Surface roughness ponds water in depressions and reduces erosivity of raindrop impact and water flow. If the deposition are sufficiently deep, much deposition occurs in them. Over time, roughness disappears as the depressions fill with sediment. and one soil subsides after the tillage operations that formed the depressions. Roughness also indicates the degree of clodiness and the likelihood that the surface will seal, producing increased runoff and soil erodibility. If a C factor of 0.15 represents the specified cropping management system, it signifies that the erosion will be reduced to 15 percent of the amount that would have occured under continuous fallow conditions.
C factors are also avaliable for pastureland, wildlife land, idle land, and woodland uses.