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Title: FIELD INVESTIGATIONS OF RAINFALL IMPACT ON SOIL EROSION AND SOIL SURFACE ROUGHNESS

Author
item HAUER, G - U.OF AG.SCI.V.AUSTRIA
item KLIK, A - U.OF AG.SCI.V. AUSTRIA
item JESTER, W - U.OF AG.SCI. V. AUSTRIA
item Truman, Clinton

Submitted to: Soil Erosion for 21st Century Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/20/2001
Publication Date: 1/20/2001
Citation: HAUER, G., KLIK, A., JESTER, W., TRUMAN, C.C. FIELD INVESTIGATIONS OF RAINFALL IMPACT ON SOIL EROSION AND SOIL SURFACE ROUGHNESS. SOIL EROSION FOR 21ST CENTURY SYMPOSIUM. PP. 467-470. 2001.

Interpretive Summary: Soil surface roughness is a dynamic soil property that controls, in part, soil detachment and sediment transport. We conducted a field study to investigate tillage effects on surface roughness and subsequent runoff and soil loss, and temporal changes in soil microtopographies as a function of tillage. Field experiments were performed in eastern Austria (1998, 1999) on a sandy loam soil (slope=16%). Tillage operations included: rotary till; chisel plow; and moldboard plow. For each treatment, three 1 x 1 m plots were installed in the spring after tillage and kept bare throughout the entire growing season with no additional tillage operation. Runoff and soil losses were measured for each plot. Surface roughness was measured for each plot on 8-10 day intervals depending on rainfall with a relief meter and a portable laser scanner (grid was 2.5 and 1.0 cm, respectively). Greatest runoff and soil losses were measured from rotary tilled plots. In both years, the moldboard plow treatment produced greater soil loss than for chisel plow. In 1998, runoff from the chisel plow treatment was greater than that from the moldboard plow treatment, whereas the opposite occurred in 1999. As for soil surface roughness, greater soil surface roughness resulted in less soil loss. Results improve our understanding between soil surface roughness and interrill erosion, thus allowing us to better model the interrill erosion process.

Technical Abstract: Soil surface roughness is a dynamic soil property that influence processes at the soil surface controlling soil detachment and sediment transport. Objectives of this field study were to investigate tillage effects on surface roughness and subsequent runoff and soil loss, and temporal changes in soil microtopographies as a function of tillage. Field experiments were performed in eastern Austria (1998, 1999) on a sandy loam soil with a slope of 16%. Tillage operations included: rotary till; chisel plow; and moldboard plow. For each treatment, three 1 x 1 m plots were installed in the spring after tillage and kept bare throughout the entire growing season with no additional tillage operation. Runoff and soil losses were measured for each plot. Surface roughness was measured for each plot on 8-10 day intervals depending on rainfall with a relief meter and a portable laser scanner (grid was 2.5 and 1.0 cm, respectively). Greatest runoff and soil losses were measured from rotary tilled plots. In both years, the moldboard plow treatment produced greater soil loss than for chisel plow. In 1998, runoff from the chisel plow treatment was greater than that from the moldboard plow treatment, whereas the opposite occurred in 1999. Differences in runoff in 1998 and 1999 were due to differences in roughness, natural rainfall, and erosion mechanisms between rill and sheet erosion. As for soil surface roughness, greater soil surface roughness resulted in less soil loss.