Soil loss, water ponding and sediment deposition variations as a consequence of rainfall intensity and land use: a multi-criteria analysis

2009 ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Tal Svoray ◽  
Shimon Ben-Said
Irriga ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Deisiane De Oliveira Costa ◽  
Marlene Cristina Alves ◽  
Antônio De Pádua Sousa ◽  
Hélio Ricardo Silva ◽  
Antonio Paz González ◽  
...  

PRODUÇÃO E DEPOSIÇÃO DE SEDIMENTOS EM UMA SUB-BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA COM SOLOS SUSCETÍVEIS À erosão Carla Deisiane de Oliveira Costa1; Marlene Cristina Alves2; Antônio de Pádua Sousa3; HÉLIO RICARDO SILVA2; ANTONIO PAZ GONZÁLEZ4 E JOSÉ MANUEL MIRÁS AVALOS4 1 Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, UEMS/Aquidauana. [email protected] Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira, UNESP/FE/IS. [email protected]; [email protected] Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, UNESP/FCA. [email protected] Universidade da Coruña, UDC, La Coruña, España. [email protected]; [email protected].  1 RESUMO A degradação do solo traz como consequência a sua erosão, causando o assoreamento e a contaminação dos cursos de água. Este trabalho teve por objetivo estimar as perdas de solo e a deposição de sedimentos na sub-bacia Dois Córregos, localizada no munícipio de Selvíria, MS, com o intuito de identificar as áreas com maior suscetibilidade a estes processos, utilizando como ferramenta o modelo LISEM. Os solos da sub-bacia são o Latossolo Vermelho e o Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo, ambos de textura arenosa. Para as simulações foi utilizado o modelo LISEM, sendo coletados dados de intensidade de precipitação dos anos de 2009 a 2012. Foram selecionados 10 eventos com maiores intensidades de precipitação para o período avaliado. Para obtenção dos parâmetros de entrada necessários, foram coletas amostras de solos. As coletas foram realizadas em dez locais da sub-bacia, sob os diferentes usos e ocupação do solo. O eucalipto propicia proteção aos solos da sub-bacia. Os sedimentos produzidos ficam depositados nos leitos da sub-bacia, ocasionando o assoreamento dos cursos de água. O modelo LISEM se mostrou eficiente para a localização de áreas suscetíveis aos processos erosivos na sub-bacia estudada, porém, quanto à quantificação das perdas de solo, não simula o escoamento subsuperficial, o que pode ter subestimado estes processos. Palavras-chave: degradação ambiental, perdas de solo, assoreamento.  COSTA, C.D.O.; ALVES, M.C.; SOUSA, A.P.; silva, h.r.; gonzález, a.p.; avalos, j.m.m.PRODUCTION AND DEPOSITION SEDIMENT IN A SUB-BASIN RIVER WITH SUSCEPTIBLE SOILS TO erosion  2 abstract Soil degradation brings erosion as consequence , causing siltation and contamination of water courses. This study aimed to estimate soil loss and sediment deposition in the sub-basin ofDois Córregos river, located in Selvíria municipality, MS, Brazil, in order to identify areas with higher susceptibility to these processes, using the LISEM modelas  tool . The sub-basin river soils are Red Oxisol and Red-Yellow Alfisol, both with sandy texture. For the simulations the LISEM model was used, with data collected from rainfall intensity between the years 2009-2012. Ten events were selected with higher rainfall intensities for the study period. To obtain the required input parameters, soil samples were collected. The collections were made at ten sites of the river sub-basin, in the different forms of soil use and occupation. The eucalyptus provides protection to the river sub-basinsoils . The produced sediments are deposited in the beds of the river sub-basin, causing the silting of waterways. The LISEM model is efficient for locating the areas susceptible to erosion processes in the river sub-basin studied, however, in the quantification of soil loss, it does not simulate the runoff subsurface, which may have caused underestimation of these processes. Keywords: environmental degradation, soil loss, siltation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 3763-3775 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Meusburger ◽  
G. Leitinger ◽  
L. Mabit ◽  
M. H. Mueller ◽  
A. Walter ◽  
...  

