RUNOFF GENERATION AND SOIL EROSION IN SMALL AGRICULTURAL CATCHMENTS WITH LOESS-DERIVED SOILS

Over a two-year period, rainfall, runoff and sediment output were measured in six small agricultural catchments (3–10 ha) in south Limburg (The Netherlands). These measurements were needed for validation of an erosion model for South Limburg (LISEM). In this paper, results of the measurements are presented and processes that determine surface runoff and sediment yield during winter and summer rainfall are identified. Before the start of the measurement programme, surface slaking and crust formation on the erodible loess soils were thought to be the main cause of overland flow and soil erosion in South Limburg. This was the starting point for soil conservation measures in the area. The measurement results discussed in this paper show that in some catchments much runoff occurred in winter and that soil moisture storage capacity may be just as important for runoff generation as infiltration capacity. Therefore, when modelling soil erosion and optimizing erosion control measures for South Limburg, runoff generation through Hortonian as well as through saturation overland flow must be considered.     

CHANNEL EROSION DAMAGES AND PROTECTION MEASURES IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA

1INTRODUCTIONThesouthwesternregionoftheUnitedStates,includingSoutheastArizona,ischaracterizedbyasemiaridclimatewithhotsummers,mildwinters,andephemeralstreamsdrainingsparselyvegetatedareas.ChannelmorphologyoftheephemeralstreamsinSoutheastArizonaisinfluencedbybothlateralandverticalchannelchangesoccurringduringmajorfloods.Lateralchannelchangesoccurinthreewaysbankerosion,meandermigration,andchannelavulsion.Verticalchannelchangesinclude,beddegradationoraggradation,andmayoccurseparatelyorinco…     

PROCESSES OF HEADCUT GROWTH AND MIGRATION IN RILLS AND GULLIES

lINTRoDUCTIONHeadcuterosionwithinrills,ephemeralguIlies,classicgullies,andstreamscausesseriousenvironmentalproblems.Headcuterosionacceleratesthelossoftopsoilanddecreasestheproductivityofagriculturallands.Erodedsedimentsoftenendupinreceivingstreams,causingwaterqualityproblemsandnegativelyimpactingbioIogicalprocesses.Inadditiontolandscapedegradation,gulliesarethedominantformofdamagetoearthspillways.lfagullycanmovethroughanearthspillwayandbreachthecrestofadam,thentheimpoundedfloodwaterswiI1…     

Integrated erosion control measures and environmental effects in rocky mountainous areas in northern China

Based on observations of runoff plots and field investigations of gully cross-sections, impacts of various soil and water conservation measures on runoff and sediment yield are analyzed for different rainfall conditions. The results show that antecedent rainfall and rainfall intensity are the main factors affecting the runoff and soil erosion processes. Rainfall events with antecedent rainfall can produce high runoff and sediment yield. Large differences in the characteristics of two rainfall events will result in greater variations of total runoff and sediment yield from the same runoff plot. Under the same soil control measure and rainfall condition, soil and water conservation measures can reduce the impacts of antecedent rainfall and rainfall intensity on runoff and soil erosion. Among various measures, level terrace seems to be the greatest for soil conservation purposes. Combining with engineering measures,Vegetation measures is also effective in controlling runoff and soil erosion. In the initial stage of vegetation enclosure measures, engineering measure is necessary to improve the environment for ecological recovery. Gully head protection can control gully erosion effectively, but the effectiveness of gully head protection would be reduced when rainfall intensity increases. Therefore, the design of a gully head protection structure must be based on local hydrological conditions.     

DEVELOPMENT OF SOIL EROSION INDEX MODEL IN TAIWAN WATERSHEDS

1 INTRODUCTIONSoil erosion of land surface caused by over development has become more and more serious.Environmental damage resulted from accelerated soil erosion has attracted much attention especi ally overthe past 20 years. Soil erosion stUdies have focused primarily on soil characteristics and climaticvariations. Great achievements have been made in understanding the mechanism of soil erosion, whichallows the develoPment of evaluation models for all types of soil erosion problems. Th…     

