Organic litter: dominance over stones as a source of interrill flow roughness on low‐gradient desert slopes at Fowlers Gap, arid western NSW, Australia

Dunkerley, David

doi:10.1002/esp.415

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…According to the results of the present experiment, plant covers of low shrubs, in contrast to the higher plants, provide not only a tight canopy cover but also a dense, permanent litter layer beneath that intercepts rainfall and reduces the erosivity of raindrops (Dadkah and Gifford 1980;Simanton et al, 1991;Geddes and Dunkerley, 1999;Dunkerley et al, 2001;Dunkerley, 2003). Also, once established, plant roots knit the soil and add organic matter to the soil structure, these advantages being absent from bare soil.…”

Section: Runoff and Soil Erosion Productionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Soil-erosion and runoff prevention by plant covers in a mountainous area (se spain): Implications for sustainable agriculture

Zuazo¹,

Martínez²,

Pleguezuelo³

et al. 2006

Environmentalist

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In the Mediterranean region the intensities and amounts of soil loss and runoff on sloping land are governed by rainfall pattern and vegetation cover. Over a two-year period (1998)(1999), six wild species of aromatic and mellipherous plants (Thymus serpylloides subsp. Gadorensis, Thymus baeticus Boiss, Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl., Santolina rosmarinifolia L., Lavandula stoechas L. and Genista umbellata Poiret) were selected for erosion plots to determine their effectiveness in reducing water erosion on hillslopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountain (SE Spain). The erosion plots (including a bare-soil plot as control), located at 1,345 m in altitude, were 2 m 2 (2 m × 1 m) in area and had 13% incline. The lowest runoff and soil erosion rates, ranging from 9 to 26 mm yr −1 and from 0.01 to 0.31 Mg ha −1 yr −1 , respectively, over the entire study period, were measured under the Thymus serpylloides. Lavandula stoechas L. registered the highest rates among the plant covers tested, runoff ranging from 77 to 127 mm yr −1 and erosion from 1.67 to 3.50 Mg ha −1 yr −1 . In the bare-soil plot, runoff ranged from 154 to 210 mm yr −1 and erosion from 4.45 to 7.82 Mg ha −1 yr −1 . According to the results, the lowest-growing plant covers (Thymus serpylloides and Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl.) discouraged the soil erosion and runoff more effectively than did the taller and open medium-sized shrubs (Santolina rosmarinifolia L., Genista umbellata Poiret , Thymus baeticus Boiss and Lavandula stoechas L.). Monitoring allowed more direct linkage to be made between plant covers and the prevention of erosion, with implications for sustainable mountain agriculture and environmental protection.

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Section: Runoff and Soil Erosion Productionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Soil-erosion and runoff prevention by plant covers in a mountainous area (se spain): Implications for sustainable agriculture

Zuazo¹,

Martínez²,

Pleguezuelo³

et al. 2006

Environmentalist

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“…As shown in Figure , the random roughness increased linearly from 1.57 to 2.67 mm with incorporated litter rate ( R 2 = 0.78). Previous studies found that surface roughness affected flow resistance through altering flow pathways and enhancing backwater (Dunkerley, ; Nearing et al, ). The regression analysis found that flow resistance increased linearly ( R 2 = 0.79), whereas flow velocity decreased linearly ( R 2 = 0.78), with soil surface roughness in this study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The increasing coefficients of determination probably reflected a strengthened relationship between the incorporated litter rate and flow resistance with the slope gradient. The f in this study was less than that of Dunkerley's () experiments under a litter cover treatment, where f ranged from 1.59 to 37.17. This difference was likely caused by the difference in litter treatments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As one of the most important constituents of a terrestrial ecosystem, plant litter cover can increase soil surface roughness, thereby influencing the hydraulics of overland flow (Dunkerley et al, 2001;Rahma et al, 2017), which has been systematically studied in the past several decades (Brown & Norton, 1994;Dunkerley, 2003;Engman, 1986;Smets, Poesen, & Knapen, 2008;J. Sun, Fan, Yu, & Li, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brown and Norton (1994) showed that the mean flow velocity decreased significantly by up to 71% when litter coverage increased from 0% to 45%. Dunkerley (2003) reported that compared with the bare surface, litter cover increased the Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient from 17 to 23.8. J.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydraulics of overland flow influenced by litter incorporation under extreme rainfall