Abstract. Snow processes might be one important driver of soil erosion in Alpine grasslands and thus the unknown variable when erosion modelling is attempted. The aim of this study is to assess the importance of snow gliding as a soil erosion agent for four different land use/land cover types in a subalpine area in Switzerland. We used three different approaches to estimate soil erosion rates: sediment yield measurements in snow glide depositions, the fallout radionuclide 137Cs and modelling with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). RUSLE permits the evaluation of soil loss by water erosion, the 137Cs method integrates soil loss due to all erosion agents involved, and the measurement of snow glide deposition sediment yield can be directly related to snow-glide-induced erosion. Further, cumulative snow glide distance was measured for the sites in the winter of 2009/2010 and modelled for the surrounding area and long-term average winter precipitation (1959–2010) with the spatial snow glide model (SSGM). Measured snow glide distance confirmed the presence of snow gliding and ranged from 2 to 189 cm, with lower values on the north-facing slopes. We observed a reduction of snow glide distance with increasing surface roughness of the vegetation, which is an important information with respect to conservation planning and expected and ongoing land use changes in the Alps. Snow glide erosion estimated from the snow glide depositions was highly variable with values ranging from 0.03 to 22.9 t ha−1 yr−1 in the winter of 2012/2013. For sites affected by snow glide deposition, a mean erosion rate of 8.4 t ha−1 yr−1 was found. The difference in long-term erosion rates determined with RUSLE and 137Cs confirms the constant influence of snow-glide-induced erosion, since a large difference (lower proportion of water erosion compared to total net erosion) was observed for sites with high snow glide rates and vice versa. Moreover, the difference between RUSLE and 137Cs erosion rates was related to the measured snow glide distance (R2 = 0.64; p < 0.005) and to the snow deposition sediment yields (R2 = 0.39; p = 0.13). The SSGM reproduced the relative difference of the measured snow glide values under different land uses and land cover types. The resulting map highlighted the relevance of snow gliding for large parts of the investigated area. Based on these results, we conclude that snow gliding appears to be a crucial and non-negligible process impacting soil erosion patterns and magnitude in subalpine areas with similar topographic and climatic conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Shojaei ◽  
Zahra Kalantari ◽  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino

AbstractSoil degradation due to erosion is a significant worldwide problem at different spatial (from pedon to watershed) and temporal scales. All stages and factors in the erosion process must be detected and evaluated to reduce this environmental issue and protect existing fertile soils and natural ecosystems. Laboratory studies using rainfall simulators allow single factors and interactive effects to be investigated under controlled conditions during extreme rainfall events. In this study, three main factors (rainfall intensity, inclination, and rainfall duration) were assessed to obtain empirical data for modeling water erosion during single rainfall events. Each factor was divided into three levels (− 1, 0, + 1), which were applied in different combinations using a rainfall simulator on beds (6 × 1 m) filled with soil from a study plot located in the arid Sistan region, Iran. The rainfall duration levels tested were 3, 5, and 7 min, the rainfall intensity levels were 30, 60, and 90 mm/h, and the inclination levels were 5, 15, and 25%. The results showed that the highest rainfall intensity tested (90 mm/h) for the longest duration (7 min) caused the highest runoff (62 mm3/s) and soil loss (1580 g/m2/h). Based on the empirical results, a quadratic function was the best mathematical model (R2 = 0.90) for predicting runoff (Q) and soil loss. Single-factor analysis revealed that rainfall intensity was more influential for runoff production than changes in time and inclination, while rainfall duration was the most influential single factor for soil loss. Modeling and three-dimensional depictions of the data revealed that sediment production was high and runoff production lower at the beginning of the experiment, but this trend was reversed over time as the soil became saturated. These results indicate that avoiding the initial stage of erosion is critical, so all soil protection measures should be taken to reduce the impact at this stage. The final stages of erosion appeared too complicated to be modeled, because different factors showed differing effects on erosion.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances E. Dunn ◽  
Philip S. J. Minderhoud

&lt;p&gt;As one of the largest deltas in the world, the Mekong delta is home to over 17 million people and supports internationally important agriculture. Recently deposited sediment compacts and causes subsidence in deltas, so they require regular sediment input to maintain elevation relative to sea level. These processes are complicated by human activities, which prevent sediment deposition indirectly through reducing fluvial sediment supply and directly through the construction of flood defence infrastructure on deltas, impeding floods which deliver sediment to the land. Additionally, anthropogenic activities increase the rate of subsidence through the extraction of groundwater and other land-use practices.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This research shows the potential for fluvial sediment delivery to compensate for sea-level rise and subsidence in the Mekong delta over the 21st century. We use detailed elevation data and subsidence scenarios in combination with regional sea-level rise and fluvial sediment flux projections to quantify the potential for maintaining elevation relative to sea level in the Mekong delta. We present four examples of localised sedimentation scenarios in specific areas, for which we quantified the potential effectiveness of fluvial sediment deposition for offsetting relative sea-level rise. The presented sediment-based adaptation strategies are complicated by existing land use, therefore a change in water and sediment management is required to effectively use natural resources and employ these adaptation methods. The presented approach could be an exemplar to assess sedimentation strategy feasibility in other delta systems worldwide that are under threat from sea-level rise.&lt;/p&gt;


