Use of Caesium-137 Measurements and Long-Term Records of Sediment Load to Calibrate the Sediment Delivery Component of the SEDD Model and Explore Scale Effect: Examples from Southern Italy

AbstractSoil erosion has become a serious environmental problem in southern Italy, where annual soil loss associated with extreme rainfall events can reach 100–150  t ha−1. In order to predict rates of soil loss and sediment yields, to inform the development of effective erosion and sediment control strategies in these areas, several prediction models have been utilized in recent years. Most of these models are based on the universal soil loss equation (USLE) or revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). However, they require calibration and validation if they are to be used to provide reliable estimates of soil erosion and sediment yield. The use of fallout Cs137 measurements affords a useful means of assembling spatially distributed information on soil redistribution rates, which can be used to calibrate and validate sediment yield models. This paper reports a study in which Cs137 measurements have been used to calibrate the sediment delivery component of the sediment delivery distributed (SEDD) mode...

[1]  D. Walling,et al.  Using caesium-137 and unsupported lead-210 measurements to explore the relationship between sediment mobilisation, sediment delivery and sediment yield for a Calabrian catchment , 2009 .

[2]  V. Ferro,et al.  Anti-erosive effectiveness of Eucalyptus coppices through the cover management factor estimate , 1998 .

[3]  M. Zlatić,et al.  Using 137Cs measurements to calibrate and validate the sediment delivery distributed (SEDD) model for two catchments in southern Italy. , 2010 .

[4]  W. H. Wischmeier,et al.  SOIL ERODIBILITY NOMOGRAPH FOR FARMLAND AND CONSTRUCTION SITES , 1971 .

[5]  D. Walling,et al.  Validating the use of caesium-137 measurements to estimate soil erosion rates in a small drainage basin in Calabria, Southern Italy , 2001 .

[6]  John R. Williams,et al.  SEDIMENT YIELD COMPUTED WITH UNIVERSAL EQUATION , 1972 .

[7]  Desmond E. Walling,et al.  Improved Models for Estimating Soil Erosion Rates from Cesium‐137 Measurements , 1999 .

[8]  Vito Ferro,et al.  Sediment Delivery Distributed (SEDD) Model , 2000 .

[9]  Encarnación V. Taguas,et al.  Modeling the spatial distribution of water erosion within a Spanish olive orchard microcatchment using the SEDD model , 2011 .

[10]  Rabin Bhattarai,et al.  A comparative analysis of sediment yield simulation by empirical and process-oriented models in Thailand / Une analyse comparative de simulations de l'exportation sédimentaire en Thaïlande à l'aide de modèles empiriques et de processus , 2008 .

[11]  D. E. Walling,et al.  Use of fallout 137Cs measurements for validating and calibrating soil erosion and sediment delivery models , 1998 .

[12]  V. Ferro,et al.  Linking Sediment Yield and Caesium-137 Spatial Distribution at Basin Scale , 1999 .

[13]  D. Walling,et al.  Testing distributed soil erosion and sediment delivery models using 137Cs measurements , 2003 .

[14]  C. K. Mutchler,et al.  Revised Slope Length Factor for the Universal Soil Loss Equation , 1989 .

[15]  Daniel C. Yoder,et al.  RUSLE revisited: Status, questions, answers, and the future , 1994 .

[16]  D. Walling,et al.  Spatial variability of caesium-137 inventories at reference sites: an example from two contrasting sites in England and Zimbabwe , 1996 .

[17]  Vito Ferro,et al.  Slope curvature influence on soil erosion and deposition processes , 2000 .

[18]  L. Boersma,et al.  A THEORY ON THE MASS TRANSPORT OF PREVIOUSLY DISTRIBUTED CHEMICALS IN A WATER SATURATED SORBING POROUS MEDIUM , 1971 .

[19]  D. Walling,et al.  Comparative advantages and limitations of the fallout radionuclides (137)Cs, (210)Pb(ex) and (7)Be for assessing soil erosion and sedimentation. , 2008, Journal of environmental radioactivity.

[20]  M. Nguyen,et al.  Chapter 7 Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Studies Using Environmental Radionuclides , 2009 .

[21]  D. Walling,et al.  Using 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements to investigate the sediment budget of a small forested catchment in southern Italy , 2013 .

[22]  D. Walling.  The sediment delivery problem , 1983 .

[23]  Mario Minacapilli,et al.  Sediment delivery processes at basin scale , 1995 .

[24]  W. H. Wischmeier,et al.  Predicting rainfall-erosion losses from cropland east of the Rocky Mountains , 1965 .

[25]  Modelling sediment delivery processes by a stream tube approach , 1999 .

[26]  C. K. Mutchler,et al.  Revised slope steepness factor for the universal soil loss equation , 1987 .

[27]  Rabin Bhattarai,et al.  Estimation of Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield Using GIS at Catchment Scale , 2007 .

[28]  Olga Vigiak,et al.  Comparison of conceptual landscape metrics to define hillslope-scale sediment delivery ratio , 2012 .

[29]  D. Walling,et al.  Validating erosion rate estimates provided by caesium‐137 measurements for two small forested catchments in Calabria, southern Italy , 2003 .

[30]  James C. Bathurst,et al.  Use of caesium‐137 data to evaluate SHETRAN simulated long‐term erosion patterns in arable lands , 2004 .

[31]  D. Walling,et al.  Using 137Cs measurements to establish catchment sediment budgets and explore scale effects , 2011 .

[32]  D. Walling,et al.  Using Fallout Lead-210 Measurements to Estimate Soil Erosion in Three Small Catchments in Southern Italy , 2006 .

[33]  Donald K. McCool,et al.  Modeling the impacts of no-till practice on soil erosion and sediment yield with RUSLE, SEDD, and ArcView GIS , 2006 .