Effectiveness of three post-fire treatments at reducing soil erosion in Galicia (NW Spain)

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Fernández ◽  
José A. Vega ◽  
Enrique Jiménez ◽  
Teresa Fonturbel
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Wood Chip ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Nw Spain ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Straw Mulch ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Control

This study assessed the effectiveness of different methods of reducing soil erosion after a severe wildfire in Galicia (NW Spain). The treatments compared were: straw mulch (2.5 Mg ha–1), wood-chip mulch (4 Mg ha–1), cut-shrub barriers and control. Straw mulch provided an initial ground cover of 80% and the wood chips only 45%. Sediment yields were measured by means of sediment fences in 500-m2 bordered plots. During the first year after wildfire, mean precipitation was 1520 mm. The mean sediment yield in the control plots was 35 Mg ha–1. During this period, only straw mulch application significantly reduced soil erosion relative to controls (66%). The mean sediment yields in the wood-chip mulch and erosion barrier treatments, 33 and 30 Mg ha–1 respectively, were similar to rates in the untreated plots (35 Mg ha–1). Soil erosion decreased sharply during the second year after wildfire when mean precipitation was 1194 mm. Vegetation regrowth was very fast and treatments had no significant effect on the rate of recovery of vegetation cover, which was ~80% at the end of the study. The results obtained showed that ground cover was a key factor in determining post-fire soil loss. Stabilisation treatments such as wood-chip mulch and erosion barriers were not effective in reducing soil loss relative to the untreated control.

scholarly journals Prioritization of Sub-Watersheds to Sediment Yield and Evaluation of Best Management Practices in Highland Ethiopia, Finchaa Catchment

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Wakjira Takala Dibaba ◽  
Tamene Adugna Demissie ◽  
Konrad Miegel
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Soil And Water

Excessive soil loss and sediment yield in the highlands of Ethiopia are the primary factors that accelerate the decline of land productivity, water resources, operation and function of existing water infrastructure, as well as soil and water management practices. This study was conducted at Finchaa catchment in the Upper Blue Nile basin of Ethiopia to estimate the rate of soil erosion and sediment loss and prioritize the most sensitive sub-watersheds using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The SWAT model was calibrated and validated using the observed streamflow and sediment data. The average annual sediment yield (SY) in Finchaa catchment for the period 1990–2015 was 36.47 ton ha−1 yr−1 with the annual yield varying from negligible to about 107.2 ton ha−1 yr−1. Five sub-basins which account for about 24.83% of the area were predicted to suffer severely from soil erosion risks, with SY in excess of 50 ton ha−1 yr−1. Only 15.05% of the area within the tolerable rate of loss (below 11 ton ha−1yr−1) was considered as the least prioritized areas for maintenance of crop production. Despite the reasonable reduction of sediment yields by the management scenarios, the reduction by contour farming, slope terracing, zero free grazing and reforestation were still above the tolerable soil loss. Vegetative contour strips and soil bund were significant in reducing SY below the tolerable soil loss, which is equivalent to 63.9% and 64.8% reduction, respectively. In general, effective and sustainable soil erosion management requires not only prioritizations of the erosion hotspots but also prioritizations of the most effective management practices. We believe that the results provided new and updated insights that enable a proactive approach to preserve the soil and reduce land degradation risks that could allow resource regeneration.

Straw mulch impact on soil properties and initial soil erosion processes in the maize field

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Dugan ◽  
Leon Josip Telak ◽  
Iva Hrelja ◽  
Ivica Kisić ◽  
Igor Bogunović
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Water Erosion ◽  
Straw Mulch ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Maize Field ◽  
Sediment Loss ◽  
Initial Soil