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Johnson ◽  
Jason Williams ◽  
Phillip Guertin ◽  
Steven Archer ◽  
Philip Heilman ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Shrub encroachment of semiarid grasslands is influenced by connected runoff and erosion patterns that preferentially accumulate resources under vegetated patches (canopy microsites) and deplete interspaces. Soil loss from dryland hillslopes results when areas of bare ground become structurally and functionally connected through overland flow. Although these patterns have been well-described, uncertainty remains regarding how these feedbacks respond to restoration practices. This study compared the structure and hydrologic function of a shrub-encroached semiarid grassland treated five years prior with the herbicide, tebuthiuron, to that of an adjacent untreated grassland. Through a series of hydrologic experiments conducted at increasing spatial scales, vegetation and soil structural patterns were related to runoff and erosion responses. At a fine scale (0.5 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;), rainfall simulations (120 mm&amp;#183;h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; rainfall intensity; 45 min) showed herbicided shrub canopy microsites had greater infiltration capacities (105 and 71 mm&amp;#183;h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; terminal infiltration rates) and were less susceptible to splash-sheet erosion (3 and 26 g sediment yield) than untreated shrub canopy microsites, while interspaces were statistically comparable between study sites. Concentrated flow simulations at a coarse scale (~9 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) revealed that gaps between the bases of vegetation (i.e. basal gaps) &gt; 2 m&lt;sup&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;were positively related to both concentrated flow runoff (r = 0.72, p = 0.008) and sediment yield (r = 0.70, p = 0.012). Modeled hillslope-scale (50 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) runoff and erosion (120 mm&amp;#183;h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; rainfall intensity; 45 min) indicated less soil loss in the tebuthiuron-treated site (1.78 Mg&amp;#183;ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; tebuthiuron; 3.19 Mg&amp;#183;ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; untreated), even though runoff was similar between sites. Our results suggest interspaces in shrub-encroached grasslands continue to be runoff sources following herbicide-induced shrub mortality and may be indicators of runoff responses at larger spatial scales. In contrast, sediment sources are limited post-treatment due to lesser sediment detachment from sheet-splash and concentrated flow processes. Reduced sediment supplies provide evidence that connectivity feedbacks that sustain a shrub-dominant ecological state may have been dampened post-treatment. Our study also highlights the utility of simple measures of structural connectivity, such as basal gaps, as an indicator of hillslope susceptibility to increased runoff and erosion.&lt;/p&gt;


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 2739-2748 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. W. Zhao ◽  
B. J. Fu ◽  
L. D. Chen

Abstract. Land use and land cover are most important in quantifying soil erosion. Based on the C-factor of the popular soil erosion model, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and a scale-pattern-process theory in landscape ecology, we proposed a multi-scale soil loss evaluation index (SL) to evaluate the effects of land use patterns on soil erosion. We examined the advantages and shortcomings of SL for small watershed (SLsw) by comparing to the C-factor used in RUSLE. We used the Yanhe watershed located on China's Loess Plateau as a case study to demonstrate the utilities of SLsw. The SLsw calculation involves the delineations of the drainage network and sub-watershed boundaries, the calculations of soil loss horizontal distance index, the soil loss vertical distance index, slope steepness, rainfall-runoff erosivity, soil erodibility, and cover and management practice. We used several extensions within the geographic information system (GIS), and AVSWAT2000 hydrological model to derive all the required GIS layers. We compared the SLsw with the C-factor to identify spatial patterns to understand the causes for the differences. The SLsw values for the Yanhe watershed are in the range of 0.15 to 0.45, and there are 593 sub-watersheds with SLsw values that are lower than the C-factor values (LOW) and 227 sub-watersheds with SLsw values higher than the C-factor values (HIGH). The HIGH area have greater rainfall-runoff erosivity than LOW area for all land use types. The cultivated land is located on the steeper slope or is closer to the drainage network in the horizontal direction in HIGH area in comparison to LOW area. The results imply that SLsw can be used to identify the effect of land use distribution on soil loss, whereas the C-factor has less power to do it. Both HIGH and LOW areas have similar soil erodibility values for all land use types. The average vertical distances of forest land and sparse forest land to the drainage network are shorter in LOW area than that in HIGH area. Other land use types have shorter average vertical distances in HIGH area than that LOW area. SLsw has advantages over C-factor in its ability to specify the subwatersheds that require the land use patterns optimization by adjusting the locations of land uses to minimize soil loss.


