Meet the editors

Dr. Ing. Vlassios Hrissanthou is an Emeritus Professor in the Civil Engineering Department of the Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece. He studied Civil Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He then undertook postgraduate and doctoral studies on hydrology and hydraulic structures at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. Subsequently, he completed a postdoctoral study on hydraulics and hydraulic

structures at the University of the Armed Forces Munich, Germany. His teaching work includes seven graduate and six postgraduate study courses on hydraulics, hydrology and hydraulic structures. He is the author and co-author of 140 publications in scientific journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters in English, Greek, and German. He has reviewed numerous publications for 42 international scientific journals.

Dr. Eng. Konstantinos Kaffas is a researcher in the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Free University of Bozen–Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy. He received his diploma in Environmental Engineering from the Environmental Engineering Department of the Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece, in 2007. Subsequently, he pursued postgraduate studies (M.Sc.) in hydraulic engineering and water resources management works in the Civil Engineering Department of the latter university. He obtained his PhD on hydrology, soil erosion and sediment transport at the basin scale, from the same department. His current scientific interests are focused on meteorological and hydrological forecasting and downscaling. He has authored a large number of publications and he has reviewed articles for over ten international scientific journals.

Contents

**Section 1**

**Section 2**

Methods

**Section 3**

Siltation

*by Rabii El Gaatib*

*and F. Douglas Shields Jr.*

Nahr Ibrahim, Lebanon

*Talal Darwish and François Pinet*

**Preface III**

Introduction to Soil Erosion Problem **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

Computation of Rainfall Erosivity and Surface Runoff **13**

**Chapter 2 15**

**Chapter 3 35** Simulation of Surface Runoff and Channel Flows Using a 2D Numerical Model

Assessment of Soil Erosion Risk **55**

**Chapter 4 57**

**Chapter 5 87** Spatial Analysis of the Erosive Hazard of Soils and Natural Risks of Reservoir

Evaluating Differences of Erosion Patterns in Natural and Anthropogenic Basins through Scenario Testing: A Case Study of the Claise, France and

*by Mario J. Al Sayah, Rachid Nedjai, Chadi Abdallah, Michel Khouri,* 

Rainfall Erosivity and Its Estimation: Conventional and Machine Learning

*by Konstantinos Vantas, Epaminondas Sidiropoulos and Chris Evangelides*

*by Yafei Jia, Tahmina Shirmeen, Martin A. Locke, Richard E. Lizotte Jr.* 

Introductory Chapter: Soil Erosion at a Glance *by Konstantinos Kaffas and Vlassios Hrissanthou*

## Contents


Preface

This book is on soil erosion caused by rainfall and runoff at the basin scale. Why is the study of soil erosion significant? Soil erosion products are transported by runoff into the streams of a basin and through the streams to the basin outlet, which may also be a coastal zone or the inlet of a natural or artificial lake. The transport of large amounts of eroded soil by runoff, and consequently the transport of large amounts of suspended sediment in the streams, is mainly dependent on the frequency and intensity of rainfall events. Removal of fertile soil and acceleration of reservoir sedimentation are some additional unfavorable effects of soil erosion. Soil erosion modeling contributes to the quantification of eroded soil and informs

This book contains three sections. In the first section, soil erosion is defined, the stages of soil erosion are described, factors influencing soil erodibility are discussed, and severe soil erosion consequences are reported. Additionally, the historical evolution of soil erosion models is briefly presented. In the first part of the second section, the coefficient of rainfall erosivity in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is estimated on the basis of pluviograph records on the one hand, and cumulative rainfall depths by means of empirical equations and machine learning methods on the other hand. Rainfall data from 84 meteorological stations in Greece are used. In the second part of the second section, a physically-based, hydrodynamic, finite element model is analytically described for the computation of surface runoff, that causes soil erosion and contributes to channel flows. The model is applied to a low-relief agricultural basin in the Mississippi River alluvial plain. In the first part of the third section, soil erosion risk is assessed under different geographical, topographical, climatological, and land occupation/management scenarios, in the French Claise and Lebanese Nahr Ibrahim basins. In the second part of the third section, the erosion risk management in the OuedBeht basin (Morocco) is evaluated, and the delimitation of the areas requiring priority

> **Vlassios Hrissanthou** Emeritus Professor,

**Konstantinos Kaffas**

Greece

Italy

Section of Hydraulic Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace,

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano,

actions against soil erosion.

planning is achieved.
