ABSTRACT
Soil erosion models can play a critical role in addressing problems associated with soil protection and conservation. They are used for assessment and inventory purposes when financial and time-costs of obtaining useful soil erosion measurements are prohibitive. They provide assessments of both on-site loss of topsoil and off-site delivery of sediments from fields and catchments. Thus they have value for addressing both declining soil productivity on agricultural lands and problems associated with nonpoint source pollution. Models are used for purposes of conservation planning, primarily for selecting the most appropriate conservation measures from a range of options for a particular field or geographical region. Models also are used with increasing frequency by governmental agencies at all levels to set regulations for erosion control practices for agriculture, construction, and forestry operations. Finally, models are used to increase and synthesize our knowledge of soil erosion and conservation science.
