Modification of the RUSLE slope length and steepness factor (LS-factor) based on rainfall experiments at steep alpine grasslands

Abstract

The slope length and slope steepness factor (LS-factor) is one of five factors of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and its revised version (RUSLE) describing the influence of topography on soil erosion risk. The LS-factor was originally developed for slopes less than 50% inclination and has not been tested for steeper slopes. To overcome this limitation, we adapted both factors slope length L and slope steepness S for conditions experimentally observed at Swiss alpine grasslands. For the new L-factor (Lalpine), a maximal flow path threshold, corresponding to 100 m, was implemented to take into account short runoff flow paths and rapid infiltration that has been observed in our experiments. For the S-factor, a fitted quadratic polynomial function (Salpine) has been established, compiling the most extensive empirical studies. As a model evaluation, uncertainty intervals are presented for this modified S-factor. We observed that uncertainty increases with slope gradient. In summary, the proposed modification of the LS-factor to alpine environments enables an improved prediction of soil erosion risk including steep slopes. • Empirical experiments (rainfall simulation, sediment measurements) were conducted on Swiss alpine grasslands to assess the maximal flow length and slope steepness factor (S-factor). • Flow accumulation is limited to a maximal flow threshold (100 m) at which overland runoff is realistic in alpine grassland. • Slope steepness factor is modified by a fitted S-factor equation from existing empirical S-factor functions. Method name: Lalpine, Salpine, LSalpine, Keywords: Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, Erosion modeling, Switzerland, Terrain features, Maximal, Flow length