Soil degradation due to erosion under furrow irrigation

It is found that the differentiation and degradation of soil depend on surface slope, water flow rate, and furrow length. The development of irrigation erosion on irrigated areas results in the formation of three zones: erosion, stabilization, and accumulation. The high slopes of irrigated plots favor an intense erosion-accumulation process. Depending on the surface slope and the water flow rate, 0.48–19.40 t of soil is washed away from 1 ha. Irrigation erosion affects the density and porosity of soils, and erosion on the slope is enhanced during the differentiation of soil varieties. The texture of soils becomes coarser in the upper erosion region and finer in the aggraded varieties. On the basis of the quantitative assessment of soil erosion rate, the possible losses in dry matter, humus, and essential nutrients are calculated, as well as their removal with water flows.