Author
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Armbrust, Dean |
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Submitted to: Soil Erosion for 21st Century Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 1/3/2001 Publication Date: 1/3/2001 Citation: In: J.C. Ascough II and D.C. Flanagan, Proc. Int. Symp, Soil Erosion Research for the 21st Century, 3-5 January 2001, Honolulu, HI, pp 67-70. Interpretive Summary: Wind tunnel conditions used in previous studies on sandblast damage to plants to establish their tolerance to wind-blown soil were simulated with equipment to measure abrader distribution with height. Tests revealed that 10 to 60 percent of the abrader introduced into the tunnel wind stream have passed above the tomato and grain sorghum plants. However, this fact did not change the placement of these crop species in the crop tolerance levels used by NRCS technicians to design control methods to protect plants from wind erosion damage. Technical Abstract: During a wind erosion event, plants impacted by blowing soil may suffer physical damage from impaction by moving soil particles, partial or complete burial, and/or partial or complete removal of soil from around their roots. This damage reduces the number of live plants per unit area, and surface area of leaves available to absorb sunlight, alters the physiology of the plant, and thereby reduces the quality and quantity of harvested yield and increases the cost of production. Instrumentation to measure the kinetic energy of windblown saltating soil particles and the height at which they travel was developed and tested in a wind tunnel. Results indicated that 5 to 60 percent of the particles passed above the height of plant seedlings that were previously tested to determine their tolerance to sandblast damage. Established wind erosion tolerance values do not need to be revised. Keywords: Wind erosion, Plant tolerance, Sandblast damage. |
