Profiles
ØCentral part of a RUSLE2 soil loss estimate
-Profile is reference to a hillslope profile
ØSix things describe a profile
-Location, soil, topography, management, supporting practice, hydraulic element system
ØTopography described with profile
-Can specify segments by length and steepness for topography, segments by length for soil, segments by length for management
ØName and save with a name
Profiles correspond to overland flow paths along hillslope profiles.
The profile is along the overland flow path when the surface is smooth without ridges affecting flow direction.
The flow path is the direction of maximum gradient along the hillslope.
Location, soil, topography, management, supporting practices, and hydraulic element system describe a profile.
The profile is the core of the RUSLE2 representation.
RUSLE2 represents a single, unique hillslope profile in each of its computations.
Multiple RUSLE2 computations are made to represent to represent a complex area where values from each profile are weighted to obtain an estimate for the area.
The profile describes the topographic shape along the overland flow path.
Profiles can be named, saved, and reused.
Example: making multiple computations to evaluate alternative managements.
First step in learning RUSLE2 should be in making soil loss computations with profiles.