•We propose new erosivity predictors to measure splash detachment rates.•Momentum×drop diameter−1 describes substrate-independent splash rates best.•Splash erosion of small particles is best ...described by momentum.•Splash erosion of large particles is best described by kinetic energy.
Rainfall erosivity is a key component in soil erosion by water. While kinetic energy and momentum are used to describe the erosivity of rainfall, and both are derived from mass and velocity of raindrops, it is not clear how different substrates transform this energy. In our study we conducted rainfall simulation experiments to determine splash detachment amounts of five substrates (coarse sand, medium sand, fine sand, PE balls, silt) for seven different rainfall intensities (52–116mmh−1). We used linear mixed-effect modeling (LME) to calculate erosivity predictors for each substrate. Additionally, we separated drop-size-velocity relationship into lower left and upper right quarter to investigate the effect of small and slow just as big and fast raindrops on splash detachment amounts.
We suggest using momentum divided by drop diameter as a substrate-independent erosivity predictor. To consider different substrates specific erosivity parameters are needed. Heavier substrates like sand are best described by kinetic energy multiplied by diameter whereas lighter substrates like silt point to momentum divided by diameter to the power of 1.5. Furthermore, our results show that substrates are differently affected by the size and velocity of drops. While splash detachment of light substances can be reliably predicted by drop size and velocity for small and slow drops, drop size and velocity loses its predictive power in heavier substrates like sand.
In aeolian research, field measurements are important for studying complex wind-driven processes for land management evaluation and model validation. Consequently, there have been many devices ...developed, tested, and applied to investigate a range of aeolian-based phenomena. However, determining the most effective application and data analysis techniques is widely debated in the literature. Here we investigate the effectiveness of two different sediment traps (the BEST trap and the MWAC catcher) in measuring vertical sediment flux. The study was performed in a wind tunnel with sediment fluxes characterized using saltiphones. Contrary to most studies, we used the analogue output of five saltiphones mounted on top of each other to determine the total kinetic energy, which was then used to calculate aeolian sediment budgets. Absolute sediment losses during the experiments were determined using a balance located beneath the test tray. Test runs were conducted with different sand sizes and at different wind speeds. The efficiency of the two traps did not vary with the wind speed or sediment size but was affected by both the experimental setup (position of the lowest trap above the surface and number of traps in the saltation layer) and the technique used to calculate the sediment flux. Despite this, good agreement was found between sediment losses calculated from the saltiphone and those measured using the balance. The results of this study provide a framework for measuring sediment fluxes at small time resolution (seconds to milliseconds) in the field.
Monitoring woody cover by remote sensing is considered a key methodology towards sustainable management of trees in dryland forests. However, while modern very high resolution satellite (VHRS) ...sensors allow woodland mapping at the individual tree level, the historical perspective is often hindered by lack of appropriate image data. In this first study employing the newly accessible historical HEXAGON KH-9 stereo-panoramic camera images for environmental research, we propose their use for mapping trees in open-canopy conditions. The 2–4 feet resolution panchromatic HEXAGON satellite photographs were taken 1971–1986 within the American reconnaissance programs that are better known to the scientific community for their lower-resolution CORONA images. Our aim is to evaluate the potential of combining historical CORONA and HEXAGON with recent WorldView VHRS imagery for retrospective woodland change mapping on the tree level. We mapped all trees on 30 1-ha test sites in open-canopy argan woodlands in Morocco in the field and from the VHRS imagery for estimating changes of tree density and size between 1967/1972 and 2018. Prior to image interpretation, we used simulations based on unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery for exemplarily examining the role of illumination, viewing geometry and image resolution on the appearance of trees and their shadows in the historical panchromatic images. We show that understanding these parameters is imperative for correct detection and size-estimation of tree crowns. Our results confirm that tree maps derived solely from VHRS image analysis generally underestimate the number of small trees and trees in clumped-canopy groups. Nevertheless, HEXAGON images compare remarkably well with WorldView images and have much higher tree-mapping potential than CORONA. By classifying the trees in three sizes, we were able to measure tree-cover changes on an ordinal scale. Although we found no clear trend of forest degradation or recovery, our argan forest sites show varying patterns of change, which are further analysed in Part B of our study. We conclude that the HEXAGON stereo-panoramic camera images, of which 670,000 worldwide will soon be available, open exciting opportunities for retrospective monitoring of trees in open-canopy conditions and other woody vegetation patterns back into the 1980s and 1970s.
