Cattle treading and phosphorus and sediment loss in overland flow from grazed cropland

Soil Research ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. McDowell ◽  
J. J. Drewry ◽  
R. W. Muirhead ◽  
R. J. Paton

This 1-year study investigated the effect of dairy cow treading on soil physical properties and sediment and phosphorus (P) loss via overland flow from pasture and cultivated soil used for wintering dairy cows in southern New Zealand. Treading decreased soil macroporosity and Ksat, and increased overland flow volumes. Treading increased mean suspended sediment concentration in overland flow in the cultivated + trodden treatment (2.6 g/L) compared with ungrazed pasture (0.44 g/L) and ungrazed cultivated (0.98 g/L) treatments over 2 slope positions. Following grazing in the cultivated + trodden treatment, only 25% more sediment was lost in subsequent overland flow events (2.09 and 2.63 g before and after grazing, respectively), and mean total P (TP) losses increased by >250% (from 0.7 to 2.5 mg P). Meanwhile in the cultivated but ungrazed treatment, sediment and TP loss decreased. The increased loss of sediment and P following grazing in the cultivated + trodden treatment was attributed to P from cattle dung, and soil disturbance. Consequently, wintering of animals on cultivated paddocks with forage crops increases the risk of losing much P, especially in particulate form.

Soil Research ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. McDowell ◽  
J. J. Drewry ◽  
R. W. Muirhead ◽  
R. J. Paton

This study investigated the effects of grazing management of brassica crops during winter on soil physical properties and sediment, phosphorus (P), and E. coli loss via overland flow. Dairy cows were allowed either unrestricted grazing, grazing restricted to 3 h, or no grazing. Treading in the unrestricted treatment decreased soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), and increased surface roughness, loads and concentrations of suspended sediment, and E. coli and P loss in overland flow relative to the ungrazed treatment. Only bulk density was different in the restricted compared with the ungrazed treatment. For total P, the mean load in overland flow from the unrestricted grazing treatment after grazing was 3.31 mg/plot compared with restricted grazing (0.74 mg/plot) and ungrazed (0.76 mg/plot) treatments, with most of the increase in particulate form. E. coli concentrations only exceeded water quality guidelines in the first event after grazing, and only in the unrestricted grazing treatment. We found that restricting grazing on forage crops during winter was beneficial for minimising contaminant loss.


Soil Research ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 949 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. McDowell ◽  
J. J. Drewry ◽  
R. J. Paton ◽  
P. L. Carey ◽  
R. M. Monaghan ◽  
...  

This study investigated the effect of simulated cattle treading on soil infiltration rate (saturated hydraulic conductivity: Ksat) and macroporosity, and the consequent loss of sediment and phosphorus (P) via overland flow from a grassland and cultivated soil used for dairy farming in southern New Zealand. Treading decreased soil macroporosity and Ksat, and hence time to ponding, which increased the volume of overland flow. Mean suspended sediment concentration was greater in the cultivated treatments (0.076 g/L) compared with the grassland treatments (0.014 g/L). In the grassland soil, sediment and particulate P fractions in overland flow increased with treading due to increased soil disturbance and decreased protection from erosion by grass cover. In contrast, for the cultivated soil, sediment and P concentration and load decreased with increasing treading, due to greater ponding which decreased the erosive power of raindrop impact. Dissolved and particulate P fractions followed similar trends, although mean total P (mostly particulate P) was greater in cultivated treatments (1.07 mg/L) than the grassland treatments (0.64�mg/L). Relationships were generated between macroporosity and the loss of sediment and P, showing the wider application of macroporosity for environmental assessment than solely an agronomic measurement.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3295
Author(s):  
Leon Josip Telak ◽  
Paulo Pereira ◽  
Carla S. S. Ferreira ◽  
Vilim Filipovic ◽  
Lana Filipovic ◽  
...  

Tillage is well known to have impacts on soil properties and hydrological responses. This work aims to study the short-term impacts of tillage (0–3 months) on soil and hydrological responses in fig orchards located in Croatia. Understanding the soil hydrological response in the study area is crucial for soil management due to frequent autumn floods. The hydrological response was investigated using rainfall simulation experiments (58 mm h−1, for 30 min, over 0.785 m2 plots). The results show that the bulk density was significantly higher 3 months after tillage than at 0 and 1 months. The water holding capacity and amount of soil organic matter decreased with time. The water runoff and phosphorous loss (P loss) increased over time. The sediment concentration (SC) was significantly higher 3 months after tillage than in the previous monitoring periods, while sediment loss (SL) and carbon loss (C loss) were significantly lower 0 months after tillage than 3 months after tillage. Overall, there was an increase in soil erodibility with time (high SC, SL, C loss, and P loss), attributed to the precipitation patterns that increase the soil water content and therefore the hydrological response. Therefore, sustainable agricultural practices are needed to avoid sediment translocation and to mitigate floods and land degradation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1051-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Tilahun ◽  
C. D. Guzman ◽  
A. D. Zegeye ◽  
T. A. Engda ◽  
A. S. Collick ◽  
...  

Abstract. Erosion modeling has been generally scaling up from plot scale but not based on landscape topographic position, which is a main variable in saturation excess runoff. In addition, predicting sediment loss in Africa has been hampered by using models developed in western countries and do not perform as well in the monsoon climate prevailing in most of the continent. The objective of this paper is to develop a simple erosion model that can be used in the Ethiopian Highlands in Africa. We base our sediment prediction on a simple distributed saturated excess hydrology model that predicts surface runoff from severely degraded lands and from bottom lands that become saturated during the rainy season and estimates interflow and baseflow from the remaining portions of the landscape. By developing an equation that relates surface runoff to sediment concentration generated from runoff source areas, assuming that baseflow and interflow are sediment-free, we were able to predict daily sediment concentrations from the Anjeni watershed with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency ranging from 0.64 to 0.78 using only two calibrated sediment parameters. Anjeni is a 113 ha watershed in the 17.4 million ha Blue Nile Basin in the Ethiopian Highlands. The discharge of the two watersheds was predicted with Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency values ranging from 0.80 to 0.93. The calibrated values in Anjeni for degraded (14%) and saturated (2%) runoff source area were in agreement with field evidence. The analysis suggests that identifying the runoff source areas and predicting the surface runoff correctly is an important step in predicting the sediment concentration.


