Understanding the factors influencing rill erosion on roadcuts in the south eastern region of South Africa

Seutloali, Khoboso Elizabeth; Beckedahl, Heinz

doi:10.5194/se-6-633-2015

Cited by 76 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…However, if the soil has a rough surface (Gao et al, 2015), runoff will be delayed by ponding water, allowing water to infiltrate and reducing the soil erosion on such sites. But in the case where the soil is covered by vegetation infiltration rates are generally higher as a result of better soil structure, and the soil is protected against sediment detachment, which reduces the vulnerability to soil erosion (Seutloali and Beckedahl, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Keesstra

Pereira

Novara

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

401

217

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Soil erosion is extreme in Mediterranean orchards due to management impact, high rainfall intensities, steep slopes and erodible parent material. Vall d'Albaida is a traditional fruit production area which, due to the Mediterranean climate and marly soils, produces sweet fruits. However, these highly productive soils are left bare under the prevailing land management and marly soils are vulnerable to soil water erosion when left bare. In this paper we study the impact of different agricultural land management strategies on soil properties (bulk density, soil organic matter, soil moisture), soil water erosion and runoff, by means of simulated rainfall experiments and soil analyses. Three representative land managements (tillage/herbicide/covered with vegetation) were selected, where 20 paired plots (60 plots) were established to determine soil losses and runoff. The simulated rainfall was carried out at 55 mm h-1 in the summer of 2013 (<8% soil moisture) for one hour on 0.25 m2 circular plots. The results showed that vegetation cover, soil moisture and organic matter were significantly higher in covered plots than in tilled and herbicide treated plots. However, runoff coefficient, total runoff, sediment yield and soil erosion were significantly higher in herbicide treated plots compared to the others. Runoff sediment concentration was significantly higher in tilled plots. The lowest values were identified in covered plots. Overall, tillage, but especially herbicide treatment, decreased vegetation cover, soil moisture, soil organic matter, and increased bulk density, runoff coefficient, total runoff, sediment yield and soil erosion. Soil erosion was extremely high in herbicide plots with 0.91 Mg ha-1 h-1 of soil lost; in the tilled fields erosion rates were lower with 0.51 Mg ha-1 h-1. Covered soil showed an erosion rate of 0.02 Mg ha-1 h-1. These results showed that agricultural management influenced water and sediment dynamics and that tillage and herbicide treatment should be avoided

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Keesstra

Pereira

Novara

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

401

217

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“…Soil water content plays a vital part in the land surface system as it controls hydrological, erosional, and biogeochemical cycles, and supports services to societies (Brevik et al, 2015;Berendse et al, 2015;Keesstra et al, 2012). Vegetation could protect the soil surface from drop impact, increasing resistance to concentrated flow erosion (Cerdà, 1998;Keesstra et al, 2009), and decreasing runoff discharge during rainstorms (Seutloali and Beckedahl, 2015; Q. Y. . Vegetation cover on the Loess Plateau was significantly improved after the implementation of the "Grain for Green" project, a large-scale ecological project by converting hillslope farmland to forest (including economic plantations such as orchards) or grassland (Liu et al, 2014;Yu et al, 2014;Zhao et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating a mini catchment with mulching for soil water management in a sloping jujube orchard on the semiarid Loess Plateau of China

