ABSTRACT
The process of erosion of soil by water starts with the detachment and transport of soil particles by impact force of raindrops and drag force of overland flow. The main objective of interrill erosion experiments in the United States has been to understand the detachment process and evaluate interrill erodibility by measuring sediment delivery rates from small interrill erosion plots. The objective of interrill erosion experiments in Australia has been to understand the transport mechanisms associated with rainfall and flow. Park et al. and Gilley et al. modeled interrill erosion on the basis of single-raindrop kinetic energy dissipation, raindrop-size distribution, and soil detachment and transport parameters. In addition to interrill erosion, the basic processes of soil detachment, transport, and deposition also determine the extent of surface seal formation and the amount and rate of runoff, both of which in turn affect the rate of sediment removal.
