Relationship between soil erosion, slope, parent material, and distance to road (Case study: Latian Watershed, Iran)

Soil erosion is the dominating factor of damaging roads in Iran. Roads are a critical component of civilization. Developing and maintaining the economic activity that is vital for the quality of modern life would be difficult without roads. Accelerated erosion and increased sediment yields resulting from changes in land use are critical environmental problems, and one of the important changes is road construction. Construction and condition of roadways are associated with direct and indirect impacts on soil erosion. This paper presents the relationship between soil erosion and some characteristics such as distance to roadway, slope, and parent material in Latian Watershed, Tehran Province, Iran. Soil erosion map was interpreted using aerial photos and GIS technology. Buffer zones, subdivided into 12 strips, each 0.2 km wide, which were located alongside roadway. The distribution patterns of various types of erosion were also identified by GIS by overlaying road buffer strips and soil erosion map. The results show that soil erosion landform such as land slide, badland, bank erosion, channel erosion, etc. found in buffer zones along both sides of roads.     

Impact of parent rock and topography aspect on the distribution of soil trace metals in natural ecosystems

The concentration and dynamic of soil trace metals in natural ecosystems, in particularly, is dependent on the lithology of parent rock as well as topography and geopedological processes. To ascertain more knowledge for this dependency, soils on three parent rocks involving peridotite, pegmatite, and dolerite in two contrasting topography aspects were investigated. The total values of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Ni were determined and compared for different soil pedons. The concentration of Fe, Mn, and Ni were highest in soils developed from peridotite (127, 1.8 g kg^?1, and 218 mg kg^?1, respectively), intermediate in soils derived from dolerite (81, 1.3 g kg^?1, and 166 mg kg^?1, respectively), and least in soil developed from pegmatite (50, 0.23 g kg^?1, and 20 mg kg^?1, respectively). The values of Zn and Cu, originated from different parent rocks, were in order of dolerite (78 mg kg^?1) > peridotite (77 mg kg^?1) > pegmatite (28 mg kg^?1) and pegmatite (121 mg kg^?1) > peridotite (111 mg kg^?1) > dolerite (28 mg kg^?1), respectively. For most of the studied pedons, profile metals distribution differed among the soils: The values of Fe, Cu, and Ni were enriched in the cambic horizons mainly as result of release, mobilization, and redistribution of the studied metals during geopedological processes, whereas those of Zn and Mn were concentrated in the surface horizons. Probably due to greater weathering rate of trace metal-bearing rocks on north-facing slope, the content of the trace metals along with the geoaccumulation index (I _geo) and the degree of soil contamination (C _d) were higher than on south-facing slope. Based on assessment of soil pollution indices, the soils were categorized as unpolluted [I _geo ≤ 0 (class 0)], unpolluted to moderately polluted levels [0 < I _geo < 1 (class 1)], and very low [C _d < 1.5 (class 0)] to low degree of contamination [1.5 < C _d < 2 (class 1)].     

Soil erosion on a sub-tropical coastal dune complex,Transkei, Southern Africa

A fossil dune complex on the east coast of southern Africa is presently undergoing extensive accelerated erosion, with concomitant dune reactivation and degradation, unconfined erosion (sheetwash and wind deflation) and extensive development of V-shaped, ravine-type gully forms on hillslopes composed of thick sequences of Quaternary (Berea Formation?) dune sands. The sands comprise a thick, reddened, ferralitic sand carapace overlying white, poorly cemented quartzitic sands. Soil erosion has resulted from degradation of the red dune sand cover. Despite the cohesionless nature of the host materials, gully forms developed on dune sands are typologically similar to those developed in regolith or soft bedrock. This demonstrates that gully forms are influenced by the degree of homogeneity, rather than the absolute strength, of the host material subject to erosion. Factors which have contributed to erosion are discussed.     

