Measurement and Comparison of Soil Splash Rates under the Influence of Acidity and Rain Intensity

Nowadays, acid rain serves as one of the most serious environmental problems has affected many regions in the world. This phenomenon is characterized by many environmental impacts, such as soil contamination and degradation. Acid rain immediately affects soil, causing soil particles to breakdown and be dispersed; this is the first step to initiate the soil erosion. Therefore, in this study, the effect of different pH levels of acid rain (at different levels) on the soil splash was investigated under laboratory conditions using a rain simulator and a cup splash. In the experiments, acid rains, with the pH values of 3.75, 4.25, 5.25 and normal rains at three intensities of 40, 60 and 80 mmh-1, were studied; finally, a number of 36 samples were taken for statistical analyses. SPSS 23 and EXCEL 2013 software and one way and two-way ANOVA were used for the statistical analysis at a confidence level of 95%. The results showed that at the intensities of 40 and 60 mmh-1, the splash rate was significantly different in all pH treatments, and the acid rain with pH of 3.75 showed the highest splash rate. However, no significant difference was found at the rain intensity of 80 mmh-1, despite the higher splash rate at the pH of 4.25 and 5.25 treatments. Also, the results of the comparison of the means showed that the soil splash rate was also increased with enhancing rain intensity. Finally, the two-way ANOVA test showed that the simultaneous interaction effects of the two factors of pH and rain intensity on soil splash was not significant.