A review of wind erosion models: Data requirements, processes, and validity

Wind erosion is a threat for numerous landscapes throughout the world, which can be promoted or suppressed by direct and indirect impacts. In recent years, great efforts have been made to determine magnitudes of wind-induced soil erosion under different environmental conditions and management practices. With the advent of wind erosion models, a better understanding of the dynamics and underlying mechanisms of wind erosion provides the basis for assessing not only soil erodibility, but also different conservation management practices with the aim of controlling soil erosion by wind. Different wind erosion models exist with varying degrees of complexity and specific capabilities as well as a range of spatial and temporal scales of application. Due to their uncertainties and limitations, their applicability to different regions and research questions is still under debate. This paper reviews several commonly used wind erosion models to compare the underlying concepts of wind erosion dynamics and provides some guidelines with respect to the models' applicability, expected validity, required databases, available outputs and future directions of modelling research.