Application of USLE for the prediction of nutrient losses in soil erosion processes

Soil erosion in agricultural fields affects not only land productivity but also water environment down stream. Many investigations have been made for the prediction of soil erosion processes. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) has been applied broadly for the prediction of average annual soil loss from upland fields. However, there are few reports concerning the prediction of nutrient (N, P) losses based on the USLE. Thus, the objective of this study is to propose the prediction equation of nitrogen and phosphorus losses during soil erosion processes on the basis of the USLE. In order to predict total nitrogen and phosphorus losses, the coefficients for total nitrogen or phosphorus transfer are derived on the basis of results from experimental field plots. Three bare-cover USLE plots with different amounts of granular chemical fertilizer were installed in an experimental upland field. There was a tendency for the coefficient of total nitrogen or phosphorus transfer to increase with the average concentration of total nitrogen or phosphorus in the soils. It follows that the more granular chemical fertilizer applied caused a higher coefficient of total nitrogen or phosphorus transfer in the calculations. Moreover, the coefficients in heavily fertilized plots were higher than 1.0. Through this investigation, it became clear that the nutrient losses during soil erosion could be predicted on the basis of the coefficient of total nitrogen or phosphorus transfer along with other soil erosion parameters.