Effect of vegetal cover on runoff and soil erosion under light intensity events. Rainfall simulation over USLE plots

2007 ◽  
Vol 378 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 161-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
María José Marques ◽  
Ramón Bienes ◽  
Luis Jiménez ◽  
Raquel Pérez-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Light Intensity ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Vegetal Cover

scholarly journals Impact of Weed Control by Hand Tools on Soil Erosion under a No-Tillage System Cultivation

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 974
Author(s):  
Rafael Blanco-Sepúlveda ◽  
Amilcar Aguilar-Carrillo ◽  
Francisco Lima
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Litter Cover ◽  
Vegetal Cover

In conservation agriculture, the no-tillage cultivation system and the retention of permanent vegetal cover are crucial to the control of soil erosion by water. This paper analyses the cultivation of maize under no-tillage, with particular reference to the effect produced on soil erosion when weed control is performed by a hand tool (machete), which disturbs the surface of the soil, and to the behavior of the soil cover in these circumstances. The study area is located in the humid tropical mountains of northern Nicaragua (Peñas Blancas Massif Nature Reserve). The results obtained show that 59.2% of the soil surface was affected by appreciable levels of sheet and splash erosion, although the vegetal cover of the soil was relatively high (with average weed and litter cover of 33.9% and 33.8%, respectively). The use of machetes for weed control provoked considerable soil disturbance, which explained the high rates of erosion observed. Moreover, this form of soil management disturbs the litter layer, making it less effective in preventing erosion. The litter remains loose on the soil surface, and so an increase in soil cover does not achieve a proportionate reduction in the area affected by erosion; thus, even with 80–100% weed and litter cover, 42% of the cultivated area continued to present soil erosion.

Effect of storm pattern on soil erosion in damaged rangeland; field rainfall simulation approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 706-715
Author(s):  
Leila Gholami ◽  
Abdulavahed Khaledi Darvishan ◽  
Veliber Spalevic ◽  
Artemi Cerdà ◽  
Ataollah Kavian
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Simulation Approach

Polysaccharide and salt effects on infiltration and soil erosion. A rainfall simulation study

1991 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Warrington ◽  
I. Shainberg ◽  
G.J. Levy ◽  
Y. Bar-Or
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Simulation Study ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Salt Effects

scholarly journals Erosion Control in the Sustainable Cultivation of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) at Two Stages of the Agricultural Cycle in Southern Guatemala

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4654
Author(s):  
Rafael Blanco Sepúlveda ◽  
Francisco Enríquez Narváez
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Erosion Control ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Erosion Threshold ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Vegetal Cover

Agricultural intensification in the mountains of Central America has increased soil vulnerability to erosion by water. This study was undertaken to analyse the erosion that affects the mixed cultivation of maize and beans at two stages of the crop development cycle (at 3 and 6 months after sowing) in southern Guatemala, together with the influence of the ground and crop canopy vegetal cover on soil erosion. The main aim of this analysis is to establish the soil erosion threshold enabling sustainable agriculture. The results obtained show that the soil surface was severely eroded, with mean values of area affected of 88.4% and 73.5% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. In the 3-month plots, the erosion bore scant relation to the factors analysed. Conversely, the area affected by soil erosion in the 6-month plots was significantly related to the degree of ground cover by weeds and litter, and the erosion threshold was located at 80% of vegetal cover. However, plots with this level of cover did not achieve effective erosion control, due to the low level of plant litter cover (15.7%) compared to that of weeds (75.5%). We conclude that this low content of vegetal residue in the soil, together with the tillage practices employed, explains the large surface area affected by erosion and the impossibility of establishing an erosion threshold.

scholarly journals Soil Erosion Processes in European Vineyards: A Qualitative Comparison of Rainfall Simulation Measurements in Germany, Spain and France

Hydrology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Rodrigo Comino ◽  
Thomas Iserloh ◽  
Xavier Morvan ◽  
Oumarou Malam Issa ◽  
Christophe Naisse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Qualitative Comparison ◽  
Erosion Processes

