Abstract
Effects of DEM Resolution and Source on Soil Erosion Modelling Track: Water Resources Author(s): Jane Zhang Digital elevation models (DEMs) with different resolutions and accuracies can generate varied topographic and hydrologic features, which can in turn affect predictions in soil erosion models, such as the WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project) model. This study investigates the effects of DEMs on deriving topographic and hydrologic attributes, and on predicting watershed erosion using WEPP v2006.201. The Geospatial interface for WEPP (GeoWEPP) which links the WEPP model with a GIS within the ArcView 3.x environment was utilized to derive topographic input parameters. Six DEMs at three resolutions from three sources were prepared for two small forested watersheds located in northern Idaho. These DEMs were used to calculate topographic and hydrologic parameters that served as inputs to WEPP. For both watersheds, DEMs with different resolutions and sources generated varied watershed shapes and structures, which produced substantially different erosion predictions by WEPP. Jane Zhang Fitchburg State College McKay C270B, Fitchburg State College 160 Pearl St. Fitchburg, MA , MA 01420 US Phone: 978.665.3496 E-mail: xzhang2@fsc.edu |
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