Rainfall erosivity from limited pluviographic data in a part of peninsular Malaysia

Pluviographic data of 6 stations in Peninsular Malaysia at 15 minutes interval were used to compute rainfall erosivity (R) for the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). A Fournier index model for monthly rainfall erosivity (EI30) was validated for these sites involving monthly and annual rainfall. The results of the model were compared with the rainfall erosivity model of Morgan (1986) which uses annual rainfall. Fournier index method was found producing better results with a maximum percentage error of 2.99% at Komplek Perai. Using the Fournier index model, EI30 values were computed for 22 stations for each month. ArcView GIS has been used to generate EI30 values map for each month. The maximum rainfall on most of the stations is recorded in October and the corresponding rainfall EI30 values varies from 1900 and 2900 MJ mm ha-1 hr-1. The rainfall erosivity (R) in the region varies from 9,000 to 14,000 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1.