WaTEM/SEDEM is a soil erosion and sediment delivery model used for catchment-scale simulations. The model incorporates a Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) module to simulate gross erosion, extended with a spatially-explicit sediment routing module to simulate sediment transport based on a cellular transport capacity. The model therefore provides the user with predictions of gross and net soil erosion at the catchment scale.
WaTEM/SEDEM has been applied for numerous applications considering both the on-site and off-site impacts of soil erosion. These applications include the predicted soil loss from fields, off-site deposition, predictions of catchment sediment yield. The model has also been extended for the simulation of transported heavy metals, nutrients and organic carbon. The default application of the model can be extended in several ways to simulate the impact of soil erosion mitigation measures in a spatially-explicit way. For example, additional options within the model allow for the consideration of other anthropogenic factors such as roads, sewage systems, water and sediment buffer basins, dams and ditches.
The code can be found on Github. Binaries for windows or linux of the releases can be downloaded too.
The extensive documentation can be found on the watem-sedem documentation page. In this documentation, a theoretical background of the model and an overview of the model usage are given, as well as an installation guide followed by a tutorial.
The fastest way to start modelling is to download the binary of the most recent release and follow the installation instructions in the documentation. A tutorial is also available.
This project is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0, see LICENSE for more information.
For technical questions, we refer to the documentation and to the frequently asked questions in the documentation. If you have a technical issue with running the model, or if you encounter a bug, please use the issue-tracker on github: https://github.com/watem-sedem/watem-sedem/issues.
If you have questions about the history or concept of the model that are not answered in the documentation please contact KU Leuven via https://ees.kuleuven.be/en/geography/modelling/erosion/watem-sedem/contact.
Do you have questions about the application of WaTEM/SEDEM in Flanders? Please contact Departement Omgeving on cn-ws@omgeving.vlaanderen.be
When using WaTEM/SEDEM, reference should be provided to the current model code on github and to the following publications:
- Van Oost K, Govers G, & Desmet PJJ, 2000. Evaluating the effects of changes in landscape structure on soil erosion by water and tillage. Landscape Ecology 15 (6), 579-591. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008198215674
- Van Rompaey A, Verstraeten G, Van Oost K, Govers G & Poesen J, 2001. Modelling mean annual sediment yield using a distributed approach. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26 (11), 1221-1236. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.275
- Verstraeten G, Van Oost K, Van Rompaey A, Poesen J & Govers G, 2002. Evaluating an integrated approach to catchment management to reduce soil loss and sediment pollution through modelling. Soil Use and Management, 18, 386-394. https://doi.org/10.1079/SUM2002150
The model code can be cited as:
- Verstraeten, G., Govers, G., Van Oost, K., Van Rompaey, A., Notebaert, B., Van de Wauw, J., Renders, D., Gobeyn, S., Van Hoey, S., De Vleeschouwer, N., Callewaert, S., & Deproost, P. (2024). watem-sedem/watem-sedem: 5.0.1 (5.0.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10997288
