Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Improving erosion modeling on forest roads in the Lake Tahoe Basin: Small plot rainfall simulations to determine saturated hydraulic conductivity and interrill erodibility

Author: Copeland, N. S.; Foltz, R. B.

Date: 2009

Source: Paper No. 095553. Paper presented at: 2009 ASABE annual international meeting; June 21-24, 2009; Reno, NV. St. Joseph MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. 12 p.

Description: Lake Tahoe is renowned for its beauty and exceptionally clear water. The Tahoe basin economy is dependent upon the protection of this beauty and the continued availability of recreational opportunities in the area; however, scientists estimate that the continued increase in fine sediment and nutrient transport to the lake threatens to diminish this clarity in as little as 30 years. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is the largest land management agency in the basin. The LTBMU plans to employ WEPP: Road as a predictive tool for land planning in the basin. WEPP: Road was developed by the Rocky Mountain Research Station as an interface to the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model. WEPP: Road allows users to quantify sediment production from road surfaces and to assess the effectiveness of best management practices on those surfaces. Model accuracy may be improved through use of site-specific parameters. The purpose of this study was to obtain estimates of hydrologic parameters for native surface roads comprised of soils derived from the two predominant parent materials in the Lake Tahoe basin.

Keywords: erosion modeling, forest roads, WEPP: Road, Lake Tahoe Basin

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Citation

Copeland, N. S.; Foltz, R. B.  2009.  Improving erosion modeling on forest roads in the Lake Tahoe Basin: Small plot rainfall simulations to determine saturated hydraulic conductivity and interrill erodibility.   Paper No. 095553. Paper presented at: 2009 ASABE annual international meeting; June 21-24, 2009; Reno, NV. St. Joseph MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. 12 p..