Wind Erosion in Western Queensland Australia

Chapter 3 – Modelling Land Erodibility Reviewwhere α is the saltating grain impact angle (~15°), RFB is based on the cultivated ridgeheight, wind direction and random roughness, and RFC varies with ridge height. Thevegetation factor is computed as a function of modelled vegetation cover:FV= VEVE + exp (3.17)( 0.48 1.32VE)where VE is the vegetation cover factor (tha -1 ). Both the soil and vegetation cover factors arescaled between 0 and 1. The field length (distance, FD) factor is modelled as a function of thefield length in the prevailing wind direction.Potter et al. (1998) described a comparison of WESS erosion simulations with measurederosion events in Alberta, Canada. Simulated erosion events corresponded to most of themeasured wind erosion activity; however, the model was found to overestimate erosion forone event in seven, and occasionally predicted events when no erosion was measured. Poormodel performance in these circumstances was attributed to the simplified nature of themodelling scheme, and the lack of a scheme to account for temporal changes in soil surfaceconditions such as crusting and the erodible fraction.3.3 Local to Regional Scale ModelsThis section examines process-based regional scale wind erosion models. The modelsreviewed include the Wind Erosion on European Light Soils (WEELS) model, Wind ErosionAssessment Model (WEAM), and the Integrated Wind Erosion Modelling System (IWEMS).3.3.1 Wind Erosion on European Light Soils (WEELS)The Wind Erosion on European Light Soils (WEELS) model was developed to map winderosion risk and to predict long-term wind-induced soil loss under different climate and landuse scenarios (Böhner et al., 2003). The model was developed from the EROKLI model(Beinhauer and Kruse, 1994) and can be run at local scales in domains up to 5 x 5 km in size,using input data at a 25 x 25 m resolution. WEELS has a modular structure, and is run in aGeographic Information System (GIS) environment.81