<p><strong>Straw mulch impact on soil properties and initial soil erosion processes in the maize field</strong></p><p>Ivan Dugan*, Leon Josip Telak, Iva Hrelja, Ivica Kisic, Igor Bogunovic</p><p>University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of General Agronomy, Zagreb, Croatia</p><p>(*correspondence to Ivan Dugan: [email protected])</p><p>Soil erosion by water is the most important cause of land degradation. Previous studies reveal high soil loss in conventionally managed croplands, with recorded soil losses high as 30 t ha<sup>-1</sup> under wide row cover crop like maize (Kisic et al., 2017; Bogunovic et al., 2018). Therefore, it is necessary to test environmentally-friendly soil conservation practices to mitigate soil erosion. This research aims to define the impacts of mulch and bare soil on soil water erosion in the maize (Zea mays L.) field in Blagorodovac, Croatia (45°33’N; 17°01’E; 132 m a.s.l.). For this research, two treatments on conventionally tilled silty clay loam Stagnosols were established, one was straw mulch (2 t ha<sup>-1</sup>), while other was bare soil. For purpose of research, ten rainfall simulations and ten sampling points were conducted per each treatment. Simulations were carried out with a rainfall simulator, simulating a rainfall at an intensity of 58 mm h<sup>-1</sup>, for 30 min, over 0.785 m<sup>2</sup> plots, to determine runoff and sediment loss. Soil core samples and undisturbed samples were taken in the close vicinity of each plot. The results showed that straw mulch mitigated water runoff (by 192%), sediment loss (by 288%), and sediment concentration (by 560%) in addition to bare treatment. The bare treatment showed a 55% lower infiltration rate. Ponding time was higher (p < 0.05) on mulched plots (102 sec), compared to bare (35 sec), despite the fact that bulk density, water-stable aggregates, water holding capacity, and mean weight diameter did not show any difference (p > 0.05) between treatments. The study results indicate that straw mulch mitigates soil water erosion, because it immediately reduces runoff, and enhances infiltration. On the other side, soil water erosion on bare soil under simulated rainstorms could be high as 5.07 t ha<sup>-1</sup>, when extrapolated, reached as high as 5.07 t ha<sup>-1 </sup>in this study. The conventional tillage, without residue cover, was proven as unsustainable agro-technical practice in the study area.</p><p><strong>Key words: straw mulch, </strong>rainfall simulation, soil water erosion</p><p><strong>Acknowledgment</strong></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><p><strong>Literature</strong></p><p>Bogunovic, I., Pereira, P., Kisic, I., Sajko, K., Sraka, M. (2018). Tillage management impacts on soil compaction, erosion and crop yield in Stagnosols (Croatia). Catena, 160, 376-384.</p><p>Kisic, I., Bogunovic, I., Birkás, M., Jurisic, A., Spalevic, V. (2017). The role of tillage and crops on a soil loss of an arable Stagnic Luvisol. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 63(3), 403-413.</p>

A comparison of effects of one-pass and conventional potato hilling on water runoff and soil erosion under simulated rainfall

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zisheng Xing ◽  
Lien Chow ◽  
Herb W. Rees ◽  
Fanrui Meng ◽  
John Monteith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Sigmoid Function ◽  
Simulated Rainfall ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Runoff And Soil Loss

Xing, Z., Chow, L., Rees, H. W., Meng, F., Monteith, J. and Stevens, L. 2011. A comparison of effects of one-pass and conventional potato hilling on water runoff and soil erosion under simulated rainfall. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 279–290. Hilling plays an important role in potato production, but is found to be inducing soil loss. An artificial rainfall simulation system was used to evaluate the differences between one-pass hilling (OPH, hilling performed when planting, or shortly after planting) and conventional hilling (CH, hilling performed approximately 35–45 d after planting) as well as their combination with a cover crop (ryegrass; _R) on runoff and soil loss. A three-replicate randomized block experimental design with constant rainfall intensity (120 mm h−1) was used in this study. No significant differences in runoff were found between different hilling methods. The soil losses, however, showed significant differences both among treatments, among canopy cover classes, and among their interaction terms (all P<0.001). The mean soil loss for CH was significantly higher than that for OPH, by 40%, and the mean soil loss for CH_R was higher than that for OPH_R by 57%. On average, the CH treatments (CH and CH_R) induced greater soil loss than the OPH treatments (OPH and OPH_R) by 47%. Further, the effects can vary with different canopy cover percentages. The OPH treatments (OPH and OPH_R) induced more soil loss than CH treatments (CH and CH_R), by 4.4 to 12.8%, in the <30% canopy cover group, while soil loss in the CH treatments was greater than that in OPH treatments for both the 30–70% and >70% canopy cover groups by 21–94%. Irrespective of treatment, soil loss before canopy forming was 2.4 to 8.9 times higher than the soil loss for the partial to full canopy period. With a cover crop, the CH and OPH treatments can reduce soil loss by 37–55%. One-pass hilling initiated runoff earlier than CH. The water runoff and soil loss with respect to the elapsed time since initialization of water runoff and soil loss could be modeled by a three-parameter Sigmoid function with r 2≥0.94. The information generated from this study could be used in landscape modeling to study the impacts of potato production on soil and stream water quality.

