Two different soil erosion modeling approaches in a small experimental area

Abstract The models compared in this study were applied to a catchment located in the western part of Slovakia in order to analyze and compare the amount of soil loss in different periods. Using of the empirical model universal soil loss equation, the average annual soil loss in the pilot basin was modeled for 2015–2020. The universal soil loss equation includes a topographic factor modeled using the USLE2D external model. In order to compare the empirical model and the physically-based model a continual sequence of individual rainfall events was created and used as an input to the physically-based EROSION-3D model. The results reflect different behaviors of erosion processes in a catchment together with a comparison between empirical and physically-based approaches.