Zhao

et al. 2016

Solid Earth

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Abstract. Conserving more soil water is of great importance to the sustainability of arid and semiarid orchards. Here we integrated fish-scale pits, semicircular mini-catchments for hill slope runoff collection, with mulches to test their effects on soil water storage in a 12-year-old dryland jujube orchard on the Loess Plateau of China, by using soil water measurements from April 2013 to November 2014. This experiment included four treatments: fish-scale pits with branch mulching (FB), fish-scale pits with straw mulching (FS), fish-scale pits without mulching (F), and bare land treatment (CK). Soil water was measured using the TRIME ® -IPH time-domain reflectometer (TDR) tool in 20 cm intervals down to a depth of 180 cm, and was measured once every 2 weeks in the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. The results showed that fish-scale pits with mulching were better in soil water conservation. Average soil water storage (SWS, for short) of FB at soil layer depths of 0-180 cm increased by 14.23 % (2013) and 21.81 % (2014), respectively, compared to CK, but only increased by 4.82 % (2013) and 5.34 % (2014), respectively, for the F treatment. The degree of soil water compensation, W S , was employed here to represent to what extent soil water was recharged from precipitation at the end of the rainy season relative to that at the beginning of the rainy season. A positive (negative) W S larger (lower) soil water content at the end of rainy season than at the beginning. For the treatment of FB, the values of W S over the entire soil profile were greater than 0; for the treatment of F, negative values of W S were observed in depths of 60-100 cm in both years. However, the bare land treatment showed negative values in depths of 40-180 cm. This indicated that integrating fish-scale pits with mulching could significantly increase soil water storage by increasing infiltration and decreasing evaporation, and it showed greater soil water storage and degree of soil water compensation compared to fish-scale pits alone. Since the branches used for mulching here were trimmed jujube branches, the cost of mulching materials was largely reduced. Therefore, integration of fish-scale pits with branch mulching is recommended in orchards for soil water conservation on the Loess Plateau and potentially for other regions.

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“…Water erosion is the main cause of land degradation, affecting an area of about 2 billion ha throughout the world, with the largest part in tropics, and affecting the two most important natural resources, namely soil and water (Mandal and Sharda, 2011a;De Oliveria et al, 2010;Keesstra et al, 2014;Novara et al, 2011Novara et al, , 2016Seutloali and Beckedahl, 2015). Worldwide loss of water and sediment due to soil erosion is a major environmental threat Pimentel, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reversing land degradation through grasses: a systematic meta-analysis in the Indian tropics

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Although intensive agriculture is necessary to sustain the world's growing population, accelerated soil erosion contributes to a decrease in the environmental health of ecosystems at local, regional and global scales. Reversing the process of land degradation using vegetative measures is of utmost importance in such ecosystems. The present study critically analyzes the effect of grasses in reversing the process of land degradation using a systematic review. The collected information was segregated under three different land use and land management situations. Meta-analysis was applied to test the hypothesis that the use of grasses reduces runoff and soil erosion. The effect of grasses was deduced for grass strip and in combination with physical structures. Similarly, the effects of grasses were analyzed in degraded pasture lands. The overall result of the meta-analysis showed that infiltration capacity increased approximately 2-fold after planting grasses across the slopes in agricultural fields. Grazing land management through a cut-and-carry system increased conservation efficiencies by 42 and 63 % with respect to reduction in runoff and erosion, respectively. Considering the comprehensive performance index (CPI), it has been observed that hybrid Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) and sambuta (Saccharum munja) grass seem to posses the most desirable attributes as an effective grass barrier for the western Himalayas and Eastern Ghats, while natural grass (Dichanthium annulatum) and broom grass (Thysanolaena maxima) are found to be most promising grass species for the Konkan region of the Western Ghats and the northeastern Himalayan region, respectively. In addition to these benefits, it was also observed that soil carbon loss can be reduced by 83 % with the use of grasses. Overall, efficacy for erosion control of various grasses was more than 60 %; hence, their selection should be based on the production potential of these grasses under given edaphic and agro-ecological conditions. The present analysis also indicated that grass must be used as a vegetative strip to maintain soil quality in sloppy arable areas (8.5 Mha) of Indian hilly regions. Similarly, due attention should be paid for establishing grasses in 3 Mha of degraded pasture lands and 3.5 Mha of shifting cultivation areas in India to reverse the land degradation.

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Understanding the factors influencing rill erosion on roadcuts in the south eastern region of South Africa

Cited by 76 publications

References 58 publications

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Integrating a mini catchment with mulching for soil water management in a sloping jujube orchard on the semiarid Loess Plateau of China

Reversing land degradation through grasses: a systematic meta-analysis in the Indian tropics

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