Statistical Soil Erosion Model for Burnt Mountain Areas in Korea—RUSLE Approach

Park, Sang Deog; Lee, Kyu Song; Shin, Seung Sook

doi:10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0000441

Cited by 27 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The RUSLE has limited applications in other areas with different climates, topographies, soils, and cover conditions. To overcome the local heterogeneity of the RUSLE, the SEMMA was developed in South Korea using soil loss data from mountain slopes caused by a single period of heavy rain [35]. This model has been applied not only to natural mountain areas but also to areas with rapid changes in the mountain environment such as wildfires, logging, landslides, and slope management.…”

Section: Methodology 21 Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) is an old empirical model developed based on agricultural lands [26], it has been continuously used to estimate soil erosion in large-scale forest areas by using the NDVI extracted from satellite images to calculate the cover factor with technologies of geospatial information [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. To overcome local heterogeneity in parameters such as rainfall, soil, and vegetation, the soil erosion model for mountain areas (SEMMA) was developed using mountainous data measured in South Korea [35], and it showed a higher determination coefficient and Nash-Sutcliffe simulation efficiency compared to the RUSLE at the plot scale [36]. The SEMMA-Ic for large-scale application utilizes the digital elevation model (DEM), and the vegetation index of the NDVI was verified for applicability through comparison with monitoring data from a small watershed [37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Applicability Comparison of GIS-Based RUSLE and SEMMA for Risk Assessment of Soil Erosion in Wildfire Watersheds

Shin,

Park,

Kim

2024

Remote Sensing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The second-largest wildfire in the history of South Korea occurred in 2022 due to strong winds and dry climates. Quantitative evaluation of soil erosion is necessary to prevent subsequent sediment disasters in the wildfire areas. The erosion rates in two watersheds affected by the wildfires were assessed using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE), a globally popular model, and the soil erosion model for mountain areas (SEMMA) developed in South Korea. The GIS-based models required the integration of maps of the erosivity factor, erodibility factor, length and slope factors, and cover and practice factors. The rainfall erosivity factor considering the 50-year and 80-year probability of rainfall increased from coastal to mountainous areas. For the LS factors, the traditional version (TV) was initially used, and the flow accumulation version (FAV) was additionally considered. The cover factor of the RUSLE and the vegetation index of the SEMMA were calculated using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) extracted from Sentinel-2 images acquired before and after the wildfire. After one year following the wildfire, the NDVI increased compared to during the year of the wildfire. Although the RUSLE considered a low value of the P factor (0.28) for post-fire watersheds, it overestimated the erosion rate by from 3 to 15 times compared to the SEMMA. The erosion risk with the SEMMA simulation decreased with the elapsed time via the vegetation recovery and stabilization of topsoil. While the FAV of RUSLE oversimulated by 1.65~2.31 times compared to the TV, the FAV of SEMMA only increased by 1.03~1.19 times compared to the TV. The heavy rainfall of the 50-year probability due to Typhoon Khanun in 2023 generated rill and gully erosions, landslides, and sediment damage in the post-fire watershed on forest roads for transmission tower construction or logging. Both the RUSLE and SEMMA for the TV and FAV predicted high erosion risks for disturbed hillslopes; however, their accuracy varied in terms of the intensity and extent. According to a comparative analysis of the simulation results of the two models and the actual erosion situations caused by heavy rain, the FAV of SEMMA was found to simulate spatial heterogeneity and a reasonable erosion rate.

show abstract

Section: Methodology 21 Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applicability Comparison of GIS-Based RUSLE and SEMMA for Risk Assessment of Soil Erosion in Wildfire Watersheds

Shin,

Park,

Kim

2024

Remote Sensing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The F2 inflow rate doubled the F1 rate and was used in other rill experiments because it generated the critical shear of a gravelly sand soil (Foltz & Dooley, 2003;Prats et al, 2017). Strong inflows delivered over saturated soils induced similar hydrologic responses to those described for long, steep hillslopes and bottom slope positions within burnt catchments (Park, Lee, & Shin, 2012;Prats et al, 2016;Shin, Park, & Lee, 2013).…”

Section: Simulated Rainfall and Inflowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing topsoil charcoal, ash, and stone cover effects on the postfire hydrologic and erosive response under laboratory conditions