Wang

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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Water erosion on hillslopes is a worldwide environmental problem, which is a rainfall‐induced process, especially extreme rainfall. The great intensity of extreme rainfall strongly enhances the power of overland flow to detach soil and transport sediment. Plant litter is one of the most important constituents of ecosystems that often covers the soil surface and can be incorporated into topsoil. However, little attention has been paid to its effect on flow hydraulics owing to the veiled nature. This study aimed to examine the effects of incorporated litter on the hydraulic properties under extreme rainfall condition. To reach this goal, six litter rates of 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.35, and 0.50 kg m−2 and four litter types collected from deciduous trees, coniferous trees, shrubs, and herbs were incorporated into topsoil. Then, simulated rainfall experiments were performed on five slope gradients (5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, and 25°) with an extreme rainfall intensity of 80 mm h−1. The results showed that Froude number and flow velocity of the overland flow decreased, whereas flow resistance increased exponentially with litter incorporation rate. Litter type had an influence on flow hydraulics, which can mainly be attributed to the variations in surface coverage of the exposed litter and the litter morphology. Flow velocity and Darcy–Weisbach coefficient increased markedly with slope gradient. However, the variation of slope gradient did not modify the relationships between flow hydraulics and incorporated litter rate. The random roughness, resulting from heterogeneous erosion due to the uneven protection of surface exposed litter, increased linearly with litter incorporated rate. As rainfall proceeded, flow hydraulics varied with incorporated litter rate and slope gradient complicatedly due to the increases in flow rate and coverage of the exposed litter and the modification of soil surface roughness.

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Comparison of the effects of litter covering and incorporation on infiltration and soil erosion under simulated rainfall

Wang

Zhang

Zhu

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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Plant litter can either cover on soil surface or be incorporated into top‐soil layer in natural ecosystems. Their effects on infiltration and soil erosion are likely quite different. This study was performed to compare the effects of litter covering on soil surface and being incorporated into top‐soil layer on infiltration and soil erosion under simulated rainfall. Four litter types (needle‐leaf, broad‐leaf, brush, and herb) were collected from fields and applied to cover on soil surface or to be incorporated into top‐soil layer (5 cm) at the same rate (0.2 kg/m2). The simulated rainfalls (40 and 80 mm/hr) were run at two slope angles (10° and 20°). The results showed that the mean infiltration rate of litter covering treatment was 1.4 times as great as that of litter incorporated. Litter covering enhanced infiltration via protecting surface from soil sealing. Whereas, litter incorporation affected infiltration by its water repellency. Soil erosion of litter incorporated treatment was 5.4 times as large as that of litter covered treatment, which was attributed to the changes in surface litter coverage and soil erosion resistance. Litter type affected soil erosion through the variations in litter coverage and litter morphology. For litter covering treatment, litter coverage can explain the major variance of soil loss on the slopes. Whereas, for litter incorporated treatment, both the influences of litter coverage and litter length on soil erosion resistance were considered necessary to well explain the variance of soil loss. The results also showed that the benefits of litter to control soil erosion declined with rainfall intensity and slope gradient for both covering and incorporated treatments. The results of this study are helpful to understand the mechanisms of litter influencing hydrological and erosion processes on hillslopes.

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Organic litter: dominance over stones as a source of interrill flow roughness on low‐gradient desert slopes at Fowlers Gap, arid western NSW, Australia

Cited by 15 publications

References 24 publications

Soil-erosion and runoff prevention by plant covers in a mountainous area (se spain): Implications for sustainable agriculture

Soil-erosion and runoff prevention by plant covers in a mountainous area (se spain): Implications for sustainable agriculture

Hydraulics of overland flow influenced by litter incorporation under extreme rainfall

Comparison of the effects of litter covering and incorporation on infiltration and soil erosion under simulated rainfall

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