Evolution of overland flow connectivity in bare agricultural plots

Soil surface roughness not only delays overland flow generation but also strongly affects the spatial distribution and concentration of overland flow. Previous studies generally aimed at predicting the delay in overland flow generation by means of a single parameter characterizing soil roughness. However, little work has been done to find a link between soil roughness and overland flow dynamics. This is made difficult because soil roughness and hence overland flow characteristics evolve differently depending on whether diffuse or concentrated erosion dominates. The present study examined whether the concept of connectivity can be used to link roughness characteristics to overland flow dynamics. For this purpose, soil roughness of three 30‐m² tilled plots exposed to natural rainfall was monitored for two years. Soil micro‐topography was characterized by means of photogrammetry on a monthly basis. Soil roughness was characterized by the variogram, the surface stream network was characterized by network‐based indices and overland flow connectivity was characterized by Relative Surface Connection function (RSCf) functional connectivity indicator. Overland flow hydrographs were generated by means of a physically‐based overland flow model based on 1‐cm resolution digital elevation models. The development of eroded flow paths at the soil surface not only reduced the delay in overland flow generation but also resulted in a higher continuity of high flow velocity paths, an increase in erosive energy and a higher rate of increase of the overland flow hydrograph. Overland flow dynamics were found to be highly correlated to the RSCf characteristic points. By providing information regarding overland flow dynamics, the RSCf may thus serve as a quantitative link between soil roughness and overland flow generation in order to improve the overland flow hydrograph prediction. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄土坡面发育平稳的细沟流水动力学特性

由于天然降雨存在间歇性,常会出现前期降雨已经发育成型的细沟又经历了二次降雨的情况,但目前对这一条件下细沟流水动力学特性的研究还很少。本文采用室内人工模拟降雨的方法,通过间隔24 h两场不同雨强的降雨,研究黄土坡面经过第一场降雨形成比较稳定的细沟之后,在第二场较小雨强降雨过程中,细沟发育平稳时的流水动力学特性。研究结果表明:①细沟流速大小受坡长影响并不显著,相同坡度下不同坡长的细沟流平均流速差别不大;细沟流速受细沟形态影响较大,25°坡面比20°坡面细沟密度大,流速相对较小;②剪切力大小受流量和坡度共同作用;雷诺数与水流剪切力呈显著正相关关系,弗洛德数与水流剪切力则呈显著负相关关系;③随着距坡顶距离的增加,阻力系数呈增大趋势;第二次降雨强度相同,坡度大的坡面上阻力系数也较大,可见阻力系数与径流量和坡度的关系十分紧密;阻力系数与雷诺数之间呈显著正相关关系,雷诺数的增加意味着平均流速增大,水流强度增大导致细沟形态更为复杂,水流受到的阻力增大;虽然雷诺数增加同时也意味着水流深度增大,但从试验结果可见,陡坡条件下阻力系数受流速的影响较大。     

Amorphous silica mobilization by inter‐rill erosion: insights from rainfall experiments

Amorphous silica (ASi) carried in suspension by rivers is an important component in the global Si budget. Water erosion processes in cultivated catchments are likely to drive ASi delivery to the river system. However, no studies have investigated the controls on ASi mobilization by erosional processes in croplands. Rainfall experiments were performed on split fields (i.e. a part conventionally ploughed and a part under reduced tillage) to simulate ASi mobilization by inter‐rill erosion in croplands, and identify its dependency on soil, field and rainfall characteristics. The ASi content of the soil and the inter‐rill erosion rate were determined as the major controls on ASi mobilization. Variables such as tillage technique and crop type did not have a consistent direct or indirect effect. Inter‐rill erosion is clearly selective with respect to ASi, indicating association of ASi with the fine soil fraction and with soil organic carbon. Our experiments demonstrate that erosion increases due to human perturbation will increase the delivery of reactive Si to aquatic systems. We estimate that globally, c. 7% of all reactive Si that enters aquatic systems is derived from erosion of agricultural soils. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of conservation tillage on runoff erosivity and soil erodibility during concentrated flow

Crop residues in conservation tillage systems are known to cause both a reduction in the erosive runoff power and an increase in the topsoil erosion resistance. In this study, the relative importance of both mechanisms in reducing soil loss by concentrated flow erosion is examined. Therefore, a method to calculate the effective flow shear stress responsible for soil detachment in the presence of a residue cover is applied. The determination of effective flow shear stress is based on the recalculation of the hydraulic radius for residue treatments. The method was tested in a laboratory flume by comparing soil detachment rates of identical pairs of soil samples that only differ in the presence or absence of crop residues. This shear stress partitioning approach and a soil detachment correction were then applied to a dataset of soil detachment measurements on undisturbed topsoil samples from a no‐till field plot on a loess‐derived soil, sampled during one growing season. Results indicate that only a small fraction (10% on average) of the difference in soil detachment rate between conventional and conservation tillage can be attributed to the dissipation of shear forces on the residues. The remaining decrease in soil detachment during concentrated runoff after a two‐year application of conservation tillage can be explained by the increased dry bulk density and root and crop residue content in the topsoil that reduces soil erodibility. After correcting for the presence of residues, the temporal variability in soil detachment rates (D_r) during concentrated flow for a given flow shear stress (τ) for both treatments can be predicted fairly well (R² = 0·87) from dry soil bulk density (DBD, representing consolidation effects), soil moisture content (SMC, representing antecedent rainfall conditions), the dry mass of organic material (OM, representing root growth and residue decomposition) and saturated soil shear strength σ_{s, sat} using an equation of the form: This study is the first to show that the effect of conservation tillage on soil detachment rates is a result of soil property modifications affecting soil erodibility, rather than a result of the surface residue decreasing flow erosivity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