Diameter of the base of the capitulum as a biometric variable of the goose barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes (Gmelin, 1789) (Cirripedia, Lepadomorpha)

Crustaceana ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 86 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1527-1538 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Parada ◽  
E. Iglesias ◽  
R. Outeiral ◽  
J. Molares
Keyword(s):  
Linear Equations ◽  
Nw Spain ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Goose Barnacle ◽  
Pollicipes Pollicipes ◽  
Fresh Specimen ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Control ◽  
Morphological Variable ◽  
Technical Measures

Owing to the peculiar morphology of the goose barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes (Gmelin, 1789), many different biometric variables have been used in its study. The lack of a standard morphological variable makes it difficult to compare results from different authors. This aspect takes on even greater importance, since the goose barnacle is a commercially exploited species and must be regulated with clear-cut technical measures related to its biology. The need to measure a large quantity of specimens in the management and control of the fishery calls for a biometric variable that can be processed easily and requires little training. The base of the rostrum and the apex of the subcarina form two conspicuous clefts in the capitulum of the goose barnacle, allowing a calliper to be fitted quickly and easily. The results of this study showed that the diameter of the base of the capitulum (DBC), defined as the distance between these two clefts, may be considered a consistent variable both when the same specimen is measured by two different technicians and when the measurements taken from a fresh specimen are compared with the measurements taken after the specimen has been frozen and then thawed. In order to make comparisons easier, two linear equations have been found to relate DBC and two of the more usual biometric variables: rostral-carinal distance (RC) and capitulum height (CH). The mean length at sexual maturity was also calculated in terms of DBC (13.35 mm) for specimens collected on the Galician coast (NW Spain).

scholarly journals Effect Of Rice Straw Mulch on Surface Runoff and Soil Loss in Agricultural Land Under Simulated Rainfall

2021 ◽  
Vol 930 (1) ◽  
pp. 012007
Author(s):  
R Haribowo ◽  
R Asmaranto ◽  
L T W N Kusuma ◽  
B G Amrina
Keyword(s):  
Rice Straw ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Straw Mulch ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Runoff And Soil Loss

Abstract Installation of mulch on agricultural land, besides reducing weed growth, can also protect the soil surface from rain and erosion. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of rice straw mulch in reducing surface runoff and soil loss before entering the river. The experimental soil materials were similar to those in Sumber Brantas village, Bumiaji Sub-District, Batu. Runoff modelling utilized the Armfield S12 Rainfall Simulator - Advanced Environmental Hydrology System, with rainfall of 1 and 1.7 l/min. Land with rice straw mulch was compared to land without mulch. The land slope was adjusted to study area conditions, with mild (9%) and steep (15%) slopes. The three-Way ANOVA method was utilized for statistical analysis. In all the experimental runs, it was found that straw mulch effectively reduced the sediment yields that could enter the river area by more than 50%. The results of ANOVA analysis on sediment yield also showed that the significance value of the interactions between slope, rain intensity, and mulch usage was 0 (p<0.05). These results show that the difference in variations in these three factors determines the sediment yield that occurs. In the future, comparing straw mulch with other materials to cover agricultural land should be conducted.