Soil erosion controlled by biota along a climate gradient in Chile

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Riveras ◽  
Kristina Witzgall ◽  
Victoria Rodríguez ◽  
Peter Kühn ◽  
Carsten W. Mueller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Biological Soil Crust ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Soil Erodibility ◽  
Rainfall Gradient ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid

<p>Soil erosion is one of the main problems in soil degradation nowadays and is widely distributed in many landscapes worldwide. Particularly water erosion is widespread and determined by rain erosivity, soil erodibility, topographic factors and the management carried out to mitigate this phenomenon. Although this process is mostly known as a consequence of human management such as agriculture or forestry, it is a process that also occurs naturally, being one of the factors that regulate the shape of the landscape.</p><p>One of the main agents that stabilize the soil surface is biota and its activity, either in the form of plants, microorganisms or as an assemblage in the form of a biological soil crust (biocrusts). However, there are limited studies about how and what extent biota drives soil-stabilizing processes. With particular view on the impact of biocrusts on soil erosion, most studies have been carried out in arid and semi-arid regions, so its influence under other climates is largely unknown.</p><p>This study focuses on the influence of biota on soil erosion in a temperature and rainfall gradient, covering four climate zones (arid, semi-arid, mediterranean and humid) with very limited human intervention. Other variables such as the origin of the geological formation, geographical longitude and glacial influence were kept constant for all study sites. The effect of vegetation (biocrusts) and its abundance, microbiology and terrain parameters are investigated using rainfall simulation experiments under controlled conditions and by a physico-chemical evaluation of the soil, surface runoff, percolation and sediment discharge, in order to determine the different environmental filtering effects that the soil develops under different climatic conditions.</p><p>It is expected that as vegetation vigor and cover increase, soil erodibility will decrease. The biocrust is the protagonist of this stabilization in conditions of low pedological development and will become secondary as edaphoclimatic conditions favor the colonization of plants.</p><p>The results of this study will help to achieve a better understanding of the role of biota in soil erosion control and will clarify its influence on soil losses under different climate and slope conditions. Analyses are currently ongoing and first results of our work will be presented at the EGU 2020.</p>

Management-induced soil water erosion and nutrient losses in different land use in Mediterranean environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Bogunovic ◽  
Leon Josip Telak ◽  
Paulo Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Erosion ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Olive Orchard

<p>Soil erosion by water is one of the most important degradation processes. Land use has important effects on soil properties, therefore it is key to identify the type of management that have more impacts and find solutions to mitigate it. In order to understand the effects of land use management on soil and soil erosion in the Istria region (Croatia), we studied the impacts of different agriculture practices (vineyard, cropland, and olive orchard) on soil properties and runoff. The simulated rainfall was carried out at 58 mm h<sup>−1</sup> in the summer of 2018 (30% soil water content) for 30 min on 0.785 m<sup>2</sup> circular plots. The results showed that bulk density was significantly higher in cropland plots than in the vineyard and olive orchard. Soil organic matter, mean weight diameter, and aggregate stability were significantly higher in olive orchard plots than in the vineyard and cropland. Runoff and sediment losses were higher in olive orchard compared to vineyard plots. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus losses were highest in olive orchard plots with 3.9 kg ha<sup>-1</sup>, 405.2 g ha<sup>-1</sup> and 73.6 g ha<sup>-1</sup>, respectively, while lower values were measured in the vineyard plots, where nutrients losses were lower with 0.9 kg ha<sup>-1</sup>, 73.8 g ha<sup>-1</sup> and 6.5 g ha<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. No runoff was observed in cropland plots. Even with the highest measured values of runoff and erosion in the herbicide treated olive orchard, results indicate that both herbicide application and tillage represent a threat to the sustainability of Istrian soils. Vegetation cover on cropland reduces the runoff generation indicating the need for adoption of conservation strategies. In current management, vegetation removal should be avoided since it contributes to practice to reduce nutrient losses and increase the sustainability of the soils.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Soil water erosion, Soil tillage, Rainfall simulation, Agriculture land management, Mediterranean</p><p> </p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p> </p><p>This work was supported by Croatian Science Foundation through the project "Soil erosion and degradation in Croatia" (UIP-2017-05-7834) (SEDCRO).</p>

scholarly journals Changes in land-use and their impact on erosion rates and overland flow generation in the Maghreb region