ESTIMATION OF SOIL EROSION IN A RESERVOIR WATERSHED USING ^137CS FALLOUT RADIONUCLIDE

Sedimentation from soil erosion is a critical reservoir watershed management issue. Due to the difficulty of field investigations, empirical formulas are commonly used to estimate the soil erosion rate. However, these estimations are often far from accurate. An effective alternative to estimating soil erosion is to analyze the spatial variation of 137Cs inventory in the soil. 137Cs can be adsorbed by the soil and is widely assumed to change its distribution only when disturbed by rainfall and human activities. Thus, 137Cs distributed in soils can be a useful environmental tracer to estimate soil erosion. In this study, the net soil loss estimate is 108,346 t/yr and the gross erosion and net erosion rates are 10.1 and 9 t/ha yr respectively. The sediment delivery ratio is therefore estimated to be 0.9 based on the two erosion rates. Because of the steep hillsides in the watershed, only 10% of the sediment yield stayed in the deposition sites and 90% was transported to the river as the sediment output. Soil erosion estimates from spatial variations of the 137Cs activity in the Baishi river watershed showed satisfactory accuracy when compared to sediment yield data. Using soil 137Cs concentrations is therefore a feasible method for estimating soil loss or deposition in Taiwan. Data sampling, analysis and result of this approach are given in this paper.     

PHYSICAL PROCESS BASED SOIL EROSION MODEL IN A SMALL WATERSHED IN THE HILLY LOESS REGION

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Evaluation of a dynamic multi‐class sediment transport model in a catchment under soil‐conservation agriculture

Soil erosion models are essential tools for the successful implementation of effective and adapted soil conservation measures on agricultural land. Therefore, models are needed that predict sediment delivery and quality, give a good spatial representation of erosion and deposition and allow us to account for various soil conservation measures. Here, we evaluate how well a modified version of the spatially distributed multi‐class sediment transport model (MCST) simulates the effectiveness of control measures for different event sizes. We use 8 year runoff and sediment delivery data from two small agricultural watersheds (0·7 and 3·7 ha) under optimized soil conservation. The modified MCST model successfully simulates surface runoff and sediment delivery from both watersheds; one of which was dominated by sheet and the other was partly affected by rill erosion. Moreover, first results of modelling enrichment of clay in sediment delivery are promising, showing the potential of MCST to model sediment enrichment and nutrient transport. In general, our results and those of an earlier modelling exercise in the Belgian Loess Belt indicate the potential of the MCST model to evaluate soil erosion and deposition under different agricultural land uses. As the model explicitly takes into account the dominant effects of soil‐conservation agriculture, it should be successfully applicable for soil‐conservation planning/evaluation in other environments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太湖丘陵地区典型坡面土壤侵蚀与养分流失

建立了基于137Cs技术的土壤侵蚀的定量模型,采用有关土壤养分流失方程,对太湖地区典型坡面的土壤侵蚀和土壤养分流失进行初步估算.结果表明,研究地区的典型坡面存在着一定的土壤侵蚀,林地各个剖面点的土壤侵蚀模数平均为1313.6 t/(km2 @a),而菜地所在的微地貌部位土壤侵蚀更达5185.68 t/(km2 @a).土壤侵蚀主要受植被覆盖和人为耕作的影响,侵蚀量的大小排序为坡麓菜地>坡中马尾松林地>竹林地>坡顶马尾松林地.选择的典型坡面存在着一定的土壤养分流失,林地有机质、全氮、全磷与全钾的平均流失量亦分别高达28.29,1.38,0.35和16.76 t/(km2 @a),养分流失量大的地貌部位的土壤有机质、全氮、全磷和全钾含量低,而土壤侵蚀微弱的坡顶林地土壤养分含量较高.菜地土壤养分流失量最大,但由于施肥作用,土壤养分含最高.太湖丘陵地区的土壤侵蚀与养分流失不仅关系到本地区土壤肥力的退化,并对太湖水体环境质量的产生影响.     

EVALUATION OF RILL AND EPHEMERAL GULLY EROSION IN CULTIVATED AREAS OF NAVARRE （SPAIN）

Although there is much evidence of intense soil erosion in cultivated areas of Navarre （Spain）, scarce information currently is available regarding soil loss rates, the spatial and temporal distribution of erosion, and the factors controlling these processes. Rills and ephemeral gullies are frequently responsible for a high percentage of total soil erosion, and these features can be considered a good approximation for the minimum erosion rates. With the main purpose of determining the annual soil loss rates in cultivated areas of Central Navarre, a detailed assessment of rainfall and rill and gully erosion was made in 19 small watersheds cultivated with winter grains or vineyards. The study period spanned from 1995 to 2001. For cereal watersheds, soil losses were caused by only one or two rainfall events each year. High erosion rates were observed （0.20-11.50 kg/m^2 per year）. In vineyards, soil losses were caused by several rainfall events each year, occurring year round. High erosion rates were observed in these vineyards （0.33 y 16.19 kg/m^2 per year）. No erosion was observed in those cultivated watersheds with no-till practices. It can be concluded that rill and ephemeral gully erosion can be very significant in Mediterranean regions, and much more attention should be paid to the problem.     