细沟侵蚀中泥沙含量及其粘粒流失量的试验

通过室内模拟试验，对细沟侵蚀中不同坡度和不同流量条件下一定坡长的泥沙含量及其粘粒含量进行了测定。分析试验结果表明，含沙量随着坡度增加而增加，而流量影响极小；随沟长的延伸，由于径流速度趋于稳定，含沙量增加幅度减少。粘粒流失量分布是坡度、流量、细沟发育过程、流速的垂直分布等因素共同作用的结果；粘粒迁移伴随着土壤剥蚀和粘粒沉降，使得不同流量的粘粒流失量相近，粘粒流失量沿细沟沟长呈波状分布。     

稀土元素示踪法在坡面土壤侵蚀垂直分布研究中的应用

通过野外全坡长侵蚀小区试验,证明了稀土元素示踪法在土壤侵蚀垂直分布研究中的可应用性。结果表明该径流小区产沙强度坡长存在三种变化模式:增长型,增长 递减型和波动型,其形成机理可能与径流过程有关。利用稀土元素在坡面的再分析,初步建立了估算坡面沟蚀率的关系式。     

坡面径流冲刷及泥沙输移特征的试验研究

通过室内放水冲刷试验,对坡面细沟侵蚀发生的临界条件、细沟发展过程中的侵蚀产沙特征、以及影响细沟侵蚀产沙的因素进行了分析研究,得出了试验土条件下产生细沟的临界流量与坡面坡度的关系式.在分析产沙变化的基础上,探讨了细沟侵蚀量随径流量和坡面倾斜度的变化规律.     

细沟形态演变对坡面水沙过程的影响

为探明细沟形态演变对坡面产流产沙的互反馈作用,采用室内模拟降雨和三维地形扫描等手段对细沟形态演变中的水沙变化过程进行了研究。试验分析了黄土在不同雨强（66 mm/h、94 mm/h和127 mm/h）条件下,不同细沟发育阶段的水沙过程变化规律。结果表明,黄土细沟形态演变过程对产沙的影响较大,而对产流的影响较弱。径流量的变化过程主要取决于土体透水性、土壤的结皮作用以及产流方式,坡面产流量有先增大后减小最后趋于平稳的趋势;产沙量的变化过程与细沟发育进程有明显的对应关系,尤其是坡面地貌信息熵与产沙量和侵蚀速率的相关系数分别达到0.954和0.916,细沟的出现会加剧侵蚀,使含沙量明显增加;不同雨强下坡面产沙的变化规律基本相同,细沟沟网稳定后的产沙量与降雨强度呈正相关关系。     

Measuring rill erosion at plot scale by a drone‐based technology

The traditional direct method (i.e. metric ruler and rillmeter) of monitoring rill erosion at plot scale is time consuming and invasive because it modifies the surface of the rilled area. Measuring rill features using a drone‐based technology is considered a non‐invasive method allowing a fast field relief. In the experimental Sparacia area a survey by a quadricopter Microdrones md4‐200 was carried out, and this relief allowed the generation of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), with a mesh size of 1 cm and a resolution elevation equal to 2 mm, for three plots (L, G and C) affected by rill erosion. At first for the experimental L plot, which is 44 m long, the rill features were surveyed by a ‘manual’ method which was carried out by drawing on the PC screen the rill paths obtained by a visual orthophoto interpretation. This manual method was not applicable for the plots in which rills of limited depth occurred and were not detectable. Then, for both L plot and the other experimental plots having a length ranging from 22 to 44 m, an ‘automatic’ extraction method of rills from DEM was applied. Using an appropriate calculation routine, a vector coverage of transects orthogonal to the main flow direction (i.e. the maximum slope steepness path) was generated. The intersection of each plot DEM with the transect coverage allowed to obtain both the cross sections and the main rill morphological features. For the L plot the comparison between the rill morphological features obtained by the two different methods (manual, automatic) was carried out. Finally, the length–volume relationship and a dimensionless relationship proposed in literature were tested for all studied experimental plots. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparing flow resistance law for fixed and mobile bed rills

Rills caused by run‐off concentration on erodible hillslopes have very irregular profiles and cross‐section shapes. Rill erosion directly depends on the hydraulics of flow in the rills, which may differ greatly from hydraulics of flow in larger and regular channels. In this paper, a recently theoretically deduced rill flow resistance equation, based on a power–velocity profile, was tested experimentally on plots of varying slopes (ranging from 9% to 26%) in which mobile and fixed bed rills were incised. Initially, measurements of flow velocity, water depth, cross‐section area, wetted perimeter, and bed slope, carried out in 320 reaches of mobile bed rills and in 165 reaches of fixed rills, were used for calibrating the theoretical flow resistance equation. Then the relationship between the velocity profile parameter Γ, the channel slope, and the flow Froude number was separately calibrated for the mobile bed rills and for the fixed ones. The measurements carried out in both conditions (fixed and mobile bed rills) confirmed that the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor can be accurately estimated using the proposed theoretical approach. For mobile bed rills, the data were supportive of the slope independence hypothesis of velocity, due to the feedback mechanism, stated by Govers. The feedback mechanism was able to produce quasicritical flow conditions. For fixed bed rills, obtained by fixing the rill channel, by a glue, at the end of the experimental run with a mobile bed rill, the slope independence of the flow velocity measurements was also detected. Therefore, an experimental run carried out by a rill bed fixed after modelling flow action is useful to detect the feedback mechanism. Finally, the analysis showed that, for the investigated conditions, the effect of sediment transport on the flow resistance law can be considered negligible respect to the grain roughness effect.