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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » SWRC » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #82951

Title: RANGELAND SOIL HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AS INFLUENCED BY SEASON AND EROSION PAVEMENT

Author
item Emmerich, William

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil erosion pavement can potentially play a significant role in maintaining soil surface structural integrity for infiltration. Seasonal influences are also expected due to intense summer rainstorms and winter freeze thaw. A disc permeameter was used to measure soil Ksat, macroscopic capillary length, and characteristic pore radius each season for two years to determine the influence of soil erosion pavement on hydraulic conductivity. Measurements were made with erosion pavement in place, removed immediately, removed previous season, and removed previous year. All removals of pavement reduced Ksat and it was lowest in the fall season. The macroscopic capillary length was longer in the pavement removed treatments with no distinctive seasonal trends. Characteristic pore radius was always larger with the pavement and some trend to being smaller in the fall. These results indicate that the erosion pavement is influencing the structural integrity of the soil surface to maintain a high infiltration capacity. The effect of the pavement removal is immediate and lasts longer than one year.