RainfallErosivityFactor: An R package for rainfall erosivity (R-factor) determination

Abstract

RainfallErosivityFactor is an R package developed as a tool for the analysis of rainfall data and the calculation of the R-factor, a relevant parameter for soil loss prediction due to water erosion. The package consists of a user-friendly routine for loading large rainfall datasets into the R software environment and classifying data into erosive and non-erosive events. Erosive rainfall events are then used to compute rainfall erosivity values. This paper explains the development of the package with the purpose of showing how rainfall data can be analyzed accurately, fast and efficiently. An example is provided for Pirassununga, SP, Brazil, using a 7-year rainfall dataset with 10-minute interval between measurements. This package proved to be an efficient and fast tool for the determination of rainfall erosivity, which can be subsequently used to predict soil erosion. Considerations for future developments may come in the form of feedback, such as the need for more options of time interval.