The Effect of Raindrops Impact on Soil Loss from Cultivated Farrows in Different Soils

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Soil Science Department, Agriculture Faculty, Zanjan, Iran

2 Soil Science Department, Agriculture Faculty, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Poor vegetation cover on the surface and lower content of soil organic matter are main factors influencing the sensitivity of soils to erosion from cultivation strips in semi-arid regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of raindrops impact on runoff and soil loss from rills in different soil textures in the semi-arid region. Soil samples were taken from dominant soil textures in hillslopes affected by rill erosion in Zanjan province. For this purpose, three soils with different textures (clay loam, silty loam and sandy loam) were examined with three replications in a flume with 1 m in length and 0.6 m in width and 10% slope under simulated rainfall. Each soil sample was subjected under direct and non-direct raindrop impact with an intensity of 50 mm/h for 30 minutes. Runoff production and soil loss from the rills were measured at a time-scale of 5-min to reach a steady state runoff flow. The results showed that runoff production and soil loss were affected by raindrop impact (p < 0.01). The highest and the lowest impact of raindrops on runoff production were found in clay loam (2.95 times) and sandy loam (2.02 times), respectively. In terms of soil loss, sandy loam was the most sensitive to raindrop impact (3.66 times), whereas clay loam was the most resistant soil (2.47 times) to raindrop impact. An increasing trend was observed in runoff production during rainfall time, while soil loss varied irregularly in the rills. This study revealed that runoff production is significantly affected by the distribution of particle size, while soil loss is remarkably dependent on the aggregate stability. Therefore, maintaining soil surface cover plays an effective role in preventing soil loss by raindrop impact in the rainfed furrows.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 51, Issue 11
February 2021
Pages 2815-2825

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