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Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards pp 289–290Cite as

Erosivity

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Erosivity is a measure of the potential ability of soil, regolith, or other weathered material to be eroded by rain, wind, or surface runoff.

Overview

Historically, the term erosivity was first associated with an R-factor (rainfall-runoff erosivity factor) in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). R-factor as used in the USLE and the revised USLE (RUSLE) relates to the mean annual sum of EI 30 values. EI 30 is the most commonly used rainfall erosivity index, where E is the total kinetic energy per unit area during a precipitation event (MJ·ha–1) and I 30 is its peak 30-min intensity (mm·ha−1). Thus, erosivity of precipitation events is a function of their intensity and duration, and of the mass, diameter, and velocity of the raindrops. In principle, each detachment-transport system can be represented by an equation that has an erosivity term.

Wind erosivity has often been determined using indices based on wind velocities and durations above certain threshold velocities,...

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Bibliography

  • Bofu, Y., 2008. Erosion and Precipitation. In Trimble, S. W. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Water Science. Boca Raton: CRC Press, pp. 214–217.

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  • Goudie, A. S., 2004. Erosivity. In Goudie, A. S. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Geomorphology. London: Routledge, p. 336.

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  • Kinnell, P. I. A., 2006. Erosivity and erodibility. In Lal, R. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Soil Science. New York: Taylor & Francis, pp. 653–656.

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  • Morgan, R. P. C., 1995. Soil Erosion and Conservation. Harlow: Longman.

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  • Renard, K. G., Foster, G. R., Weesies, G. A., McCool, D. K., and Yoder, D. C., 1997. Predicting soil erosion by water: A guide to conservation planning with the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). Agricultural Handbook No. 703. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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  • Wischmeier, W. H., and Smith, D. D., 1978. Predicting rainfall erosion losses–A guide to conservation planning. Agricultural Handbook No. 537. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Novi trg 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Matija Zorn & Blaž Komac

Authors
  1. Matija Zorn
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  2. Blaž Komac
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matija Zorn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Zorn, M., Komac, B. (2013). Erosivity. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_121

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