SEDIMENT MOBILIZATION BY SURFACE EROSION IN MIDDLE MOUNTAIN CATCHMENTS OF NEPAL

1 INTRODUCTION Soil erosion in the foothills of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) is considered to be a hot topic in land degradation research in the region (Scherr and Yadav, 1996). The land degradation research has mainly addressed the issue of topsoil los…     

RELATIONSHIP OF SEDIMENT PRODUCTION BETWEEN HILLSLOPE AND GULLY SLOPE IN A SMALL BASIN IN THE BILLY LOESS REGION, NORTH CHINA

SomepeOPlehaverecognizedtheSPatialvariationoflandionnsandgeomorphicPeainthehillyloessregion,NOIthClam(Chenetal.1988).SuchvariationshaVe~linkedtotheverticalzonationofsoilerosionandsedimentproduedoninthisarea(Catetat.1994).HoWeVer,noneOftheStlldiesaPProachtheProbleminaqUantitativemanner.NorweretherelationsbetweensoilerosionPr~sontheoneban4andhydrologicandghgogicalcharacteristicsofthevariouSslopezonesontheother,dearlyestatiIisned.Inaaamon,~stubbesintheareahaveprtridtahotoshowthe~rtanceo…     

Modeling of state of vegetation and soil erosion over large areas

A vegetation-erosion model was developed to assess the extent of soil erosion and development trend of vegetation in the context of existing and contemplated vegetation-based soil erosion controls under different climatic, topographical and soil conditions. The model recognizes four vegetation-mediated soil erosion states： （i） an expanding vegetation coverage coupled with reduced erosion （C）, （ii） a deteriorating vegetation coverage coupled with increased erosion （A）, （iii） two transitional states between A and C, one with increasing erosion and vegetation coverage （B） and the other with decreasing erosion and vegetation coverage （D）. With the model, the vegetation-erosion state of any particular area can be quantitatively described, by way of a vegetation-erosion chart, for varying climate, soil and topographic conditions, as demonstrated for the Xishan region, the East River basin, the Wangjiagou and Anjiagou watersheds （Loess Plateau）, and the Xiaojiang watersheds （hot and dry valleys in the upper Yangtze River basin） in China. This paper presents the principles and results of area-specific investigations that track the fractions of the areas covered by vegetation and experiencing soil erosion （with soil loss determined in t/km^2yr）. This is done within the context of local soil erosion control initiatives via re-vegetation efforts, or the lack thereof, over the course of 30 years. The effectiveness of reforestation and erosion-control measures vary under different climatic, topographical and soil conditions. The vegetation may be quickly restored in the hot and wet East River basin but is very difficult on the dry and cold Loess Plateau. In the hot and dry valleys the vegetation can be restored if erosion is controlled and intensive reforestations for small watersheds are performed.     

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF GULLIES IN AN AGROPASTORAL AREA IN SARDINIA, ITALY

1 INTRODUCTION Many studies on soil erosion by water have been carried out in the Mediterranean area, since erosion is considered as one of the most important land degradation processes in these environments (UNEP, 1994). Those studies mainly focused on r…     

SEDIMENT HAZARDS IN THE LOWER YELLOW RIVER

1DEFINITIONOFSEDIMENTHAZARDHazardsaredefinedasthenaturaleventsthatcauselossesofhumanlifeandproperty.Reasonably,thesedimenthazardsarethehazardsoccasionedbythenatUralphenomenonandprocessesthatarerelatedwithsedimenterosion,transport,andaccumulation.Thelandslideandsoilerosionarethedirectresultsofsedimentmovement.Theoccurrenceofsomeotherhazardsisnotthedirectresultofbutrelatedtosedimentmovement.Forexample,inadditiontometeorolog.icalconditions,somekindsoflandformsarefavorabletoformationoff…     

FIELD STUDY ON WIND EROSION IN THE NORTHWESTSHANXI PROVINCE

Field study on wind erosion in the hilly regions with gentle slope in the Northwest Shanxi Province has been carried out from 1983 through 1988. Based on the data observed in the field, quantitative analyses of the wind erosion and the effects of the wind-break forest are presented in this paper in detail. Most of the strong windy days occur in the period of March to May. The coincidence of drought and strong wind in the Spring days with no vegetative cover at all on the loose top soil lead to severe wind erosion in this region. The rate of soil erosion is as high as 12800 t / km2. Major characteristics of wind and other meteorological factors are given in graphs and tables. Wind-break forest reduces the wind velocity by 51. 1 %. Consequently, the amount of wind erosion is reduced by 90% and the dust content in the atmosphere is reduced by 97. 1 % in comparison with those measured in the farmland. This paper provides a preliminary summary on the result of data analyses of wind erosion on the Loess Plateau. It can serve as scientific basis for control of the wind erosion in regions of similar conditions.     

