Effects of rye grass coverage on soil loss from loess slopes

Abstract

Vegetative coverage is commonly used to reduce urban slope soil erosion. Laboratory experimental study on soil erosion under grass covered slopes is conventionally time and space consuming. In this study, a new method is suggested to study the influences of vegetation coverage on soil erosion from a sloped loess surface under three slope gradients of 51, 151, and 251; four rye grass coverages of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%; and three rainfall intensities of 60, 90, and 120 mm/h with a silt-loamy loess soil. Rye grasses were planted in the field with the studied soil before being transplanted into a laboratory flume. Grass was allowed to resume growth for a period before the rain simulation experiment. Results showed that the grass cover reduced soil erosion by 63.90% to 92.75% and sediment transport rate by 80.59% to 96.17% under different slope gradients and rainfall intensities. The sediment concentration/sediment transport rate from bare slope was significantly higher than from a grass-covered slope. The sediment concentration/transport rate from grass-covered slopes decreased linearly with grass coverage and increased with rainfall intensity. The sediment concentration/transport rate from the bare slope increased as a power function of slope and reached the maximum value at the gradient of about 251, whereas that from grass-covered slope increased linearly and at much lower levels. The results of this study can be used to estimate the effect of vegetation on soil erosion from loess slopes.

Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services

“…Annual ryegrass also scored high for potential erosion control as it provided a high level of vegetative ground cover throughout the growing season and regenerated vegetative growth postharvest prior to winter. Previous studies have also shown that the use of ryegrass as a cover crop can substantially reduce soil erosion and sediment loss over various slope and rain intensities [113]. While the radish crops and annual ryegrass were not the greatest biomass producing crops, we did find that crop biomass production was also positively related to erosion control and weed suppression, likely due to biomass production, weed suppression and erosion control being all associated with greater leaf area, maximum canopy height and a more rapid spring growth rate.…”

Modeling Alpine Grassland Above Ground Biomass Based on Remote Sensing Data and Machine Learning Algorithm: A Case Study in East of the Tibetan Plateau, China

“…Its temporal and spatial patterns reflect carbon sink potential of grassland vegetation [7], [8]. In addition, grassland AGB and its change directly reflect degree of grassland degradation, soil erosion [9]- [11] and desertification [12]. In practice, changes in grassland AGB can be used to monitor pasture overgrazing and land use change [13].…”

Modeling of Alpine Grassland Cover Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology and Multi-Factor Methods: A Case Study in the East of Tibetan Plateau, China

“…Important cover-related parameters and functions include aboveground biomass [2][3][4][5], evapotranspiration [6] and leaf area index [7]. In addition, plant coverage and its changes over time have been directly used as indicators of grassland degradation, soil erosion [8][9][10] and desertification [11]. Under actual production conditions, changes in grassland cover can reveal over-grazing, aid in the monitoring of land use (e.g., changes between grassland and farmland) [12], and provide an early warning of grassland degradation.…”