Cost-Effective and Sustainable Road Slope Stabilization and Erosion Control

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Fay ◽  
Michelle Akin ◽  
Xianming Shi ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
2003 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
A. Olsen ◽  
J.F.L. Charlton

Since the early 1980s willow and poplar trees originally planted for erosion control have been cut and fed to hungry livestock during droughts, with impressive results. This involves shaping trees by cutting them to develop an operating "nest" that enables the farmer to prune regrown branches with greater safety, provided forestry training has been undertaken. More recently, trees have been planted specifically to grow supplementary fodder and some types have performed better than others. The concept is, in our opinion, quite cost-effective and the benefits of growing these trees far outweigh any drawbacks.


Author(s):  
Guillermo Tardio ◽  
Slobodan B. Mickovski ◽  
Hans Peter Rauch ◽  
Joao Paulo Fernandes ◽  
Madhu Sudan Acharya

1969 ◽  
Vol 91 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Gustavo A. Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
Miguel A. Vázquez ◽  
José L. Guzmán ◽  
Rafael Ramos-Santana ◽  
Onilda Santana

High sediment loads from agriculture and construction sites are a major source of surface water contamination in Puerto Rico. The use of anionic polyacrylamide polymers (PAM) is quickly gaining recognition as a cost-effective short-term erosion control strategy. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of different dosages and formulations of anionic PAM in a highly weathered soil (Corozal clay—Typic Hapludult) of the tropics under steep slope (20%) conditions. A series of indoor box experiments were conducted according to guidelines of the National Research Project for Simulated Rainfall. Three formulations of PAM, namely, SOILFLOC™ 300 E, SOILFIX™ LDP, and a synthetic formulation from Aldrich Chemical Company (PAM-Ald) were evaluated at the following rates: 0 (control), 20 kg/ha, 80 kg/ha, and 120 kg/ha of active ingredient. Simulated rainfall (7 cm/h) experiments were conducted at: one, two, eight, 30 and 60 days after polymer application. Additions of PAM at rates of 80 and 120 kg/ha significantly reduced sediment concentration in runoff relative to that of the control and of the 20 kg/ha PAM rate. At their highest rates, all PAM products reduced sediment runoff by more than 75% relative to the control in all events. The effectiveness of the 20 kg/ha PAM rate was lost after two rainfall events. At the third runoff event the percentage sediment concentration reduction (relative to that of the control) was less than 50% for the 20 kg/ha PAM-Ald formulation and less than 20% in the case of SoilFloc. Time to runoff was largely influenced by soil moisture content. In the last two rainfall events (30 and 60 days after PAM application), time to runoff was also significantly influenced by PAM rate. Runoff occurred faster with the control and the low PAM rate relative to that of the high PAM rates. These results could be attributed to the effects of surface sealing and enhancement of rill formation at the surface of the control and the low (20 kg/ha) PAM treatments. Sixty days after PAM application, estimates of cumulative sediment production for the 30-minute runoff event were 2.3 Mg/ha in the control treatment vs. 0.18,0.07, and 0.08 Mg/ha for the 120 kg/ha rate of SoilFloc, SoilFix, and PAM-Ald, respectively.


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