Comparative analysis of sediment yield estimations using different empirical soil erosion models

The study aims to evaluate the performance of different empirical soil erosion models (EPM, USLE, Koutsoyiannis and Tarla, RUSLE) in mountainous Mediterranean-type catchments. The study area comprises the Arachthos, Kalamas, Upper Acheloos and Venetikos river basins, located in northwestern Greece. The methodology followed includes both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The former refers to the specific attributes of the models and the latter to the estimated sediment yield results. The results were initially validated against observed sediment yield values. The ambiguous reliability of such measurements led to their replacement by simulated ones, estimated using the sediment rating curve methodology. In the latter analysis, the models performed better, with more accurate results. Overall, the RUSLE corresponded best to such basins. Finally, the performance of seven empirical equations (Syvitski, Avendano Salas et al., Dendy and Bolton, Lu et al., Webb and Griffiths, Zarris et al.) was assessed, yielding relatively poor results.