scholarly journals Critical Season for Soil Erosion in the Moldavian Plateau

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
C. Ailincăi ◽  
G. Jităreanu ◽  
D. Bucur ◽  
Despina Ailincăi
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Rain Event ◽  
Snow Melt ◽  
Agricultural Research And Development ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Different Cultures

Abstract Experiments conducted at Agricultural Research and Development Station of Podu-Iloaiei, Iaşi County, Romania, during 2002 - 2011, followed study runoff and soil erosion in different cultures, and establish critical season of soil erosion in this area. Establish critical season of soil erosion is necessary to satisfy the critical level of ground cover, which is required to maintain a low risk of soil erosion. Average annual soil loss by erosion, recorded in maize and sunflower were (mean on 10 years) of 6.753 and 7.385 t/ha/year, respectively. In sunflower and corn of the total soil loss recorded in the Moldavian Plateau, 19.7- 20.4% occurred in spring, 68.7 to 69.2% in summer and 6.1- 6.6% in the autumn. Differences of 4.5 to 4.9% of the total annual soil losses by erosion were recorded in winter, with snow melt. Season critic of soil erosion in the Moldavian Plateau, when recording the most aggressive rain event occurs in June and July. Mean soil loss due to erosion, recorded in June and July were 0.424 t/ha for winter rape, winter wheat 0.291 and 0.093 t/ha the perennial grasses in the second year of vegetation.

Indicators to measure soil erosion for rain action: A review with emphasis on massive stabilization and control of erosion rates

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-87
Author(s):  
Luisa Madolyn Alvarez-Benaute ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Stabilization Control ◽  
And Control

Soil erosion leads to a series of impacts, inside and outside the ecosystem that in turn are related to the productive capacity of the soil and the depletion of nutrients. This document gives us a vision of the state of soil loss due to water erosion, framed in a set of selected ecosystem service indicators (ES) that include supply and demand indicators that represent the three main supplier, regulatory and sociocultural categories. The choice of appropriate indicators and their calculation is presented using the example of class ES "massive stabilization and control of erosion rates" and "control of soil erosion water". Nearly natural ecosystems often resist erosion to a greater extent than areas in use, whose erosion rates depend on natural parameters and factors related to use. The main indicator captures the protective effect of ecosystems against soil loss, calculated from the difference in annual losses and the rate of hypothetical erosion without vegetation. The objective is to show the development of indicators with a focus on stakeholder participation and adopt regulatory processes that help counteract the effects of soil erosion. Keywords: soil erosion, satellite images, stabilization, control.

Effective Practices in Mitigating Soil Erosion from Fields

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Bagarello
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Effective Practices ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Modifiable Factors

Soil erosion by water is a natural process that cannot be avoided. Soil erosion depends on many factors, and a distinction should be made between humanly unchangeable (e.g., rainfall) and modifiable (e.g., length of the field) soil erosion factors. Soil erosion has both on-site and off-site effects. Soil conservation tries to combine modifiable factors so as to maintain erosion in an area of interest to an acceptable level. Strategies to control soil erosion have to be adapted to the desired land use. Knowledge of soil loss tolerance, T, i.e., the maximum admissible erosion from a given field, allows technicians or farmers to establish whether soil conservation practices need to be applied to a certain area or not. Accurate evaluation of the tolerable soil erosion level for an area of interest is crucial for choosing effective practices to mitigate this phenomenon. Excessively stringent standards for T would imply over expenditure of natural, financial, and labor resources. Excessively high T values may lead to excessive soil erosion and hence decline of soil fertility and productivity and to soil degradation. In this last case, less money is probably spent for soil conservation, but ineffectively. Basic principles to control erosion for different land uses include maintaining vegetative and ground cover, incorporating biomass into the soil, minimizing soil disturbance, increasing infiltration, and avoiding long field lengths. Preference is generally given to agronomic measures as compared with mechanical measures since the former ones reduce raindrop impact, increase infiltration, and reduce runoff volumes and water velocities. Agronomic measures for soil erosion control include choice of crops and crop rotation, applied tillage practices, and use of fertilizers and amendments. Mechanical measures include contour, ridging, and terracing. These measures cannot prevent detachment of soil particles, but they counter sediment transport downhill and can be unavoidable in certain circumstances, at least to supplement agronomic measures. Simple methods can be applied to approximately predict the effect of a given soil conservation measure on soil loss for an area of interest. In particular, the simplest way to quantitatively predict mitigation of soil erosion due to a particular conservation method makes use of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Despite its empirical nature, this model still appears to represent the best compromise between reliability of the predictions and simplicity in terms of input data, which are generally very difficult to obtain for other soil erosion prediction models. Soil erosion must be controlled soon after burning.

