scholarly journals Sediment concentration in interrill flow: interactions between soil surface conditions, vegetation and rainfall

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Cerdan ◽  
Y. Le Bissonnais ◽  
V. Souchère ◽  
P. Martin ◽  
V. Lecomte
Keyword(s):  
Soil Surface ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Flow Interactions

A study of soil erosion on vertisols of the eastern Darling Downs, Queensland .I. Effects of surface conditions on soil movement within Contour Bay catchments

Soil Research ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
DM Freebairn ◽  
GH Wockner
Keyword(s):  
Soil Loss ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Stream Power ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Surface Cover ◽  
Soil Movement ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Runoff Rate ◽  
Peak Runoff

Effects of soil surface conditions on runoff and soil loss were studied on two major cracking clay soils of the Darling Downs, Queensland. Techniques used to measure soil loss between field contour bays under natural rainfall are described, and the results from 10 contour bay catchments (66 plot years) are presented. Soil movement was separated into rill, interrill, suspended sediment and channel deposition. Two slope lengths were considered (60 and 35 m), and interrill erosion appeared to be the major source of soil loss. Runoff and sediment concentration were both inversely related to surface cover and total soil movement was greatly reduced by surface cover. In an annual winter-wheat, summer-fallow system, removal of stubble resulted in soil movement of 29-62 t ha-1 year-1. Retention of stubble (stubble mulching) reduced soil movement to less than 5 t ha-1 year-1. Greater than 75% of the variance in soil movement from single events was explained by surface cover and peak runoff rate. Surface cover is a measure of the surface area protected from soil detachment and entrainment. Peak runoff rate describes the amount of energy or stream power available for detachment and entrainment.

scholarly journals Comparison of Satellite and Drone-Based Images at Two Spatial Scales to Evaluate Vegetation Regeneration after Post-Fire Treatments in a Mediterranean Forest

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5423
Author(s):  
Jose Luis Martinez ◽  
Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja ◽  
Pedro Antonio Plaza-Alvarez ◽  
Pietro Denisi ◽  
Miguel Angel Moreno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Plant Biodiversity ◽  
Mediterranean Forests ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Regeneration ◽  
Forest Managers

The evaluation of vegetation cover after post-fire treatments of burned lands is important for forest managers to restore soil quality and plant biodiversity in burned ecosystems. Unfortunately, this evaluation may be time consuming and expensive, requiring much fieldwork for surveys. The use of remote sensing, which makes these evaluation activities quicker and easier, have rarely been carried out in the Mediterranean forests, subjected to wildfire and post-fire stabilization techniques. To fill this gap, this study evaluates the feasibility of satellite (using LANDSAT8 images) and drone surveys to evaluate changes in vegetation cover and composition after wildfire and two hillslope stabilization treatments (log erosion barriers, LEBs, and contour-felled log debris, CFDs) in a forest of Central Eastern Spain. Surveys by drone were able to detect the variability of vegetation cover among burned and unburned areas through the Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index (VARI), but gave unrealistic results when the effectiveness of a post-fire treatment must be evaluated. LANDSAT8 images may be instead misleading to evaluate the changes in land cover after wildfire and post-fire treatments, due to the lack of correlation between VARI and vegetation cover. The spatial analysis has shown that: (i) the post-fire restoration strategy of landscape managers that have prioritized steeper slopes for treatments was successful; (ii) vegetation growth, at least in the experimental conditions, played a limited influence on soil surface conditions, since no significant increases in terrain roughness were detected in treated areas.

Herbicide Performance and Soil Surface Conditions

Weed Research ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. ROBERTS and ◽  
R. T. HEWSON
Keyword(s):  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Conditions

scholarly journals Quantifying the changes of soil surface microroughness due to rainfall-induced erosion on a smooth surface

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin K. B. Abban ◽  
A. N. Thanos Papanicolaou ◽  
Christos P. Giannopoulos ◽  
Dimitrios C. Dermisis ◽  
Kenneth M. Wacha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Surface ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Surface Profile ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Length Scales ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Consistent Increase ◽  
Surface Microroughness

Abstract. This study examines the rainfall induced change in soil microroughness of a bare soil surface in agricultural landscapes. The focus is on the quantification of roughness length under the action of rainfall for initial microroughness length scales of 2 mm or less, defined here as initial smooth surface conditions. These conditions have not been extensively examined in the literature as most studies have focused on initial disturbed surface conditions (bed surface conditions with initial length scales greater than 2 mm and varying between 5–50 mm). Three representative intensities namely 30 mm/h, 60 mm/h and 75 mm/h were applied over a smoothened bed surface at a field plot via a rainfall simulator. Soil surface microroughness measurements were obtained via a surface-profile laser scanner. Two indices were utilized to quantify soil surface microroughness, namely the Random Roughness (RR) index and the crossover length. Findings show a consistent increase in roughness under the action of rainfall for initial microroughness length scales of 2 mm. This contradicts existing literature where a monotonic decay of roughness of soil surfaces with rainfall is recorded for disturbed surfaces. Analysis shows that on an average the RR and the crossover length post run increase by a multiple of 3.15 and 1.9, respectively from their corresponding values apriori the runs.

