Determination of critical soil water content and matric potential for wind erosion

Purpose  

Soil strength and thus stability concerning wind erosion are controlled by the soil water content. The concept of soil critical water content (Θ_crit.) for deflation was extended to include matric potential (Ψ_crit.) as well. The focus of this paper is to quantify the Θ_crit. and Ψ_crit. as the upper boundary for wind erosion or as the lower boundary for soil strength, to model the Ψ_crit. at the immediate soil surface (0–0.2 cm) and to evaluate the effect of soil moisture upon erosion as a function of time and sampling height.     

Wind tunnel test and Cs tracing study on wind erosion of several soils in Tibet

The soils of alpine meadows and alpine grassland steppes, aeolian soils, coarse-grained soils, and farm soils cultivated from alpine grasslands in Tibet are typical soils that are suffering from different degrees of soil erosion by wind. Based on field investigations, wind tunnel experiments, and a ¹³⁷Cs trace study, this work tested the erodibility of these soils by wind, simulated the protective functions of natural vegetation and the accelerative effects of damage by livestock, woodcutting, and cultivation on erosion, and estimated erosion rates from 1963 to 2001. The results indicated that alpine meadows have the strongest resistance to wind erosion, and that undamaged alpine meadow soils generally sustain only weak or no wind erosion. Alpine grassland steppes with good vegetation cover and little damage by humans exhibit good resistance to wind erosion and suffered from only slight erosion. However, soil erodibility increased remarkably in response to serious disturbance by livestock and woodcutting; wind erosion reached 33.03 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The erodibility of semi-stabilized aeolian soil and mobile aeolian soil was highest, at 52.17 and 56.4 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, respectively. The mean erosion rates of coarse-grained soil with various levels of vegetation coverage and of farm soil were intermediate, at 45.85 and 51.33 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, respectively. Restricting livestock, woodcutting, and excessive grassland cultivation are the keys to controlling wind erosion in Tibet. In agricultural regions, taking protective cultivation and management to enhance surface roughness is a useful way to control wind erosion.     

典型薄层黑土区前期坡面水蚀对土壤风蚀的影响

为了探究东北黑土区水力风力叠加作用的多营力复合侵蚀机理,该研究利用直流吹气式风洞对有、无前期降雨的地表进行风蚀试验,对比分析前期坡面水蚀作用对黑土区坡耕地土壤风蚀的影响.结果显示:不同降雨强度下前期坡面水蚀作用使土壤风蚀量明显减小,即前期坡面水蚀作用对地表产生了明显抗风蚀效应.在9、12和15 m/s风速作用下,50和...     

High-frequency variability of aggregate transport under water erosion of well-structured soils

The transport of soil aggregates from plots of 7.3 and 1.5 m² caused by the erosion of typical rendzina soil by a shallow supercritical laminar overland flow was studied using a high-speed digital video camera. The diameters of the removed aggregates had a lognormal distribution, and the time intervals between the passages of two successive aggregates had an exponential distribution. Therefore, transport of soil aggregates is a compound Poisson random process, which is formed by summing local independent random erosion processes.     

On‐site and off‐site effects of wind erosion on European light soils

In intensively cultivated areas with light soils in Europe, wind erosion can have important on‐site and off‐site effects. In the framework of the EU research project Wind Erosion and European Light Soils (WEELS), an assessment has been made of these effects and of the order of magnitude of the damage and costs caused by these effects. An analysis is made of the land use and cropping in four selected sites, and farmers have provided information about the damage of wind erosion. This damage consists mainly of crop losses and additional inputs in the case of resowing. Detailed information from one of these sites shows that depending on the crop the average annual on‐site costs in high‐risk areas amount to about €60 per hectare. However, for sugar beet and oilseed rape the costs can be once in five years as much as €500 per hectare. Farmers are generally well aware of the erosion risk and do apply a variety of control measures. With these measures the average annual costs of wind erosion can be reduced significantly. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

风水两相侵蚀对坡面产流产沙特性的影响

为了研究黄土高原风蚀水蚀交错区两相侵蚀的交互作用,该试验采用风洞和模拟降雨相结合的方法,探讨了风水两相侵蚀条件下坡面降雨入渗、产流产沙特征。结果表明:相对于未风蚀处理,中度风蚀处理(风速14m/s)使坡面产流时间延长,轻度风蚀处理(风速11m/s)对产流时间影响不大(P>0.05);风蚀处理(风速11m/s、14m/s)使坡面入渗率降低2.9%～10.0%,径流强度增加4.5%～21.7%,侵蚀率增加7.3%～39.0%,不同风速间差异不显著(P>0.05),且影响程度均随雨强的增大而降低;风力、水力两种侵蚀营力相互促进导致坡面糙度增大,风速14m/s、雨强100mm/h时,坡面糙度是风速11m/s、雨强60mm/h时的3倍。研究结果为评价风水两相侵蚀效应提供理论依据。     

