Every application of soil erosion models brings the need of proper parameterisation, that is, finding physically or conceptually plausible parameter values that allow a model to reproduce measured values. No universal approach for model parameterisation, calibration and validation exists, as it depends on the model, spatial and temporal resolution and the nature of the datasets used. We explored some existing options for parameterisation, calibration and validation for erosion modelling exemplary with a specific dataset and modelling approach. A new Morgan\uffe2\uff80\uff90Morgan\uffe2\uff80\uff90Finney (MMF)\uffe2\uff80\uff90type model was developed, representing a balanced position between physically\uffe2\uff80\uff90based and empirical modelling approaches. The resulting model termed \uffe2\uff80\uff98calculator for soil erosion\uffe2\uff80\uff99 (CASE), works in a spatially distributed way on the timescale of individual rainfall events. A dataset of 142 high\uffe2\uff80\uff90intensity rainfall experiments in Central Europe (AT, HU, IT, CZ), covering various slopes, soil types and experimental designs was used for calibration and validation with a modified Monte\uffe2\uff80\uff90Carlo approach. Subsequently, model parameter values were compared to parameter values obtained by alternative methods (measurements, pedotransfer functions, literature data). The model reproduced runoff and soil loss of the dataset in the validation setting with R2adj of 0.89 and 0.76, respectively. Satisfactory agreement for the water phase was found, with calibrated saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) values falling within the interquartile range of ksat predicted with 14 different pedotransfer functions, or being within one order of magnitude. The chosen approach also well reflected specific experimental setups contained in the dataset dealing with the effects of consecutive rainfall and different soil water conditions. For the sediment phase of the tested model agreement between calibrated cohesion, literature values and field measurements were only partially in line. The methods we explored may specifically be interesting for use with other MMF\uffe2\uff80\uff90type models, or with similar datasets.2O emission dataset for calibration sites was extracted from the published figures and tables using GetData Graph Digitizer version 2.24; the other information such as biome, geographic location, experimental period, soil organic carbon content, soil pH and soil texture was selected from corresponding literature. If the data related to soil was not avaliable, we extracted them from the soil database(IGBP-DIS)", "keywords": ["13. Climate action", "15. Life on land", "N2O emissions; model calibration; model validation"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Kerou Zhang, Changhui Peng", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.832877"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5281/zenodo.832877", "name": "item", "description": "10.5281/zenodo.832877", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5281/zenodo.832877"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-06-03T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2318/1945820", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-27T16:27:03Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2023-09-15", "title": "Testing CASE: A new event\u2010based Morgan\u2010Morgan\u2010Finney\u2010type erosion model for different rainfall experimental scenarios", "description": "Abstract
Every application of soil erosion models brings the need of proper parameterisation, that is, finding physically or conceptually plausible parameter values that allow a model to reproduce measured values. No universal approach for model parameterisation, calibration and validation exists, as it depends on the model, spatial and temporal resolution and the nature of the datasets used. We explored some existing options for parameterisation, calibration and validation for erosion modelling exemplary with a specific dataset and modelling approach. A new Morgan\uffe2\uff80\uff90Morgan\uffe2\uff80\uff90Finney (MMF)\uffe2\uff80\uff90type model was developed, representing a balanced position between physically\uffe2\uff80\uff90based and empirical modelling approaches. The resulting model termed \uffe2\uff80\uff98calculator for soil erosion\uffe2\uff80\uff99 (CASE), works in a spatially distributed way on the timescale of individual rainfall events. A dataset of 142 high\uffe2\uff80\uff90intensity rainfall experiments in Central Europe (AT, HU, IT, CZ), covering various slopes, soil types and experimental designs was used for calibration and validation with a modified Monte\uffe2\uff80\uff90Carlo approach. Subsequently, model parameter values were compared to parameter values obtained by alternative methods (measurements, pedotransfer functions, literature data). The model reproduced runoff and soil loss of the dataset in the validation setting with R2adj of 0.89 and 0.76, respectively. Satisfactory agreement for the water phase was found, with calibrated saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) values falling within the interquartile range of ksat predicted with 14 different pedotransfer functions, or being within one order of magnitude. The chosen approach also well reflected specific experimental setups contained in the dataset dealing with the effects of consecutive rainfall and different soil water conditions. For the sediment phase of the tested model agreement between calibrated cohesion, literature values and field measurements were only partially in line. The methods we explored may specifically be interesting for use with other MMF\uffe2\uff80\uff90type models, or with similar datasets.