Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment

Most climate change scenarios predict a significant increase in the frequency of high intensity rainfall events especially in the dry areas, which will increase runoff and soil erosion. Understanding the factors that control soil erosion is crucial to recommending appropriate measures to protect soi...

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Main Authors: Ziadat, Feras M., Taimeh AY
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52148
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author Ziadat, Feras M.
Taimeh AY
author_browse Taimeh AY
Ziadat, Feras M.
author_facet Ziadat, Feras M.
Taimeh AY
author_sort Ziadat, Feras M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Most climate change scenarios predict a significant increase in the frequency of high intensity rainfall events especially in the dry areas, which will increase runoff and soil erosion. Understanding the factors that control soil erosion is crucial to recommending appropriate measures to protect soils and reduce their vulnerability. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion and runoff. Twelve sites from Al-Muwaqqar watershed, Jordan, were selected to represent six slope angles: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9%. Two sites, one cultivated with barley and one as rangeland, were selected within each slope. Erosion was measured under three rainfall intensities: 3, 5 and 10 mm h−1; and three different antecedent soil moisture contents: dry, wet and very wet; using a rotating disk rainfall simulator. Regression equations indicated that rainfall intensity was the most important factor affecting soil erosion and that erosion could occur at a relatively small intensity on wet soils as a result of subsequent rainfall events. Soil erosion on cultivated land was primarily affected by moisture content, while on uncultivated land, it was mostly affected by slope steepness. Rainfall intensity, slope and antecedent moisture explained 84–89 and 59–66% of the variation in runoff and soil loss, respectively. The results indicated the significant influence of cultivating the land on soil erosion
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spelling CGSpace521482023-09-12T09:54:50Z Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment Ziadat, Feras M. Taimeh AY climate agriculture rain erosion soil water content arid zones Most climate change scenarios predict a significant increase in the frequency of high intensity rainfall events especially in the dry areas, which will increase runoff and soil erosion. Understanding the factors that control soil erosion is crucial to recommending appropriate measures to protect soils and reduce their vulnerability. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion and runoff. Twelve sites from Al-Muwaqqar watershed, Jordan, were selected to represent six slope angles: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9%. Two sites, one cultivated with barley and one as rangeland, were selected within each slope. Erosion was measured under three rainfall intensities: 3, 5 and 10 mm h−1; and three different antecedent soil moisture contents: dry, wet and very wet; using a rotating disk rainfall simulator. Regression equations indicated that rainfall intensity was the most important factor affecting soil erosion and that erosion could occur at a relatively small intensity on wet soils as a result of subsequent rainfall events. Soil erosion on cultivated land was primarily affected by moisture content, while on uncultivated land, it was mostly affected by slope steepness. Rainfall intensity, slope and antecedent moisture explained 84–89 and 59–66% of the variation in runoff and soil loss, respectively. The results indicated the significant influence of cultivating the land on soil erosion 2013-11 2014-12-16T06:37:36Z 2014-12-16T06:37:36Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52148 en Limited Access Wiley Ziadat FM, Taimeh AY. 2013. Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment. Land Degradation & Development 24(6):582–590.
spellingShingle climate
agriculture
rain
erosion
soil water content
arid zones
Ziadat, Feras M.
Taimeh AY
Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
title Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
title_full Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
title_fullStr Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
title_full_unstemmed Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
title_short Effect of rainfall intensity, slope, land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
title_sort effect of rainfall intensity slope land use and antecedent soil moisture on soil erosion in an arid environment
topic climate
agriculture
rain
erosion
soil water content
arid zones
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52148
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