Principles and applications of a coarse-scale soil erosion model, PESERA

Soil erosion models have been widely applied to predict soil erosion rates and understand interactions between different environmental drivers of soil erosion processes． Most of the contemporary models were developed for storm event and hillslope or small catchment scales，and few models are capable of simulating soil erosion processes over long-term temporal scales and regional scales． This is particularly relevant for China，where soil erosion can be severe and where there are strong spatiotemporal differences，leading to an urgent need for long-term，large scale soil erosion models． Established with reference to existing soil erosion models， PESERA is a physically-based，spatially distributed，long-term，coarse scale soil erosion model． It is a useful tool for soil and water conservation and informing ecological restoration． The PESERA model explicitly describes the processes of hydrology，vegetation growth，erosion and their interactions，and therefore has a robust theoretical basis． It has been widely applied and validated across Europe and is currently used by planners and policy makers to determine funding decisions for soil erosion protection measures on farms． This paper introduces the principles，inputs and outputs of the PESERA model，and its previous applications，validation and modifications providing a useful reference to the future applications of the model in China．