Location: Watershed Physical Processes Research
Project Number: 6060-13000-029-014-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2020
End Date: Aug 31, 2023
Objective:
1. Measure and connect the physico-chemical properties of soils, including soil erodibility and hydraulic properties of soils, that are subject to different land management and water status characteristics.
2. Visualize and quantify the effect of topographic change at field and watershed scales (i.e. large scale) as well as the changes in soil structure and physio-chemical properties, including soil aggregate stability, soil erodibility, and infiltration processes in agricultural lands subject to conservation tillage (no till, ridge-till, and mulch till) as compared to conventional tillage (e.g., moldboard plowing), over time (i.e. 2 to 5-year period).
3. Determine the key driver(s) of soil erodibility dynamics in agricultural landscapes and how archetypes of soil erodibility alterations are revealed across spatial and temporal scales.
Approach:
The approach will use state-of-the art technologies such as soil erodibility tests (measurements of soil erosion parameters (i.e. soil erodibility and critical shear stress) using the sluice gate method and submerged jet test), remote sensing and digital photogrammetry (topography change and plant status change using Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)), and non-intrusive visualization and imaging technologies (imaging and quantification of soil structure, soil moisture and infiltration processes using X-ray 4D computed tomography) at Clemson University and the USDA ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory.
