Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Determination of soil erosion over different land uses by mini rainfall simulator

Author(s):

Mehmet Parlak

Recieved Date: 2012-06-12, Accepted Date: 2012-09-20

Abstract:

The main factors influencing soil erosion by water are rainfall, land use and management, topography  and soils and their properties. Land use, as one of the most important factors, influences the occurence and the intensity of runoff and sediment yield. This study was carried out in Lapseki Town of Çanakkale over the adjacent lands with four different land uses (sweet cherry orchard, fallow land, rangeland and dry farming) to determine the impacts of different land uses on some soil properties and soil erosion by using a rainfall simulator under field conditions. Soil samples were taken from 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depths of each land use and texture, dry bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter and lime analyses were carried out over these samples. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) revealed significant differences (p<0.05) among soil samples with regard to clay, silt, sand, dry bulk density and pH. A total of 36 rainfall simulations were carried out over 4 different land uses. While the highest runoff and erosion rates (2.52 ml s^-1 and 1370.20 g m^-2) were observed in sweet cherry orchard, the lowest rates (0.90 ml s^-1 and 43.50 g m^-2) were observed in rangelands. Time to runoff was measured as 228.22 s for dry farming lands and 96.11 s for sweet cherry orchard. The orchard had 2.6 times higher maximum runoff value than the rangeland. Runoff coefficient (%) was determined as 16.12 in sweet cherry orchard, 10.30 in dry farming, 7.57 in fallow land and 5.85 in rangeland. Sweet cherry orchard also yielded 9 times higher sediment concentration than rangeland. While the highest sediment peak (124.59 g l^-1) was observed in fallow land, the lowest value (20.61 g l^-1) was seen in rangeland. 

Keywords:

Land use, rainfall simulation, runoff, soil loss

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2012
Volume: 10
Issue: 3&4
Category: Environment
Pages: 929-933

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