Assessing and Modeling Soil Detachment Capacity by Overland Flow in Forest and Woodland of Northern Iran

Forests

DemetrioAntonio Zema¹  Hossein Asadi²  ManuelEsteban Lucas-Borja³  Mohammadreza Khaledian⁴  Misagh Parhizkar⁴  Mahmood Shabanpour⁴  CalvinW. Rose⁵  Artemio Cerdà⁶ 

[1] Department AGRARIA, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Loc. Feo di Vito, I-89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy;Department of soil science, University of Tehran, Tehran 11369, Iran;Escuela Técnica Superior Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, E-02071 Albacete, Spain;Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht 41635-1314, Iran;Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Environmental Future Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia;Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group (SEDER), University of Valencia, E-46001 Valencia, Spain;

关键词: soil erosion;    shallow flow;    land use;    soil organic matter;    rill erodibility;    shear stress;    vegetation cover;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f11010065

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Land use has significant effects on the erosion process, since it influences the soil detachment capacity by causing an overland flow (D_c). The effects of different land uses on the rill detachment capacity have not been explained in depth, and the hydraulic parameters providing accurate estimates of this soil property have not been completely identified. This study quantifies D_c at low flow rates in woodland and forestland, compared to two other land uses (cropland and grassland), in the Saravan watershed (Northern Iran), and develops prediction models of D_c and rill erodibility (K_r). D_c was measured on undisturbed soil samples, collected in the four land uses, and characterized in terms of the main physico-chemical properties in a flume experiment, simulating five slopes and five shallow water flows. The results showed that D_c was significantly lower in woodland and forestland compared to cropland and grassland, as the consequence of the changes in the main soil properties and the more developed vegetation cover and structure. D_c was positively correlated to clay and silt contents of soils, and negatively correlated to sand content, aggregate stability, root density, and organic matter. The stream power and unit stream power were found to be very accurate predictors of D_c in woodland and forestland, respectively. K_r values, which assumed the lowest values in woodland and forestland, were provided by interpolating D_c and the shear stress of water flow. Overall, this study has confirmed that vegetation cover and improved soil properties in forestland and woodland may help to reduce erosion in delicate environment ecosystems, such as the forests of Northern Iran.

【 授权许可】

Unknown