scholarly journals Soil Erosion, Streambed Deposition and Streambed Erosion—Assessment at the Mountainous Terrain

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Kaffas ◽  
Vlassios Hrissanthou
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Continuous Time ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Sediment Load ◽  
Mountainous Terrain ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Nestos River ◽  
Fine Time ◽  
Soil Loss Equation

An Integrated Mathematical Model (IMM) is applied at a continuous time scale in Nestos River basin (Macedonia–Thrace border, northeastern Greece). The IMM comprises a rainfall–runoff submodel, a soil erosion submodel, a streambed deposition submodel and a streambed erosion submodel, and computes sediment yields at the outlet of the basin, at fine time steps and for long periods of time. Soil erosion is estimated by means of the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE), deposition of sediment load is modeled by the formulas of Einstein and Pemberton and Lara, while streambed erosion is estimated through the formula of Smart and Jaeggi. The application of the IMM enables the computation of annual sediment yields, at the outlet of the basin.

scholarly journals The Use of Straw Mulches to Mitigate Soil Erosion under Different Antecedent Soil Moistures

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2518
Author(s):  
Ataollah Kavian ◽  
Mahin Kalehhouei ◽  
Leila Gholami ◽  
Zeinab Jafarian ◽  
Maziar Mohammadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Antecedent Soil Moisture ◽  
Straw Mulch ◽  
Maximum Reduction ◽  
Soil Erosion Control ◽  
Moisture Conditions

Straw mulch cover is one of the most important soil erosion control measures applied to reduce runoff and soil loss in cultivated areas. However, in developing countries such as Iran, without a clear tradition or knowledge about soil erosion control measures, the use of straw mulch is rare, and its impact in the most extended crops is not well understood. We investigated the separate and combined effects of colza (Brassica napus L.) and corn (Zea mays L.), to mitigate the activation of soil loss and runoff in sandy-loam soils, under different antecedent soil moisture conditions, in a rainfed plot in Northern Iran. Under laboratory conditions, we used a rainfall simulator device. The experiments were performed by using a rainfall intensity of 50 mm h−1, with a duration of 10 min and an inclination of 30%, with three replications. These conditions were used to evaluate the soils under extreme meteorological and topographical conditions. Two types of straw mulch, colza and corn, separated and combined with three different cover levels (25, 50 and 75%) and four distinct antecedent soil moisture conditions (0, 15, 20 and 30%), were used. The results showed that the applied straw mulches had significant effects on the reduction of soil loss and sediment concentration, by almost 99%. The maximum reduction of soil loss and sediment concentration was observed for the treatments with 0% moisture and 75% of corn, colza + corn and colza, with a reduction of 93.8, 92.2 and 84.9% for soil loss, respectively, and 91.1, 85.7 and, 60.7% for sediment concentration, respectively. The maximum reduction of runoff was also obtained with 0% soil moisture and a cover of 75%, reducing 62.5, 48.5 and 34.8% for colza, colza + corn and corn, respectively. The corn straw mulch showed the highest effectivity on reducing soil loss and sediment concentration toward colza treatment. But the colza straw mulch showed the best results on reducing runoff toward corn treatment. We conclude that the application of straw mulch is affordable and useful in reducing soil loss and runoff, instead of bare soils.

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