喀斯特裸坡土壤侵蚀模拟研究

文章通过人工模拟降雨试验,研究不同地下孔（裂）隙度、基岩裸露率和雨强对地表、地下产流、产沙的影响,其结果表明:（1）土壤侵蚀与地下孔（裂）隙度具有较高相关性,地表产流、产沙随地下孔（裂）隙度的增大而减小,而地下则相反;（2）坡面径流刚产生时,雨滴击溅和薄层水流冲刷,土壤细小颗粒堵塞其毛管空隙,渗漏率减小,而地表径流量增大,土壤团聚体被破坏、分散和迁移,降水与土壤渗漏率增大,地表径流量减小,雨滴击溅增强,如此循环,降水与土壤渗漏率呈波动性变化;总体而言,地表、地下悬移质均随降雨历时呈下降趋势,而地表推移质则相反,地表、地下产流量变幅较小,趋于平行;（3）地表产流、产沙量随基岩裸露率增大呈波动性变化,总体呈下降趋势;而地下产流、产沙量随基岩裸露率增大呈波动性变化,总体呈增大趋势;（4）在较小雨强30 mm/h时,地表只产生悬移质流失,没有产生推移质流失;地表、地下产流、产沙都是随雨强增大而增大;雨强由30 mm/h增大到150 mm/h,地表累积产流量为538.5 L,累积产沙量为2 393.81 g,地下累积产流量为207.8 L,累积产沙量为687.73 g,累积产沙量的递增速率比累积产流量的递增速率要大,地表产流、产沙的递增速率大于地下产流、产沙的递增速率;（5）各因子与土壤侵蚀间相关程度为:降雨历时>雨强>地下孔（裂）隙度>基岩裸露率。该实验有助于为喀斯特地区的水土流失研究、评价及制订石漠化治理措施提供理论依据。      

喀斯特漏斗坡地土壤有机碳特征、风化侵蚀及稀土元素分析

以西南喀斯特地区喀斯特漏斗坡地2个土壤剖面为研究对象,通过测定土壤部分物理化学属性、土壤有机碳含量分布特征、δ^13C值、几种土壤化学风化指标及稀土元素参数特征,探讨土壤侵蚀和沉积过程中土壤有机碳及其稳定碳同位素的动态变化及分布特征,同时利用土壤δ^13C值反演了C3/C4植被的变化历史。结果显示,山腰和山脚2个土壤剖面样品的土壤有机碳含量范围分别为4.17%~8.91%和2.37%~6.33%,山腰含量较高;δ^13C值变化范围分别为.18.9‰^-15.6‰和.22.1‰^-17.0‰,均随土壤深度的增加先增大后减小;利用土壤δ^13C值反演C3/C4植被的变化历史,2个剖面表现出相似的变化趋势;Na/K比值与ICIA的变化特征呈显著的负相关关系,R^2分别为0.67和0.98,表明该类红土中Na/K比值不仅能代表风化强度,且可能与侵蚀大小有关;常用的土壤风化发育指标表现为很好的协同作用,显示剖面土壤的形成是由基岩化学风化而成;稀土元素球粒陨石标准化之后显示Ce异常,Eu负异常,2个剖面δCe变化趋势基本一致,表明2个剖面经历了相似的风化迁移过程。     

坡面松散砾石土侵蚀过程及其特征研究

砾石土因其含砾、粉细砂和粘性土,具有级配宽、不均匀系数大、透水性强等特点,在土石坝防渗体土料和工程防渗墙中得到广泛应用。目前的研究多针对砾石土在工程应用方面,对于坡面松散砾石土降雨淋滤作用导致土体细粒成分流失、土体组构改变以至影响土体力学性质变化以及坡面物质稳定性变化等系列研究并不多见。利用人工降雨装置,进行了人工降雨坡面松散砾石土降雨淋滤试验,开展了砾石土侵蚀过程及其特征初步试验研究。试验表明,降雨作用下砾石土斜坡表面土体形态变化具有明显的阶段性特征,随着坡长的增加,产流率和侵蚀模数成线性增加,径流量随降雨时间跳跃和波动性增加,径流泥沙含量随降雨时间的增加以近似幂函数曲线关系递减。     

Investigating spatial contribution of land use types and land slope classes on soil erosion distribution under tropical environment

Natural Hazards - Increasing land occupancy for farming without conservation principles, particularly in the Indonesian island of Java, is resulting in a severe erosion problem. This study...     

多元层状边坡土体风蚀速率与微结构参数关系

吐鲁番交河故城台地多元层状土质边坡由于风蚀而形成空腔的现象表明,不同类型的土具有不同的抗风蚀能力,抗风蚀能力的强弱是多因素影响的共同结果,微观结构是其中一个重要内因。风蚀速率是表征土抗风蚀能力强弱的重要物理量,研究运用风洞试验、微结构分析等手段揭示了风蚀速率与颗粒面积比、颗粒圆度、孔隙等效直径、孔隙充填比等微结构特征参数之间的良好对应关系;进而采用相关分析法分析并证实风蚀速率与各特征参数间的良好相关关系,应用回归分析方法建立3个试验风速下风蚀速率与单个参数和多个参数之间的回归方程,验证了微结构特征对土抗风蚀能力有显著影响,进而为土抗风蚀能力的评价提供了微观依据。     

