The USLE was developed for use on agricultural fields. It is adapted to use in nonagricultural conditions by appropriate selection of the C factor. This is often done by relating the land use conditions to some agricultural situation. For example, a firing range with a grass cover might be assumed to be similar to a pasture. Annual values of C for various cover and management conditions applicable to Army land uses are presented in Table A1.
Idle land refers to land with undisturbed profiles for at least a period of three consecutive years.
2 Average fall height of waterdrops from canopy to soil surface. Cover at surface is grass, grasslike plants, decaying compacted duff, or litter at least 2 inches deep. Average annual values of the rainfall erosion index. The conservation practice factor, P, is used to account for the positive impacts of such agricultural management practices as planting on the contour, strip cropping, and use of terraces. Since Army lands generally not cropped, the primary conservation practice factors of interest will be terraces.