Author(s):  
Yi Wang ◽  
Jiupai Ni ◽  
Chengsheng Ni ◽  
Sheng Wang ◽  
Deti Xie

Abstract Due to the difficulty in monitoring subsurface runoff and sediment migration, their loss loads are still not clear and need further study. This study monitored water and soil loss occurring within experimental field plots for two calendar years under natural rainfall events. The sediment loss load was quantified by considering the corresponding water flow flux and its sediment concentration. The results showed that 60.04% of the runoff and 2.83% of the sediment were lost underground. The annual underground sediment loss reached up to 54.6 kg*ha−1*yr−1. A total of 69.68% of the runoff yield and 67.25% of the sediment yield were produced during the corn planting stage (CPS: March–July). Heavy rain and torrential rain events produced 94.45%, 65.46% of the annual runoff and 94.45%, 76.21% of the sediment yields during the corn-planting stage and summer fallow period (SFP: August–September). The rain frequency, rainfall, and rainfall duration of each planting stage significantly affected the resulting runoff and sediment yield. Measures aimed at the prevention and control of water-soil loss from purple soil sloping land should heavily focus on torrential rain and heavy rain events during the CPS and SFP. This paper aims to provide a practical reference for quantifying the water and soil loss from purple soil sloping cropland.


Author(s):  
M. Vanmaercke ◽  
F. Obreja ◽  
J. Poesen

Abstract. This study explores the role of seismic activity in explaining spatial and temporal variation in sediment export from the Siret basin in Romania. Based on long-term (>30 years) sediment export measurements for 38 subcatchments, we found that spatial variation in sediment yield (SY) is strongly correlated to the degree of seismic activity and catchment lithology. Combined, these factors explain 80% of the variation in SY. To investigate the role of earthquake-triggered landslides in explaining these correlations, we studied the temporal variability in sediment concentrations before and after the 7.4 Mw earthquake of 1977 for ten subcatchments. Despite the fact that this earthquake triggered many landslides, only one subcatchment showed a clear (3-fold) increase in sediment concentration per unit discharge after the earthquake. This shows that, although prolonged seismic activity strongly controls average SY, individual earthquakes do not necessarily affect sediment export at short timescales.


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 530-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Wang ◽  
X. Liang ◽  
G. Liu ◽  
H. Li ◽  
X. Liu ◽  
...  

The effects of phosphorus (P) fertilizer on P loss potential, soil Olsen-P and neutral phosphatase activities in paddy soils fertilized with superphosphate or pig manure (PM) were evaluated in this paper. Data were collected from a field experiment in the Tai Lake Basin, China. Superphosphate rates were 0, 17.5, 26.7, and 35.0 kg P/ha, and PM rates were 0, 1.4, 2.1, and 2.8 t/ha for each crop, respectively. Soil Olsen-P in the plow layer increased to a greater extent with PM than with superphosphate. Pig manure increased neutral phosphatase activities in the plow layer compared with PM-free treatment. In contrast, superphosphate inhibited neutral phosphatase activities compared with superphosphate-free treatment. Spring application of P fertilizer markedly increased the total P of surface water in November (< 0.01 vs. 0.10 mg/L) compared with P-free treatment. The total P of shallow groundwater at a 75 cm depth was ~0.01 mg/L. Phosphorus fertilizer did not influence Olsen-P or neutral phosphatase activities under the plow layer. Downward movement of P did not occur. Appropriate rate of P application of 26.2 kg P/ha for each crop in this soil reduced the risk of P loss in the paddy wetland ecosystem.


1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Purser ◽  
Terrance W. Cundy

Abstract This study was performed to measure changes in soil properties due to cable yarding and to estimate the resulting changes in hydrologic response. Soils were sampled before and after a commercial logging operation in the northern Cascade Mountains of Washington. The samples were analyzed for saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), moisture release characteristics, and bulk density (BD). Postlogging Ks values ranged from 1.08 to 497 cm/h and were significantly less than prelogging values, which ranged from 10.8 to 623 cm/h. Postlogging bulk densities ranged from 0.34 to 1.13 g/cm³ and were significantly greater than prelogging values, which ranged from 0.10 to 0.95 g/cm³. Because of the high Ks values it was concluded that Horton overland flow is not a dominant process even after disturbance. A 32.7% reduction in available water storage was found due to decreases in noncapillary porosity and surface horizon thickness. From this, increases in saturation overland flow and/or subsurface flow are predicted on skid trails. Overall impacts on the cutting unit however are considered small. West. J. Appl. For. 7(2):36-39.


1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 473-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Bolton ◽  
T. J. Ward

Sediment and nutrient data from USGS gauged stream sites in New Mexico and from rainfall simulation experiments were compiled and analyzed. Above a suspended sediment concentration of about 500 mg/l, associated concentrations of total phosphorus are highest in overland flow and then progressively decrease from agricultural drains to ephemeral washes to undammed rivers. Within a stream type, sediment-related concentrations of total phosphorus typically differed between larger and smaller basins. Small rivers had higher phosphorus transport per unit of sediment load than larger rivers. Small and medium sized washes had different relationships between phosphorus and sediment than did large and very large washes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document