Cultivated lands in the U.S.Midwest have been affected by soil erosion, causing soil organic carbon (SOC) redistribution
in the landscape and other environmental and agricultural problems. The importance of SOC redistribution
on soil productivity and crop yield, however, is still uncertain. In this study, we used a model framework, which
includes the Unit Stream Power-based Erosion Deposition (USPED) and the Tillage Erosion Prediction (TEP)
models, to understand the soil and SOC redistribution caused by water and tillage erosion in two agricultural fields
in the U.S.Midwest. This model framework was evaluated for different digital elevation model (DEM) spatial resolutions
(10-m, 24-m, 30-m, and 56-m) and topographic exponents (m = 1.0–1.6 and n = 1.0–1.3) using soil
redistribution rates from 137Cs measurements. The results showed that the aggregated 24-m DEM, m = 1.4 and
n = 1.0 for rill erosion, and m = 1.0 and n = 1.0 for sheet erosion, provided the best fit with the observation
data at both sites. Moreover, estimated average SOC redistributions were 1.3 ± 9.8 g C m−2 yr−1 in field site 1
and 3.6 ± 14.3 g C m−2 yr−1 in field site 2. Spatial distribution patterns showed SOC loss (negative values) in
the eroded areas and SOC gain (positive value) in the deposition areas. This study demonstrated the importance
of the spatial resolution and the topographic exponents to estimate and map soil redistribution and the SOC dynamics
throughout the landscape, helping to identify places where erosion and deposition from water and tillage
are occurring at high rates. Additional research is needed to improve the application of the model framework for
use in local and regional studies where rainfall erosivity and covermanagement factors vary. Therefore, using this
model framework can help to improve the information about the spatial distribution of soil erosion across agricultural
landscapes and to gain a better understanding of SOC dynamics within eroding and previously eroded fields.