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. O.A. Coelho ◽  
A. J.D. Ferreira ◽  
A. Laouina ◽  
A.-K. Boulet ◽  
M. Chaker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Simulation Experiments ◽  
Erosion Hazard ◽  
Erosion Rates

The ongoing intensification of grazing as well as the replacement of traditional land management systems in the Maghreb has brought to the forefront the fundamental role of land-use in determining soil erosion hazard. This paper reports on erosion rates and soil hydrological characteristics of a variety of land uses in Morocco and Tunisia. The results were obtained through rainfall simulation experiments carried out in the field using a portable simulator, following the design of CERDÀ et al. (1997). Traditional land management systems - typically involving a combination of agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry - produced the least amounts of overland flow and the lowest soil erosion rates. Over-exploitation of these systems apparently has only minor hydrological and erosional impacts. Heavily grazed, degraded "maquis" shrublands, on the other hand, produced considerable amounts of overland flow. At the plot scale of the rainfall simulation experiments (0.24 m2), the corresponding sediment loads are rather insignificant. Nevertheless, slopes where "maquis" shrublands (which generally have very compacted soils) occur upslope from more erodible soils may present a major erosion hazard.

scholarly journals Examining the Effectiveness of Catch Crops as a Nature-Based Solution to Mitigate Surface Soil and Water Losses as an Environmental Regional Concern

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artemi Cerdà ◽  
Iván Franch-Pardo ◽  
Agata Novara ◽  
Srikanta Sannigrahi ◽  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Catch Crop ◽  
Runoff Generation ◽  
Catch Crops ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Soil And Water

AbstractThe main goal of this research was to conduct a biophysical, economic, social, and perception-based approach to foresee the solutions that could be used to mitigate the soil loss problem cost-effectively in “La Ribera del Xúquer” district (Valencia Region, Spain). To achieve these goals, a farmer perception survey was carried out, and an assessment of the biophysical impact of catch crops on soil organic matter, bulk density, steady-state infiltration rate (double-ring infiltrometer) and runoff generation, and soil erosion (rainfall simulation experiments) was carried out in 2016. For the biophysical approach, two paired plots, i.e., catch crops vs. glyphosate herbicide treatment (in advance, control plot), were selected under clementine citrus production. The results show that soil organic matter increased from 1.14 to 1.63%, and bulk density decreased from 1.47 to 1.27 g cm−3 after 10 years of treatments using catch crops. They also facilitated higher infiltration rates from 16.7 to 171 mm h−1 and a delay in runoff generation from 149 to 654 s for control and catch crop plots. Both runoff rates (from 50.6 to 3.1%) and soil erosion (from 3.9 to 0.04 Mg ha−1 h−1) were reduced once the catch crops were deployed in the field. After surveying (2018–2019), farmers stated the use of catch crops as a speck of dirt and a cause of possible loss of reputation when used. Moreover, farmers (N = 73) would accept the catch crops as an effective nature-based alternative only if a subsidy of 131.17€ ha−1 would be paid. The survey results also demonstrated that the farmers' community would see catch crop more as a benefit for the planet's health and society. Few constraints, such as ageing of the farmers’ population, lack of education and negative perception for other management factors, are the critical detrimental factors for adopting catch crops as a nature-based solution to reduce soil and water losses. There is a need for an effective agrarian extension service to change the fate of the current agriculture and achieve sustainability by adopting new management strategies in contemporary agricultural practices.

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