A comprehensive modeling framework to evaluate soil erosion by water and tillage

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Agricultural Engineering
• Hydrology

Background:

• Unsustainable agricultural practices accelerate soil erosion, threatening soil health and water quality globally.
• Accurate quantification of soil erosion under conservation practices is crucial for effective watershed management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a coupled modeling framework for simulating spatio-temporal soil erosion dynamics.
• To evaluate the impact of no-till conservation practices on sediment production and yield.

Main Methods:

• Coupling of physically based models: Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) and MIKE SHE/MIKE 11.
• Grid-scale daily soil loss calculation using WEPP.
• Simulation of sediment transport using advection-dispersion equation in MIKE SHE/MIKE 11.

Main Results:

• Full watershed no-till implementation can reduce total soil loss by 76% and sediment yield by 72%.
• Targeted no-till implementation in vulnerable areas achieves significant reductions with only 40% coverage.
• No-till effectiveness is maximized when applied to areas most susceptible to erosion.

Conclusions:

• The coupled WEPP-MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 model effectively simulates field-scale sediment production and watershed-scale transport.
• No-till conservation practice is a highly effective strategy for mitigating soil erosion and improving water quality.
• Strategic implementation of no-till farming, focusing on high-risk areas, optimizes conservation outcomes.