Nutrient dynamics—wind and water erosion at the village scale in the Sahel

The loss of nutrients by wind erosion is generally attributed to losses by suspension, since suspension selectively removes the finest particles. However, because the main mass of sediment is moved by saltation during an event, the main mass of nutrients is also moved by saltation. Nutrient losses from one field during one wind erosion event can be as high as 73 per cent of the N and 100 per cent of the P needs for crop production. Vegetated areas have a higher dust deposition because of the filtering effect of the vegetation and the reduction of drag forces causing a higher deposition. This refutes the general assumption that deposition of suspended dust is homogeneous for a larger area. In the Sahel, two types of dust can be distinguished, the Harmattan dust is richer in nutrients and regarded as a real input of nutrients. The convectional storm dust has a nutrient content comparable with the nutrient content of the dust fraction of the topsoil and can't be regarded as input of nutrients. From research on nutrient losses by water erosion at the plot scale, it is concluded that nutrient erosion by water can cause serious losses of nutrients. But at the village scale, the losses are considerably smaller than at the plot scale. Measurement and subsequent nutrient budget analyses around the village Dangadé in Burkina Faso indicated that this area is especially vulnerable for wind erosion by saltation transport. This demonstrates that in the Sahelian environment, the effect of wind erosion at the village scale can't be ignored. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic study of infiltration rate for soils with varying degrees of degradation by water erosion

Ultisols, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of south China, are suffering from serious water erosion, however, slope hydrological process for Ultisols under different erosional degradation levels in field condition has been scarcely investigated. Field rainfall simulation at two rainfall intensities (120 and 60 mm/h) were performed on pre-wetted Ultisols with four erosion degrees (non, moderate, severe and very-severe), and the hydrological processes of these soils were determined. The variation of soil infiltration was contributed by the interaction of erosion degree and rainfall intensity (p < 0.05). In most cases, time to incipient runoff, the decay coefficient, steady state infiltration rate, and their variability were larger at the high rainfall intensity, accelerating by the increasing erosion severity. Despite rainfall intensity, the infiltration process of Ultisols was also significantly influenced by mean weight diameter of aggregates at the field moisture content, soil organic carbon and particle size distribution (R² > 30%, p < 0.05). The temporal erodibility of surface soil and soil detachment rate were significantly and negatively correlated with infiltration rate (r < -0.32, p < 0.05), but less significant correlation was observed between sediment concentration and infiltration rate for most soils, especially at the high rainfall intensity. The variation of surface texture and soil compactness generated by erosion degradation was the intrinsic predominant factors for the change of infiltration process of Ultisols. The obtained results will facilitate the understanding of hydrological process for degraded lands, and provide useful knowledge in managing crop irrigation and soil erosion.     

我国风力侵蚀抽样调查方法

风力侵蚀普查是第一次全国水利普查水土保持情况普查的重要内容之一。抽样调查方法是风力侵蚀普查的重要方法。在介绍我国风力侵蚀野外调查单元布设、基础数据收集的基础上,详细介绍风力侵蚀模型、侵蚀因子计算方法,并结合实际调查情况,对包括资料准备、野外调查、汇总上报和成果评价等普查过程的各个阶段及其质量控制措施进行详细总结。普查技术方法的正确把握对于保证普查结果的可靠性、科学性和权威性具有重要意义,普查结果可为国家水土保持规划与生态环境建设提供基础数据。     

保护性耕作对土壤风蚀的影响

保护性耕作能够有效减少农田土壤风蚀.通过室内风洞模拟试验,研究秸秆覆盖、留茬和垄作3种保护性耕作措施对黄土高原北部农田土壤风蚀的影响.结果表明:1)秸秆覆盖和留茬能有效降低土壤风蚀速率,秸秆覆盖量为4 210 kg/hm2时土壤风蚀速率最小,与对照相比减少62.8%;垄作在低风速下能够降低土壤风蚀率,垄向与风向垂直时降...     

Semi-empirical model of the rill erosion of soils

Semi-empirical equations for describing the erosive and transporting capacities of low-depth flows with account for their interaction with eroded soil were developed and experimentally and theoretically substantiated. These equations can form the basis for a unified model of rill erosion under irrigation, rainfall, and snowmelt runoff conditions.     

Estimation of wind and water erosion based on slope aspects in the crisscross region of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The crisscross region of the Chinese Loess Plateau is affected from both wind and water erosion, and their relative contributions remain unclear. A combination...     