土质陡坡降雨侵蚀的数学模型及求解方法

建立了土质陡坡降雨侵蚀的数学模型,模型包括陡坡细沟间坡面流控制方程、变沟宽陡坡细沟流控制方程、陡坡细沟间坡面侵蚀泥沙连续方程及陡坡变沟宽细沟侵蚀泥沙连续方程。通过紊流冲击分布概率确定土壤剥蚀方程,确定了泥沙源/汇项的表达形式及细沟高程与宽度的表达式。通过有限元和有限差分相结合的方法求解该数学模型,利用有限单元法对数学模型的水动力方程、运动方程及泥沙连续方程进行空间上的离散,利用有限差分法解决时间域的问题,得出了顺序求解的数值计算公式及模型数值求解的具体方法和步骤。     

Heavy metal distribution between parent soil and pepper in an unpolluted area,Hainan Island,China

Consuming edible plants contaminated by heavy metals transferred from soil is an important pathway for human exposure to environmental contaminants. In the past several decades, heavy metal accumulation in contaminated soil has been widely studied; however, few researches investigated the background levels of metals in plants and evaluated the difference in plants grown in soils produced from different parent rocks. In this study, a systemic survey of heavy metal distribution and accumulation in the soil–pepper system was investigated in an unpolluted area, Hainan Island, China. Levels of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd were measured in soils and pepper fruits from five representative pepper-growing areas with different soil parent rocks (i.e. basalt, granite, sedimentary rock, metamorphic rock and alluvial deposits). Average concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd in pepper fruits were 11.52, 0.84, 8.77 and 0.05 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals in soils are controlled by the parent materials and varied greatly from in different areas. Heavy metal contents in all pepper samples were lower than the Chinese maximum contaminant levels. The relationship between heavy metals in soils and biological absorption coefficient (BAC) of pepper fruits suggests that the uptake ability of pepper for soil metals depends mainly on the physiological mechanism, while in some cases, the soil types and supergene environment are also important.     

Evaluation of watershed soil erosion hazard using combination weight and GIS: a case study from eroded soil in Southern China

Natural Hazards - On September 20, 2017, Maria, the eleventh-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, made landfall at 6:15 am local time, the second category 5 hurricane to strike the island...     

Study on failure mechanism of a plain irrigation reservoir soil bank slope under wind wave erosion

Natural Hazards - The wind wave erosion is one of the main factors of the soil bank slope retreat in plain irrigation reservoirs, which plays an important role in the bank profile evolution and...     

Soil erosion, policy and people's perceptions in a rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

In South Africa the science and practice of soil conservation have been dominated by a technical approach which does not take into account the perceptions, knowledge and needs of people living in rural areas. Attempts to incorporate land users into soil conservation programmes have not had much influence on conservation policies. In order to compare the scientifically-based physical appraisals of an area with the community's perceptions of soil erosion on their land, a project was established in a rural area of KwaZulu/Natal. This paper briefly reviews soil conservation policy in former homeland areas. It then considers the historical development of the community of Cornfields and their responses to changing government policies. The research indicates that rural dwellers have valuable knowledge concerning soil conservation, but that the neglest of such communities by agricultural and conservation authorities has led to the unsustainable use of the land. The area is severely eroded and soils in the area are amongst the most highly erodible in the province. Therefore levels of degradation would be high even without dense human occupation. This evidence is clearly important in future conservation planning and recommendations are made regarding a policy for the management of soil resources in rural areas.     

祁连山森林草原带土壤属性和植被生物量对坡向和坡位的响应

祁连山森林草原带为典型的山地森林和草原镶嵌景观,带内植被呈显著的斑块状分布格局,与地形因子密切相关.探究森林草原带内地形因子与土壤和植被的关系,对该区生态恢复具有重要意义.采用样地-样方调查法,研究了祁连山森林草原带土壤属性和植被生物量随坡向(南、西南、西和北)和坡位(山顶、上坡、中坡、下坡和山谷)的变化特征及其与水热...     

Information derived from soil maps: Areal distribution of bedrock landslide distribution and slope steepness

Soil maps can be used to generate maps showing the areal distribution of bedrock. This technique is especially useful in heavily vegetated areas where weathering is intense and outcrops sparse. Broad lithologic categories that are readily distinguished include: diabase/basalt, sandstone, shale, limestone, conglomerate, and hornfels. Using soil maps is not a substitute for field work, but is a valuable tool to aid in making geologic maps. Soil maps can also be used to produce derivative maps showing slope steepness and landslide distribution.     

