<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The universal soil loss equation (USLE) and water erosion prediction project (WEPP) (inter-rill and rill) erodibility factors are important indicators for land degradation assessment all over the world, which were primarily developed for the United States of America (USA). However, information on suitability of USLE and WEPP for tropical environment is scarce. Therefore, studies were carried out to investigate the suitability of USLE and WEPP for selected tropical soils of Southwestern Nigeria. Four pedons classified based on USDA soil taxonomy as Plinthic Petraquept (Adio series), Kanhaplic Haplaustalf (Oyo series), Typic Plinthustalf (Temidire series) and Typic Haplaustalf (Owutu series) were used for the study. Soil erodibility factor was determined using USLE and WEPP models. Origin-Pro. 8.1 software was employed to compare USLE and WEPP models for conformity and suitability. The results showed perfect agreement (R2 = 1.0; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001) between the two WEPP (inter-rill and rill) erodibility models in all the four soil types investigated. In addition, WEPP models (inter-rill and rill erodibility) significantly (R2 = 0.82; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001) related to USLE (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_ats-2017-0020_ref_006_w2aab3b7b3b1b6b1ab1ab6Aa">El-Swaify and Dangler, 1977</xref>) erodibility model. There was a poor relationship (R2 = 0.46; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.06) between USLE (Wischmeier and Mannering, 1968) and the WEPP erodibility factors. The WEPP erodibility models with a perfect relationship with soil properties of the four soil types are more suitable than USLE models for predicting soil erodibility of the identified soil types in tropical environments.</abstract>

The universal soil loss equation (USLE) and water erosion prediction project (WEPP) (inter-rill and rill) erodibility factors are important indicators for land degradation assessment all over the world, which were primarily developed for the United States of America (USA). However, information on suitability of USLE and WEPP for tropical environment is scarce. Therefore, studies were carried out to investigate the suitability of USLE and WEPP for selected tropical soils of Southwestern Nigeria. Four pedons classified based on USDA soil taxonomy as Plinthic Petraquept (Adio series), Kanhaplic Haplaustalf (Oyo series), Typic Plinthustalf (Temidire series) and Typic Haplaustalf (Owutu series) were used for the study. Soil erodibility factor was determined using USLE and WEPP models. Origin-Pro. 8.1 software was employed to compare USLE and WEPP models for conformity and suitability. The results showed perfect agreement (R2 = 1.0; P < 0.001) between the two WEPP (inter-rill and rill) erodibility models in all the four soil types investigated. In addition, WEPP models (inter-rill and rill erodibility) significantly (R2 = 0.82; P < 0.001) related to USLE (El-Swaify and Dangler, 1977) erodibility model. There was a poor relationship (R2 = 0.46; P < 0.06) between USLE (Wischmeier and Mannering, 1968) and the WEPP erodibility factors. The WEPP erodibility models with a perfect relationship with soil properties of the four soil types are more suitable than USLE models for predicting soil erodibility of the identified soil types in tropical environments.

Suitability of Universal Soil Loss Erodibility, Inter-rill and Rill Erodibility Models for Selected Tropical Soils

Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture

Agricultura Tropica et Subtropica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The universal soil loss equation (USLE) and water erosion prediction project (WEPP) (inter-rill and rill) erodibility factors are important indicators for land...

Suitability of Universal Soil Loss Erodibility, Inter-rill and Rill Erodibility Models for Selected Tropical Soils

Published Online: Apr 11, 2018

Page range: 191 - 198

Received: Feb 05, 2017

Accepted: Feb 26, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ats-2017-0020

Keywords
land degradation, soil properties, soil type, water erosion

© 2017 Suarau Odutola Oshunsanya et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Suitability of Universal Soil Loss Erodibility, Inter-rill and Rill Erodibility Models for Selected Tropical Soils

Published Online: Apr 11, 2018

Page range: 191 - 198

Received: Feb 05, 2017

Accepted: Feb 26, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ats-2017-0020

Keywordsland degradation, soil properties, soil type, water erosion

© 2017 Suarau Odutola Oshunsanya et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
land degradation, soil properties, soil type, water erosion