SMS (Soil Monitoring Software) is a web based application developed by the University of Athens in collaboration with CRA ABP. The application supports all critical functions required for soil monitoring and management, based on the soil monitoring methodology developed by CRA ABP. The use of Information Technology and the web environment renders the aforementioned methodology fully operational at the level of Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs).

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) predicts the long-term average annual rate of erosion on a field slope based on rainfall pattern, soil type, topography, crop system and management practices. USLE only predicts the amount of soil loss that results from sheet or rill erosion on a single slope and does not account for additional soil losses that might occur from gully, wind or tillage erosion. This erosion model was created for use in selected cropping and management systems, but is also applicable to non-agricultural conditions such as construction sites. The USLE can be used to compare soil losses from a particular field with a specific crop and management system to "tolerable soil loss" rates. Alternative management and crop systems may also be evaluated to determine the adequacy of conservation measures in farm planning.

Five major factors are used to calculate the soil loss for a given site. Each factor is the numerical estimate of a specific condition that affects the severity of soil erosion at a particular location. The erosion values reflected by these factors can vary considerably due to varying weather conditions. Therefore, the values obtained from the USLE more accurately represent long-term averages.

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is hailed as one of the most significant developments in soil and water conservation in the 20 thcentury. It is an empirical technology that has been applied around the world to estimate soil erosion by raindrop impact and surface runoff. The development of the USLE was the culmination of decades of soil erosion experimentation conducted by university faculty and federal scientists across the United States.
USLE as a complete technology was first published in 1965 in USDA Agriculture Handbook 282. An updated version was published in 1978 in Agriculture Handbook 537. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), which is a computerized version of USLE with improvements in many of the factor estimates, was initially released for public use in 1992. Work is continuing on a further-enhanced Windows version of the software, known as RUSLE2.
Universal Soil Loss Equation A = R K L S C P
The USLE was developed at the USDA National Runoff and Soil Loss Data Center at Purdue University in a national effort led by Walter H. Wischmeier and Dwight D. Smith. The USLE is based on extensive erosion data from studies throughtout the USA, and provides a quick approach to estimating long-term average annual soil loss (A). The equation is comprised of six factors:
R - rainfall and runoff;
K - soil erodibility;
L - slope length;
S -slope steepness;
C - cover and management;
P - support practice.
USLE was the first empirical erosion equation that was not tied to a specific region of the United States, thus the title "Universal" Soil Loss Equation.
The USLE has been used in more than 100 countries to guide connservation planning, assess soil erosion for conservation policy development, and estimate sediment yield. It has helped to save millions of tons of soil, thus helping to the feed the world's population, and to protect the environment from sediment produced by soil erosion.
The National Soil Erosion Research Lab, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, serves as the repository for the USLE data which is made available via this web site. The data is available in three different sets: Storm Data, Soil Loss and Runoff, and Site Specific Data. These sets are taken from various locations from all over the United States.