EROSION CONTROL AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ON UPLAND WATERSHEDS OF GRANITIC REGION

I.FEATURESOFSOILEROSIONINGRANITICREGIONS1.1IntroductionGuangdongProvinceislocatedinsubtropicalzoneandthenorthernborderofthetropicalzone.ThelatitudestCtchesfrom20'07'to25'31'N,thelongitudefrom108'33'tO117'20'E.Subtropicalclimateprevailsinmostoftheprovince.Theannualaveragerainfallis1500-1800mm,withstrongintensityandun-evendistribution.Thedeifyrainfallduringwnhoonstormsmayreach200-300mm:Thetotallandareaisabout178,100sq.km,inwhich25,100sq.kmarecultivated.12,000sq.km,6.7%oftotalP…     

Soil erosion in the Anthropocene: Research needs

Soil erosion is a geomorphological and, at the same time, a land degradation process that may cause environmental and property damage, loss of livelihoods and services as well as social and economic disruption. Erosion not only lowers soil quality on‐site, but causes also significant sediment‐related problems off‐site. Given the large number of research papers on this topic, one might therefore conclude that we know now almost everything about soil erosion and its control so that little new knowledge can be added. This conclusion can be refuted by pointing to some major research gaps. There is a need for more research attention to (1) improved understanding of both natural and anthropogenic soil erosion processes and their interactions, (2) scaling up soil erosion processes and rates in space and time, and (3) innovative techniques and strategies to prevent soil erosion or reduce erosion rates. This is illustrated with various case studies from around the world. If future research addresses these research gaps, we will (1) better understand processes and their interactions operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales, predict their rates as well as their on‐site and off‐site impacts, which is academically spoken rewarding but also crucial for better targeting erosion control measures, and (2) we will be in a better position to select the most appropriate and effective soil erosion control techniques and strategies which are highly necessary for a sustainable use of soils in the Anthropocene. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MODELING HEADCUT DEVELOPMENT AND MIGRATION IN UPLAND CONCENTRATED FLOWS

On hillslopes and agricultural fields, discrete areas of intense, localized soil erosion commonly take place in the form of migrating headcuts. These erosional features significantly increase soil loss and landscape degradation, yet the unsteady, transient, and migratory habits of headcuts complicate their phenomenological and erosional characterization. Here a unique experimental facility was constructed to examine actively migrating headcuts typical of upland concentrated flows. Essential components of the facility include a deep soil cavity with external drainage, rainfall simulator, capacity for overland flow, and a video recording technique for data collection. Results from these experiments show that： （1） after a short period of adjustment, headcut migration attained a steady-state condition, where the rate of migration, scour hole geometry, and sediment discharge remain constant with time; （2） boundary conditions of higher rates of overland flow, steeper bed slopes, and larger initial headcut heights produced systematically larger scour holes with higher rates of soil erosion; and （3） during migration, the turbulent flow structure within the scour hole remained unchanged, consisting of an overfall nappe at the brink transitioning into a reattached wall jet with two recirculation eddies within the plunge pool. The systematic behavior of headcut development and migration enabled the application of modified jet impingement theory to predict with good success the characteristics of the impinging jet, the depth of maximum scour, the rate of headcut migration, and the rate of sediment erosion. These laboratory data and the analytical formulation can be used in conjunction with soil erosion prediction technology to improve the management of agricultural areas impacted by headcut development and ephemeral gully erosion.     

BODENERHALTUNG DURCH BODENGEFÜGEVERÄNDERUNG / Conservation du sol par la transformation de sa structure / Soil conservation by changing soil structure /

Abstract

Condensed layers do not only affect the water balance of the soil but they also promote soil erosion to a high degree due to acheive limited capability of absorbing water.

In the course of the essian land consolidation soils are being ameliorated among other measures by blowing up, loosening and deep ploughing. By destroying the impermeable layers the water balance will be improved and further soil erosion will be avoided as well.

The procedures that have been used and the results received up to now will be explained.