Wetting rate and sodicity effects on interrill erosion from semi-arid Israeli soils

Interrill erosion depends on soil detachment and sediment transport, which are affected by seal formation and runoff. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of wetting rate (WR) on runoff and soil erosion in semi-arid Israeli soils varying in clay content and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). Six soils, ranging in clay content between 90 and 680 g kg⁻¹ and ESP between 0.9 and 20, were packed in 0.2 m×0.4 m trays, wetted at 3 WRs (2, 8, or 64 mm h⁻¹), and thereafter exposed to 60 mm of distilled water rain in a laboratory rainfall simulator. Under non-sodic conditions (ESP<2), highest runoff and erosion were obtained from loam (220 g kg⁻¹ clay and 350 g kg⁻¹ silt) which was ascribed to its high susceptibility to seal formation, runoff and detachability. Runoff and erosion increased with an increase in ESP and WR. The effect of WR on runoff and erosion was negligible in loamy sand and generally increased with an increase in clay content. In clay soils (>600 g kg⁻¹ clay), WR played a greater role in determining runoff and erosion compared with raindrop impact. A linear type dependence existed between erosion and runoff for soils with ESP<5 or when slow WR was used. For high ESP soils, or when medium or fast WR were used, an exponential type relation described better the dependence of erosion on runoff. It is suggested that for sodic soils or for conditions favoring aggregate slaking, runoff level and its velocity were high enough to initiate rill erosion that supplemented raindrop detachment in markedly increasing erosion.