土壤含水率及物理性砂粒含量对风蚀模数影响的风洞模拟

为了探究土壤含水率及物理性砂粒含量对土壤风蚀模数的影响,在室内风洞中在5、6、9、12、15和18m/s风速下对不同含水率(0,1%,2%,3%,4%,5%,6%,7%,8%,9%和10%)的7种土壤(物理性砂粒质量分数的分别为20%、30%、40%、50%、60%、70%和80%)进行了10min吹蚀,在风洞轴线距出口1.2m处放置旋风式集沙仪分别测定垂直方向上10个不同高度的风蚀物收集量(高度分别为20、60、120、180、240、300、400、500、600和700mm),并利用MATLAB7.4.0(R2007)软件采用3次样条插值拟合法对旋风式集沙仪不同高度的风蚀物收集量进行积分,通过换算计算土壤风蚀模数E。结果表明,物理性砂粒质量分数低于40%的土壤在各种水分条件下集沙仪不同高度风蚀物收集量均很小。物理性砂粒质量分数≤20%时,风蚀物收集量在空间上符合指数函数变化规律;20%<物理性砂粒质量分数<40%风蚀物收集量在空间上利用指数函数和幂函数拟合相关性均很好,物理性砂粒质量分数高于40%后,风蚀物收集量在空间上呈现幂函数曲线变化规律。9m/s风速基本上是风蚀物空间动态发生变化的临界点;低于临界风速,风蚀物收集量与高度符合指数曲线变化规律;高于临界风速,二者符合幂函数曲线变化规律。集沙仪不同高度的总输沙量随风速的增加而增大,二者符合指数曲线变化关系。物理性砂粒质量分数低于40%的土壤,不会有风蚀现象发生;当物理性砂粒质量分数大于40%后,土壤容易发生风蚀,而且风蚀程度随物理性砂粒含量的增加而增大,尤其当土壤含水率低于3%时,极易发生风蚀。风速越大土壤风蚀模数越大,风蚀模数与风速按照指数曲线规律进行变化。阴山北麓旱作区冬春季节土壤地表含水率一般维持在3%～4%,土壤的物理性砂粒质量分数基本在50%～80%;单纯从土壤水分和土壤物理性砂粒含量考虑,阴山北麓旱作区大部分地区是沙尘暴的发生源。     

干旱风沙区农田防护林网空间风速与地表风蚀特征

为准确了解和评价干旱风沙区在典型大风环境下农田防护林空间风速分布,以及林网内风蚀状况,分别利用三杯风速仪和诱捕法,对干旱风沙区盐池县农田防护林网空间风速与地表风蚀特征开展了林网内不同水平距离内的距地表50、200 cm高度风速分布与地表风蚀状况监测。研究表明:1)随着防护距离的逐渐增大,风蚀量呈先增加后减少的变化趋势,而风速变化规律正好相反;50和200 cm高度的风速变化规律均一致,均呈先逐渐降低后逐渐升高的变化,以12H处对风力减小作用最明显,50和200 cm高度的风速降幅分别达到了51%和46%;林带防风效益与距离呈先增加后减小趋势,以12H(12倍的防护林带树高,下同)处200 cm高度最佳,为53.65%;侵蚀模数由林带内的轻度、1H处的强度到3H、7H处的剧烈,12H处为极强度,以3H处最大,为21 944.62 t/km~2。2)沙粒粒径以73.99、87.99、104.6μm区间为主,其中82.53%~99.93%沙粒均集中在248.9μm以下,为细沙粒,而旷野对照组沙粒粒径主要集中在104.6~148μm,沙粒明显较粗。因此,干旱风沙区沙质农田防护林网在典型大风日内对风速的减缓非常有效。但由于林网内沙物质源丰富,风蚀现象依然严重,对当地沙尘暴发生影响较大。该研究对准确掌握当地林网风蚀,科学评价林网防护功能等有一定的借鉴作用。     

Farmers' knowledge of wind erosion processes and control methods in Niger

Field research on wind erosion processes in Sahelian Africa has revealed that wind-blown particle transport forms a constraint for local crop production systems. This paper describes the results of an on-farm survey on wind-erosion processes and soil conservation practices. Interviews were held with 138 farmers from seven villages in southern Niger. Of the interviewed farmers, 63 per cent consider wind-blown particle transport as damaging to their cropping systems. Nearly all farmers reported to observe differences between fields with respect to wind erosion. Fields that are mainly eroded were said to lose fertility and produce less, whereas deposition of material results in a better fertility and production. These differences occur also on a smaller scale, with erosion and deposition spots in the same field. Most farmers (96 per cent) are familiar with techniques to reduce wind erosion, and 92 per cent applied one or more of these techniques in the field. The indigenous soil conservation techniques are application of manure and mulching with crop residues or tree branches. New techniques are tree planting, natural regeneration of woody vegetation, and application of zai , a method of soil preparation from Burkina Faso, using pits filled with compost for sowing crops. The farmers who have applied these new techniques reported to have less wind-erosion problems in their fields. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of particle-size distribution on wind erosion rate and soil erodibility

Wind erosion is a serious problem, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This study was conducted to assess the effects of wind speed as well as soil particle-size distribution on erosion rate (ER) using a wind tunnel. For this purpose, two clay loam soil samples (C2 and C10) in addition to a sandy clay loam (S2) were exposed to different wind velocities of 2, 9 and 18 m s^?1. The result showed that erosion rate increased significantly with increasing wind speeds. In addition, a critical diameter of 0.84 mm for soil particles was supported; for larger particles the changes in erosion rate were negligible. Furthermore, soil erodibility (K) was determined, which for S2, C2 and C10 was 57.73, 10.27 and 1.43, respectively. To predict soil erodibility, a power relationship as K = 3.382 MWD^?1.732 (R ² = 0.99) was established. The results indicated with increasing wind speed, the sensitivity of S2 remained constant, whereas C2 and C10 resisted wind speed. The finding of this research indicates the importance of particle-size distribution on wind erosion rate as well as soil erodibility.