| Abstract: | Crop management is an important factor in preventing winter runoff and erosion on non-irrigatedcropland of the Northwestern Wheat and Range Region of the U.S. Much of the total annual runoff andsoil loss from agricultural land in the region occurs as a result of rain and snowmelt on frozen and thawingsoil. Quantifying these effects is important for hydrologic model development and calibration, and fordesigning and selecting crop managements to prevent erosion. An experimental setup with several runoffplots under a number of crop management systems was installed at the Palouse Conservation Field Stationin the fall of 1978. Data were collected from natural events on the replicated plots for l3 years. Frost,thaw, and snow depths were measured on the plots regularly. Runoff and sediment samples were obtainedfrom collection tanks on a daily or event basis. Data were analyzed and events were separaed into frozensoil, thawing soil, and non-frozen soil. Crop management had a substantial effect on infiltration and runoff,but an even more significant impact on soil erosion. |
