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Title |
A Study to Evaluate the Approaches for Nationwide Soil Erosion Estimation
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Authors |
윤서린(Seorin Yoon) ; 박찬기(Chan-Gi Park) ; 박윤식(Youn Shik Park) |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2026.42.4.315 |
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Keywords |
Korean soil loss equation; Soil erosion; Soil loss; Universal soil loss equation |
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Abstract |
In South Korea, various studies have been conducted on water quality management in relation to soil loss management. The Ministry of Environment has adopted the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) to estimate potential soil loss and has enacted the "Notice on the Current Status of Topsoil Erosion." However, the rainfall erosion capacity factor presented in the notice is based on historical data from 1973 to 1996, which does not reflect current rainfall conditions due to climate change. Similarly, the soil erodibility factor in the notice relies on outdated data, despite current soil data being updated to include 405 soil series. Consequently, the soil loss estimation in the notice was compared to one derived from the conventional USLE approach using recent rainfall and soil data. Additionally, a simple and quick method for estimating soil loss in South Korea, the Korean Soil Loss Equation (KORSLE), was also evaluated. The first finding of the study was that the rainfall erosivity factors in the notice and the conventional approach using recent rainfall data exhibited similar spatial trends, although individual values differed significantly. The second finding indicated that the soil erodibility factor had a greater impact on soil loss estimations than the rainfall erosivity factor. The third finding revealed that KORSLE has uncertainty regarding the spatial distribution characteristics of rainfall. Therefore, it is concluded that the notice needs to be revised to update the soil erodibility factor, and KORSLE should be updated to accurately represent spatial distribution characteristics.
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