PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Wells, R.R.
AU  - Flanagan, D.C.
AU  - Langendoen, E.J.
AU  - McGehee, R.P.
AU  - Bingner, R.L.
AU  - Frankenberger, J.R.
AU  - Locke, M.A.
AU  - Momm, H.G.
AU  - Renschler, C.S.
AU  - Srivastava, A.
AU  - Vieira, D.A.N.
AU  - Tsegaye, T.
TI  - Cropland water erosion estimates simulated by RUSLE2 and WEPP: Results from two initial studies
AID  - 10.2489/jswc.2024.00072
DP  - 2024 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
PG  - 215--232
VI  - 79
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.jswconline.org/content/79/5/215.short
4100  - http://www.jswconline.org/content/79/5/215.full
AB  - Sustainable agriculture begins with reliable conservation management planning. Conservation management planning addresses soil loss or erosion control while coupling productivity and profitability on the farm together with environmental stewardship. Traditional row crop agriculture utilizes soil loss prediction technology to estimate the impact of different management strategies to minimize soil loss and maximize soil conservation. In this present study, two current USDA water erosion prediction technologies used in the United States to prescribe conservation management plans (RUSLE2 and WEPP) were examined. The technologies were compared first as designed and intended for management plan implementation (17,525 simulations) and second for equivalent climate-specific conditions (18,480 simulations), using similar input parameters for management, soils, terrain (slope length and gradient), and crop yields. Results of the simulations generally show similar soil loss trends for managements, terrain characteristics, and crop yields. Simulated soil loss estimates disagree particularly for clay-textured soils and no-till management. Both studies show these trends independent of climate inputs evaluated. Though the comparison results provide important insight into model tendencies, there are still open questions remaining regarding climate.