Adding a temporal dimension to the RUSLE model: Application to the Portuguese west coast

Soil erosion by water is one of the main sources of sediment supply to the coastal zone and its quantification is a major issue in coastal management. The intensity of sediment delivery to the coast can be assessed by the RUSLE model, which is able to account the time-variability of the primary variables. This study evaluates the potential changes in soil erosion considering a time window framed from pristine conditions to the end of 21
^st
century. Results show the robustness of this method in ranking the importance of each variable of the erosion system, not only in a predefined time window, but also in comparing changes between instantaneous pictures separated in time.