Influence of parent material on the contents and distribution of B and Zn in upland soils of Bauchi State, Nigeria

A study was conducted to determine the influence of parent material on the contents and distribution of boron and zinc in soils of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Fourty nine, 30, and 20 top 0–30cm soil samples developed from basement complex rock, Kerri-Kerri Formation and Chad Formation, respectively, were collected and analysed using standard laboratory procedures. Results obtained indicate that parent material influenced Zn but not B contents in the soils. Generally, both B and Zn varied widely (CV>30%) between locations in the State, irrespective of the parent material. Organic carbon significantly (P<0.01) and negatively correlated with Zn in soils from BCR (r = ?0.410) and CF (r = ?0.563) and positively with B in soils developed from KKF (r = 0.471) and CF (r = 0.345). With means of 0.41 and 1.46 mgkg^?1 for B and Zn respectively, their contents are considered adequate for crop growth. Crops grown on soils in some localized areas identified with values below the critical limits for these micronutrients may, however, benefit from their application.     

The Origin of Associated Basic and Acid Rocks in the Lebombo--Nuanetsi Igneous Province, Southern Africa, as implied by Strontium Isotopes

Whole rock Rb–Sr measurements were made on associatedbasic and acid intrusives and extrusives from the northern andsouthern ends of the Lebombo monocline with a view to determineif the acid rocks came from the mantle or from the crust. Inthe south, in Swaziland (now called Ngwame) and Zululand, rhyolitesand granophyres (age 202 14 m.y.) have an initial Si⁸⁷–Sr⁸⁶ratio of 0.7042 0.0005; in the north, in the Nuanetsi syncline,rhyolites (age 206 13 m.y.) and granites from ring complexes(age 177 7 m.y.) have initial ratios of 0.7081 0.0008 and0.7085 0.0007, respectively. The initial ratios of the basicrocks, basalts and gabbros, vary in both areas and have a rangefrom 0.7042 to 0.7125 which can be explained by crustal contamination.The low initial ratios and isotopic homogeneity of the acidmagmas over long distances (160 km) in Swaziland and Zululandare interpreted as implying that they were derived from themantle.     

The distribution of radiogenic heat production as a function of depth in the Sierra Nevada Batholith, California

Geochemical analyses and geobarometric determinations have been combined to create a depth vs. radiogenic heat production database for the Sierra Nevada batholith, California. This database shows that mean heat production values first increase, then decrease, with increasing depth. Heat production is 2 μW/m³ within the 3-km-thick volcanic pile at the top of the batholith, below which it increases to an average value of 3.5 μW/m³ at 5.5 km depth, then decreases to 0.5–1 μW/m³ at 15 km depth and remains at these values through the entire crust below 15 km. Below the crust, from depths of 40–125 km, the batholith's root and mantle wedge that coevolved beneath the batholith appears to have an average radiogenic heat production rate of 0.14 μW/m³. This is higher than the rates from most published xenolith studies, but reasonable given the presence of crustal components in the arc root assemblages. The pattern of radiogenic heat production interpreted from the depth vs. heat production database is not consistent with the downward-decreasing exponential distribution predicted from modeling of surface heat flow data. The interpreted distribution predicts a reasonable range of geothermal gradients and shows that essentially all of the present day surface heat flow from the Sierra Nevada could be generated within the 35 km thick crust. This requires a very low heat flux from the mantle, which is consistent with a model of cessation of Sierran magmatism during Laramide flat-slab subduction, followed by conductive cooling of the upper mantle for 70 m.y. The heat production variation with depth is principally due to large variations in uranium and thorium concentration; potassium is less variable in concentration within the Sierran crust, and produces relatively little of the heat in high heat production rocks. Because silica content is relatively constant through the upper 30 km of the Sierran batholith, while U, Th, and K concentrations are highly variable, radiogenic heat production does not vary directly with silica content.     

Spatial distribution of soil erosion and suspended sediment transport rate for Chou-Shui river basin

In this study, a Physiographic Soil Erosion–Deposition Model (PSED) is applied for better management of a watershed. The PSED model can effectively evaluate the key parameters of watershed management: surface runoff discharge, suspended sediment transport rate, quantity of soil erosion, and spatial distribution of soil erosion and deposition. A basin usually contains multiple watersheds. These watersheds may have complex topography and heterogeneous physiographic properties. The PSED model, containing a physiographic rainfall-runoff model and a basin scale erosion–deposition model, can simulate the physical mechanism of the entire erosion process based on a detailed calculation of bed-load transportation, surface soil entrainment, and the deposition mechanism. With the assistance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the PSED model can handle and analyze extremely large hydrologic and physiographic datasets and simulate the physical erosion process without the need for simplification. We verified the PSED model using three typhoon events and 40 rainfall events. The application of PSED to Chou-Shui River basin shows that the PSED model can accurately estimate discharge hydrographs, suspended sediment transport rates, and sediment yield. Additionally, we obtained reasonable quantities of soil erosion as well as the spatial distribution of soil erosion and deposition. The results show that the PSED model is capable of calculating spatially distributed soil erosion and suspended sediment transport rates for a basin with multiple watersheds even if these watersheds have complex topography and heterogeneous physiographic properties.