Rill Erosion on Compost Blankets under Concentrated Flow Conditions

A flume study was conducted using a soil, yard waste compost, and an erosion control compost to investigate the response to concentrated flow and determine if the shear stress model could be used to describe the response. Yard waste compost (YWC) and the bare Cecil soil (CS) control responded to concentrated laboratory runoff similarly in rill formation, and the shear stress model was useful in estimating sediment yields from both of these land covers. Results indicated that critical shear stress values for yard waste compost and Cecil soil were not significantly different. However, the erodibility of the soil was higher, resulting in increased solids loss, on the Cecil soil. Micro‐dams, the main mechanism for limiting soil erosion for the compost, often occurred in the rills of the erosion control compost (ECC), causing the concentrated flow to infiltrate and fan out through the compost. Since flow could not be maintained in the rill, parameters for the stress model could not be determined for the erosion control compost.