scholarly journals Effects of time-controlled grazing on runoff and sediment loss

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gholamreza Sanjari ◽  
Bofu Yu ◽  
Hossein Ghadiri ◽  
Cyril A. A. Ciesiolka ◽  
Calvin W. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Surface Cover ◽  
East Region ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Sediment Loss

The time-controlled rotational grazing (TC grazing) has become popular in Australia and elsewhere in the world to provide graziers and ranchers with improved productivity over traditional practices. However, this grazing system, which involves short periods of intensive grazing, has raised concerns about sustainability and environmental impacts on water and soil resources, and ecosystem health generally. A runoff experiment at the catchment scale was established on the grazing property ‘Currajong’ in the south-east region of Queensland, Australia, to investigate the effects of continuous and TC grazing on runoff and sediment generation from 2001 to 2006. Sediment loss was reduced significantly under TC grazing compared with continuous grazing irrespective of the size of runoff events. This effect was more pronounced in the catchments with soils of gentler slopes and greater depths. The reduction in soil erosion was achieved despite the fact that the increase in ground cover under TC grazing had little effect on runoff coefficient or runoff depth. Decrease in runoff in relation to the increase in surface cover only occurred for small events, whereas for large rainfall events, runoff generated irrespective of the level of ground cover. This study showed that ground cover is a key driver in reducing sediment concentration, resulting in a significantly lower sediment loss under TC grazing. In the study area a minimum of 70% of surface cover as a threshold appeared to be needed to efficiently protect the soil surface from erosive forces of rain and runoff and to control soil erosion. The results also indicate that TC grazing has a superior capability to produce and maintain a higher level of ground cover (up to 90%) than continuous grazing (up to 65%). The long rest periods in TC grazing are seen as the major contributor to soil and pasture recovery after intensive defoliations by grazing animals, leading to an increase in above-ground organic material and thus surface cover over time.

Soil Aeration under Different Soil Surface Conditions

2000 ◽  
Vol 185 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Khan ◽  
D. Chandra ◽  
S. Quraishi ◽  
R. K. Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Soil Aeration

scholarly journals Capture of overland flow by a tree belt on a pastured hillslope in south-eastern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. W. Ellis ◽  
S. Leguédois ◽  
P. B. Hairsine ◽  
D. J. Tongway
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Excess Water ◽  
Overland Flows ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Tree Litter

We describe a rainfall simulator experiment designed to measure the capture, by a fenced tree belt, of excess water generated as Hortonian flow from a pasture slope. Three rainfall events (48, 49, and 75 mm/h for 13, 30, and 30 min, respectively) were applied, of which 15%, 29%, and 44%, respectively, ran off and drained onto the tree belt. The tree belt captured 100%, 32–68%, and 0–28% of the runoff from the 3 events, respectively. These captured runoff volumes represented 31–39%, 22–45%, and 0–29% increases in water supply to the trees, in addition to incident rainfall. Infiltration rates within the tree belt were up to 46% higher than in the pasture zone. This higher infiltration was mainly attributed to better soil surface conditions in the absence of stock and a 50-mm layer of tree litter. Overland flows within the tree belt formed tree litter into microterraces, which spread and slowed flows and allowed greater time for infiltration.

scholarly journals Soil crusting and surface runoff in agricultural land in Galicia (NW Spain)

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mercedes Taboada-Castro ◽  
M. Luz Rodríguez-Blanco ◽  
Laura Palleiro ◽  
M. Teresa Taboada-Castro
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Soil Crusting ◽  
Soil Surface Roughness ◽  
Accumulated Rainfall ◽  
Tillage Operation

This study discusses the soil surface conditions under which crusting and runoff are generated. A field survey was conducted in three agricultural districts in the province of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain), where the soils, developed over basic schists in a temperate-humid climate, are prone to crusting. A total of 168 freshly tilled surfaces and the cumulative natural rainfall since the last tillage operation were studied. The agricultural situations corresponded to primary and secondary tillage, crop seedbeds and pasture seedbeds. Stages of soil crusting were recorded by visual assessment, based on the estimation of the extent of structural, transitional and sedimentary crusting. The runoff was estimated by measuring the maximum distance reached by soil particles carried by the runoff and then deposited on the soil surface where there were no incisions on soil. Surface crusting was observed in all agricultural situations. The amount of accumulated rainfall required to form a fully sedimentary crust was variable, depending largely on the initial soil surface roughness. On average, 50, 150 and 350 mm of accumulated rainfall were required for soil surfaces with a low, medium and high roughness, respectively. The combination of three soil surface conditions (crusting stage, roughness and vegetation cover) was primarily responsible for the start of runoff formation.

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