ARS | Publication request: SOIL WIND EROSION ON AGRICULTURAL FIELD AND ITS IMPACT ON AIR QUALITY: MEASUREMENT AND MODELING

Submitted to: World Congress of Soil Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 15, 2006
Publication Date: July 15, 2006
Citation: Feng, G., Sharratt, B.S. 2006. Soil wind erosion on agricultural field and its impact on air quality: measurement and modeling. World Congress of Soil Science.

Technical Abstract: Wind-induced soil erosion threatens soil productivity and air quality throughout the world. Wind erosion has long been a serious problem in the inland Pacific Northwest (PNW) where conventional farming practices cause emission of particulates less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) which contribute to poor air quality. Few conservation tillage systems are available to growers for controlling erosion. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of conservation tillage in reducing erosion by measuring and simulating soil loss and PM10 emissions. Instruments to measure soil loss and PM10 emissions were installed in adjacent fields that were in conventional tillage (disked in the spring and then rod weeded twice during the summer) or conservation tillage (undercut in the spring and then rod weeded twice during the summer) in 2005. Soil loss and PM10 emissions were markedly reduced (by a factor of two) using conservation tillage rather than conventional tillage. Along with our field observations that suggest that the undercutter tillage method effectively reduces PM10 emissions, comparisons will be made to multiple year simulations using the Wind Erosion Prediction System.