Rainfall energy and its relationship to soil loss

A relatively simple procedure is presented for computation of kinetic energy of a rainstorm from information on a recording‐raingage chart. An equation is developed describing rainfall energy as a function of rainfall intensity. The effects of rainfall energy and its interaction with other variables are evaluated in multiple regression analyses based on data representing four soil types. Application of this information to separate the effects of rainfall from those of physical and management characteristics in plot data is discussed briefly.