By Staff
Special to the Standard
Johnny M. Grace, III, PhD, CPESC, a research engineer with the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station in Auburn, received top honors from the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) for his research report, Modeling Erosion from Forest Roads with WEPP. The paper describes the accuracy of a model used for estimating soil erosion and stormwater runoff from forest roads in Southern Appalachia. The report received the IECA's 2007 Most Distinguished Technical Paper award, which recognized Grace's outstanding contribution to the erosion control industry.
The eight-year study evaluated the ability of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP), originally developed for agricultural applications, to model erosion and stormwater runoff from forest roads under different management practices. Grace's research compared the amount of erosion estimated by the WEPP to actual erosion rates on 24 road side slopes in the Talladega National Forest in east-central Alabama and three road sections in the Chattahoochee National Forest in northeastern Georgia.
Grace feels his research is important because, &#8220it provides managers with critical information when predicting soil erosion and the benefits of selected erosion control practices. This report is a vital step in delivering our science to individuals who can really use it.” Grace specializes in forest operations research and is located at the G.W. Andrews Forestry Science Laboratory on Auburn University's campus.
The IECA is a non-profit organization that serves as the premier global resource for the prevention and control of erosion. For further information, please contact Johnny Grace at (334) 826-8700 x.20 or by email at jmgrace@fs.fed.us.
The Southern Research Station, headquartered in Asheville, NC, is the leading organization for research on natural resource management and sustainability in the Southern United States.