR T1 - Identifying spatial patterns of erosion for use in precision conservation JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 355 LP - 362 VL - 60 IS - 6 AU - J.A. Schumacher AU - T.C. Kaspar AU - J.C. Ritchie AU - T.E. Schumacher AU - D.L. Karlen AU - E.R. Venteris AU - G.W. McCarty AU - T.S. Colvin AU - D.B. Jaynes AU - M.J. Lindstrom AU - T.E. Fenton Y1 - 2005/11/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/60/6/355.abstract N2 - The application of site-specific conservation practices requires knowledge of spatial patterns in fields. This study evaluated two methods of delineating soil erosion patterns in a central Iowa field. First, soil erosion rates of individual grid based samples were estimated using soil displacement of cesium-137 (137Cs). Second, tillage and water erosion were estimated using the topography-driven Water and Tillage Erosion Model (WATEM). The tillage erosion map showed soil loss in convex shoulder positions and soil accumulation in concave footslope and toeslope landscape positions. Alternately, water erosion was associated with slope severity and slope length on backslopes. When the tillage and water erosion map patterns were combined a good correlation with the 137Cs soil erosion pattern was graphically and statistically exhibited. Study results suggest that tillage erosion be included with water and wind erosion estimates when developing spatial maps that reflect a field's erosion history. Spatial maps depicting a field's erosion history and the primary processes affecting erosion could be used for site-specific implementation of conservation practices such as cover crops, organic matter additions, and no-till, which could be targeted at specific erosion processes. ER -