2018 ◽  
Vol 192 ◽  
pp. 02017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatuwat Wattanasetpong ◽  
Uma Seeboonruang ◽  
Uba Sirikaew ◽  
Walter Chen

Soil loss due to surface erosion has been a global problem not just for developing countries but also for developed countries. One of the factors that have greatest impact on soil erosion is land cover. The purpose of this study is to estimate the long-term average annual soil erosion in the Lam Phra Phloeng watershed, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand with different source of land cover by using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and GIS (30 m grid cells) to calculate the six erosion factors (R, K, L, S, C, and P) of USLE. Land use data are from Land Development Department (LDD) and ESA Climate Change Initiative (ESA/CCI) in 2015. The result of this study show that mean soil erosion by using land cover from ESA/CCI is less than LDD (29.16 and 64.29 ton/ha/year respectively) because soil erosion mostly occurred in the agricultural field and LDD is a local department that survey land use in Thailand thus land cover data from this department have more details than ESA/CCI.


2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 523-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. López-Vicente ◽  
A. Navas ◽  
J. Machín

Abstract. The Mediterranean environment is characterized by strong temporal variations in rainfall volume and intensity, soil moisture and vegetation cover along the year. These factors play a key role on soil erosion. The aim of this work is to identify different erosive periods in function of the temporal changes in rainfall and runoff characteristics (erosivity, maximum intensity and number of erosive events), soil properties (soil erodibility in relation to freeze-thaw processes and soil moisture content) and current tillage practices in a set of agricultural fields in a mountainous area of the Central Pyrenees in NE Spain. To this purpose the rainfall and runoff erosivity (R), the soil erodibility (K) and the cover-management (C) factors of the empirical RUSLE soil loss model were used. The R, K and C factors were calculated at monthly scale. The first erosive period extends from July to October and presents the highest values of erosivity (87.8 MJ mm ha−1 h−1), maximum rainfall intensity (22.3 mm h−1) and monthly soil erosion (0.25 Mg ha−1 month−1) with the minimum values of duration of erosive storms, freeze-thaw cycles, soil moisture content and soil erodibility (0.007 Mg h MJ−1 mm−1). This period includes the harvesting and the plowing tillage practices. The second erosive period has a duration of two months, from May to June, and presents the lowest total and monthly soil losses (0.10 Mg ha−1 month−1) that correspond to the maximum protection of the soil by the crop-cover ($C$ factor = 0.05) due to the maximum stage of the growing season and intermediate values of rainfall and runoff erosivity, maximum rainfall intensity and soil erodibility. The third erosive period extends from November to April and has the minimum values of rainfall erosivity (17.5 MJ mm ha−1 h−1) and maximum rainfall intensity (6.0 mm h−1) with the highest number of freeze-thaw cycles, soil moisture content and soil erodibility (0.021 Mg h MJ−1 mm−1) that explain the high value of monthly soil loss (0.24 Mg ha−1 month−1). The interactions between the rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, and cover-management factors explain the similar predicted soil losses for the first and the third erosive periods in spite of the strong temporal differences in the values of the three RUSLE factors. The estimated value of annual soil loss with the RUSLE model (3.34 Mg ha−1 yr−1) was lower than the measured value with 137Cs (5.38 Mg ha−1 yr−1) due to the low values of precipitation recorded during the studied period. To optimize agricultural practices and to promote sustainable strategies for the preservation of fragile Mediterranean agrosystems it is necessary to delay plowing till October, especially in dryland agriculture regions. Thus, the protective role of the crop residues will extend until September when the greatest rainfall occurs together with the highest runoff erosivity and soil losses.


Soil Research ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Singer ◽  
PH Walker

The 20-100 mm portion of a yellow podzolic soil (Albaqualf) from the Ginninderra Experiment Station (A.C.T.) was used in a rainfall simulator and flume facility to elucidate the interactions between raindrop impact, overland water flow and straw cover as they affect soil erosion. A replicated factorial design compared soil loss in splash and runoff from 50 and 100 mm h-1 rainfall, the equivalent of 100 mm h-1 overland flow, and 50 and 100 mm h-1 rainfall plus the equivalent of 100 mm h-' overland flow, all at 0, 40 and 80% straw cover on a 9% slope. As rainfall intensity increased, soil loss in splash and runoff increased. Within cover levels, the effect of added overland flow was to decrease splash but to increase total soil loss. This is due to an interaction between raindrops and runoff which produces a powerful detaching and transporting mechanism within the flow known as rain-flow transportation. Airsplash is reduced, in part, because of the changes in splash characteristics which accompany changes in depths of runoff water. Rain-flow transportation accounted for at least 64% of soil transport in the experiment and airsplash accounted for no more than 25% of soil transport The effects of rainfall, overland flow and cover treatments, rather than being additive, were found to correlate with a natural log transform of the soil loss data.


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