Effect of particle-size distribution on wind erosion rate and soil erodibility

Abstract

Wind erosion is a serious problem, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This study was conducted to assess the effects of wind speed as well as soil particle-size distribution on erosion rate (ER) using a wind tunnel. For this purpose, two clay loam soil samples (C2 and C10) in addition to a sandy clay loam (S2) were exposed to different wind velocities of 2, 9 and 18 m s 71 . The result showed that erosion rate increased significantly with increasing wind speeds. In addition, a critical diameter of 0.84 mm for soil particles was supported; for larger particles the changes in erosion rate were negligible. Furthermore, soil erodibility (K) was determined, which for S2, C2 and C10 was 57.73, 10.27 and 1.43, respectively. To predict soil erodibility, a power relationship as K ¼ 3.382 MWD 71.732 (R 2 ¼ 0.99) was established. The results indicated with increasing wind speed, the sensitivity of S2 remained constant, whereas C2 and C10 resisted wind speed. The finding of this research indicates the importance of particle-size distribution on wind erosion rate as well as soil erodibility.

The impact of organic amendments on soil hydrology, structure and microbial respiration in semiarid lands

“…Since most soils of arid and semiarid regions are low in organic carbon (Zamani and Mahmoodabadi, 2013;Cerdà et al, 2014;Tejada and Benítez, 2014), the application of organic amendments, such as animal manure, crop residues, and municipal solid waste (MSW) compost provides a management strategy to compensate for the depletion of SOC in these soils (Bronick and Lal, 2005;. Previous studies demonstrated positive changes in several soil physical, chemical and biological properties after the addition of organic amendments to the soil (Ferreras et al, 2006;Brevik, 2012;Eibisch et al, 2015).…”

Aggregate breakdown and surface seal development influenced by rain intensity, slope gradient and soil particle size

“…It was air dried and then passed separately through 2 and 4.75 mm sieves. Two soils with different maximum aggregate sizes were provided (Zamani and Mahmoodabadi, 2013), named D max 2 mm and D max 4.75 mm. Note there were no primary particles coarser than 2 mm in the soils because the original soil was collected from agricultural land.…”

Measurements and modelling of wind erosion rate in different tillage practices using a portable wind erosion tunnel

“…were estimated as 950 g m -2 min -1 for the sandy soil (particle size of 2 mm), 175 g m -2 min -1 for the cultivated soil (particle size of 2 mm), and 28 g m -2 min -1 for the cultivated soil (particle size of 10 mm) (Zamani, Mahmoodabadi, 2013). Due to a very small mean weight diameter of the soil used in that study, the results shown in Figure 3 are lower than those of that study.…”

“…After each run, the sediment was collected; oven dried at 105°C, and weighed on a balance. To obtain the wind erosion rate (g m -2 h -1 ), the mass of the sediment (g) was divided by the test area (m 2 ) and event duration (h) (Zamani, Mahmoodabadi, 2013). Measurements were made once after one day from tillage in both years.…”

“…In this study, the relationship between the soil erosion rate and the dust concentration occurring during tillage was examined for the first time. Some published papers (Liu et al, 2006;Mendez, Buschiazzo, 2010;Logsdon, 2013;Zamani, Mahmoodabadi, 2013) provided the method of determining the wind erosion in the soil tillage. However, no paper provided the method of modelling the soil erosion rate in agricultural production (especially by using the dust concentration).…”