• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.119-128
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• 2012

The applicability and accuracy of Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model on the estimation of soil loss at impacted area of shooting range was tested to further the understanding of soil erosion at shooting ranges by using RUSLE. At a shooting range located in northern Kyunggi, the amount of soil loss was estimated by RUSLE model and compared with that estimated by Global Positioning System-Total Station survey. As results, the annual soil loss at a study site (202 m long by 79 m wide) was estimated to be 2,915 ton/ha/year by RUSLE and 3,058 ton/ha/year by GPS-TS survey, respectively. The error between two different estimations was less than 5%, however, information on site conditions should be collected more to adjust model coefficients accurately. At the study shooting range, sediments generated by rainfall was transported from the top to near the bottom of the sloping face through sheet erosion as well as rill erosion, forming a gully along the direction of the storm water flow. Coarser fractions of the sediments were redeposited in the limited area along the channel. Distribution characteristics of explosive compounds in soil before and after summer monsoon rainfall in the study area were compared with the erosion patterns. Soil sampling and analyses results showed that the dispersion of explosive compounds in surface soil was consistent with the characteristics of soil erosion and redeposition pattern of sediment movements after rainfalls.