The assessment of the erodibility of soil materials is essential for analyzing and modeling rill, gully, streambed, streambank, spillway, and embankment erosion. A submerged jet−testing apparatus has been developed and used for characterizing soil erodibility in several applications as cited in the literature. The apparatus has been developed based on knowledge of the hydraulic characteristics ...

* Corresponding author. USDA – ARS, SEWRL E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Cho), sm 1537-5110/$ – see front matter Published by doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2009.01.007 Accurate simulation of cell-based processes is important for evaluating the impacts of best management practices (BMPs) on surface and ground water. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cell-based component of the Dyn...

Relations between riverine export (load) of total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) from 133 large agricultural watersheds in the United States and factors affecting nutrient transport were evaluated using empirical regression models. After controlling for anthropogenic inputs and other landscape factors affecting nutrient transport-such as runoff, precipitation, slope, number of reservoirs...

Shrub encroachment in arid and semiarid rangelands, a worldwide phenomenon, results in a heterogeneous landscape characterized by a mosaic of nutrient-depleted barren soil bordered by nutrient-enriched shrubby areas known as ‘‘fertile islands.’’ Even though shrub encroachment is considered as a major contributor to rangeland degradation, little is known about mechanisms favoring the reversibili...

One of the main factors of water erosion is the natural characteristics of the soil called "erodibility" or"detachability". The present study aims to analyze the variations of soil erodibility factor in different plains and thefactors related to it. Erodibility is one the key factors in some models of erosion and sediment such as Universal SoilLoss Equation (USLE), Revised USLE (RUSLE), and Mod...

Soil erosion by water is commonly recognized as the one of main reasons of land degradation worldwide (e.g. Ananda & Herath, 2003; Beskow et al., 2009; Valentin et al., 2005). Most of the involved areas are occupied by various agricultural activities but pastures, forestry, unpaved roads as well as construction sites are also endangered by water erosion (Ananda & Herath, 2003; Arnanez et al., 2...

Realistic modeling of infiltration, runoff and erosion processes from watersheds requires estimation of the effective hydraulic conductivity (Km) of the hillslope soils and how it varies with soil tilth, depth and cover conditions. Field rainfall simulation (RS) plot studies provide an opportunity to assess the surface soil hydraulic and erodibility conditions, but a standardized interpretation...

2 Abstract Vegetation type and cover play an important role in the operation of geomorphological processes by controlling runoff and sediment dynamics. In drylands, land degradation is particularly sensitive to these eco-geomorphic interactions. Whilst many geomorphological studies of land degradation focus on the change in hydrological response as a function of vegetation cover, few have inves...