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildfires typically transform vegetation and litter into a heterogeneous layer of ash and charred material covering the soil surface that can substantially modify the postfire hydrological and erosive response. To further elucidate the influence of postfire covering layers on sheet and concentrated flow erosion, we carried out laboratory rainfall and inflow simulations on 5 distinct soil surface conditions: bare soil, with a protective cover of char, ash, stones, and a combination thereof simulating field conditions. Each of 3 replicate simulations per treatment involved 4 runs, the first 2 simulating just rain (at 56 mm hr−1) under dry and wet soil conditions and the next 2 simulating rain together with inflow at high and extreme rates (0.76 and 1.4 L min−1). Overall runoff over the 4 runs together was lower for all 4 types of protective cover than for bare soil, but ash and char were clearly less effective than stones and, in particular, field conditions with runoff reductions of 25%, 23%, 40%, and 70%, respectively. Stones and field conditions were similarly effective in reducing overall erosion rates (with 47% and 77%, respectively), whereas ash and char even slightly increased overall erosion rates compared to bare soil. Ash and char were effective in reduction erosion but only during the first 2 runs under simulated rainfall. The greater effectiveness of the field conditions suggested synergistic effects between its 3 components, probably due to the stones enhancing infiltration and increasing flow resistance, thereby hampering detachment of ash and char and/or enhancing their deposition.

show abstract

“…Landslides (Lee, 2004), deforestation (Woo et al, 1995 and forest fires (Park et al, 2012) threaten the resource soil in Korea (Kim et al, 2008). Compared to these mentioned processes, sheet (inter-rill) erosion of soils is a gradual process which passes mostly unseen especially on noncultivated sites but may be responsible for high sediment loss.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…RUSLE is one of the most widely used soil erosion models (Kinnell, 2010). Even though it is an empirical model it proved to be useful for soil erosion quantification in very different environments as well as in Korea (Park et al, 2011(Park et al, , 2012Yoon et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined use of stable isotopes and fallout radionuclides as soil erosion indicators in a forested mountain site, South Korea

Meusburger¹,

Mabit²,

Park³

et al. 2013

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study is to assess and to validate the suitability of the stable nitrogen and carbon isotope signature as soil erosion indicators in a mountain forest site in South Korea. Our approach is based on the comparison of the isotope signature of "stable" landscape positions (reference sites), which are neither affected by erosion nor deposition, with eroding sites. For undisturbed soils we expect that the enrichment of δ15N and δ13C with soil depth, due to fractionation during decomposition, goes in parallel with a decrease in nitrogen and carbon content. Soil erosion processes potentially weaken this correlation. 137Cs-method and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation are applied for the soil erosion quantification. The erosion rates obtained with the 137Cs method range from 0.9 t ha−1 yr−1 to 7 t ha−1 yr−1. Considering the steep slopes of up to 40° and the erosive monsoon events (R-factor of 6600 MJ mm ha−1 h−1 yr−1), the rates are plausible and within the magnitude of the RUSLE- modelled soil erosion rates, varying from 0.02 t ha−1 yr−1 to 5.1 t ha−1 yr−1. The soil profiles of the reference sites showed significant (p < 0.0001) correlations between nitrogen and carbon content and its corresponding δ15N and δ13C signatures. In contrast, for the eroding sites this relationship was weaker and for the carbon not significant. These results verify the usefulness of the stable carbon isotope signature as qualitative indicator for soil disturbance. We could show further that the δ15N isotope signature can be used similarly for uncultivated sites. We thus propose that the stable δ15N and δ13C signature of soil profiles could serve as a tool confirming the accurate choice of the reference site in soil erosion studies using the 137Cs-method

show abstract

Statistical Soil Erosion Model for Burnt Mountain Areas in Korea—RUSLE Approach

Cited by 27 publications

References 36 publications

Applicability Comparison of GIS-Based RUSLE and SEMMA for Risk Assessment of Soil Erosion in Wildfire Watersheds

Applicability Comparison of GIS-Based RUSLE and SEMMA for Risk Assessment of Soil Erosion in Wildfire Watersheds

Comparing topsoil charcoal, ash, and stone cover effects on the postfire hydrologic and erosive response under laboratory conditions

Combined use of stable isotopes and fallout radionuclides as soil erosion indicators in a forested mountain site, South Korea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About