Comparison of soil erosion simulations using WEPP and RUSLE with field measurements

The objective of this study was to compare field measured runoff and soil loss with simulated results of WEPP and RUSLE. Observed data were collected for six years from erosion plots located at three different sites in Austria, Results indicate that WEPP simulates storm runoff with acceptable accuracy. It was also able to predict not only amount but also variability between events. No model was able to simulate soil erosion with the same accuracy as runoff, WEPP mostly underestimated soil erosion while RUSLE overestimated long-term average annual soil loss by 86 and 148 %.