The argan woodlands of South Morocco represent an open-canopy dryland forest with traditional silvopastoral usage that includes browsing by goats, sheep and camels, oil production as well as ...agricultural use. In the past, these forests have undergone extensive clearing, but are now protected by the state. However, the remaining argan woodlands are still under pressure from intensive grazing and illegal firewood collection. Although the argan-forest area seems to be overall decreasing due to large forest clearings for intensive agriculture, little quantitative data is available on the dynamics and overall state of the remaining argan forest. To determine how the argan woodlands in the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas had changed in tree-crown cover from 1972 to 2018 we used historical black and white HEXAGON satellite images as well as recent WorldView satellite images (see Part A of our study). Because tree shadows can oftentimes not be separated from the tree crown on panchromatic satellite images, individual trees were mapped in three size categories to determine if trees were unchanged, had decreased/increased in crown size or had disappeared or newly grown. The current state of the argan trees was evaluated by mapping tree architectures in the field. Tree-cover changes varied highly between the test sites. Trees that remained unchanged between 1972 and 2018 were in the majority, while tree mortality and tree establishment were nearly even. Small unchanged trees made up 48.4% of all remaining trees, of these 51% showed degraded tree architectures. 40% of small (re-) grown trees were so overbrowsed that they only appeared as bushes, while medium (3–7 m crown diameter) and large trees (>7 m) showed less degraded trees regardless if they had changed or not. Approaches like grazing exclusion or cereal cultivation lead to a positive influence on tree architecture and less tree-cover decrease. Although the woodland was found to be mostly unchanged 1972–2018, the analysis of tree architecture reveals that a lot of (mostly small) trees remained stable but in a degraded state. This stability might be the result of the small trees’ high degradation status and shows the heavy pressure on the argan forest.
Rainfall simulations at different scales have been used for understanding the influence of different factors on runoff generation and erosion. They are an accepted method for calibrating and ...validating physically based rainfall and erosion models. Nevertheless, it is proven that not only the patterns of rainfall are highly variable over space and time. Soil parameters responsible for runoff generation and erosion – e.g. infiltration capacity, soil moisture, aggregate stability – are highly variable, too. The results of more than 100 plot scale rainfall simulations on abandoned fields in different areas of Spain are analysed for identifying and quantifying factors affecting runoff and erosion processes. The variability of superficial runoff and suspended sediment yield is very high within most of the test areas, reaching values up to a runoff coefficient of 1 and yielding 130 g per experiment. Only within the semi-arid areas we can find a significant and high correlation between vegetation cover and sediment yield (and sediment concentration), whereas most of the other investigated surface parameters show no influence on runoff and erosion.
For this, even in simulations on small plots more complex processes can be assumed. The factors controlling them have to be searched, even at detailed scales, within the geo-ecological characteristics of the investigated areas at chorological scales.
The effects of intercropping grapevine with aromatic plants are investigated using a multi-disciplinary approach. Selected results are presented that address the extent to which crop diversification ...by intercropping impacts grapevine yield and must quality, as well as soil water and mineral nutrients (NO3-N, NH4-N, plant-available K and P). The experimental field was a commercial steep-slope vineyard with shallow soils characterized by a high presence of coarse rock fragments in the Mosel area of Germany. The field experiment was set up as randomized block design. Rows were either cultivated with Riesling (Vitis vinifera L.) as a monocrop or intercropped with Origanum vulgare or Thymus vulgaris. Regarding soil moisture and nutrient levels, the topsoil (0–0.1 m) was more affected by intercropping than the subsoil (0.1–0.3 m). Gravimetric moisture was consistently lower in the intercropped topsoil. While NO3-N was almost unaffected by crop diversification, NH4-N, K, and P were uniformly reduced in topsoil. Significant differences in grapevine yield and must quality were dominantly attributable to climate variables, rather than to the treatments. Yield stabilization due to intercropping with thyme and oregano seems possible with sufficient rainfall or by irrigation. The long-term effects of intercropping on grapevine growth need further monitoring.
This study presents the comparison of experimental results with assumptions used in numerical models. The aim of the field experiments is to test the linear relationship between different hydraulic ...parameters and soil detachment. For example correlations between shear stress, unit length shear force, stream power, unit stream power and effective stream power and the detachment rate does not reveal a single parameter which consistently displays the best correlation. More importantly, the best fit does not only vary from one experiment to another, but even between distinct measurement points. Different processes in rill erosion are responsible for the changing correlations. However, not all these procedures are considered in soil erosion models. Hence, hydraulic parameters alone are not sufficient to predict detachment rates. They predict the fluvial incising in the rill's bottom, but the main sediment sources are not considered sufficiently in its equations. The results of this study show that there is still a lack of understanding of the physical processes underlying soil erosion. Exerted forces, soil stability and its expression, the abstraction of the detachment and transport processes in shallow flowing water remain still subject of unclear description and dependence.
Small portable rainfall simulators are considered a useful tool to analyze soil erosion processes in cultivated lands. European research groups in Spain (Valencia, Málaga, Lleida, Madrid and La ...Rioja), France (Reims) and Germany (Trier) have used different rainfall simulators (varying in drop size distribution and fall velocities, kinetic energy, plot forms and sizes, and field of application) to study soil loss, surface flow, runoff and infiltration coefficients in different experimental plots (Valencia, Montes de Málaga, Penedès, Campo Real and La Rioja in Spain, Champagne in France and Mosel-Ruwer valley in Germany). The measurements and experiments developed by these research teams give an overview of the variety of methodologies used in rainfall simulations to study the problem of soil erosion and describe the erosion features in different climatic environments, management practices and soil types. The aims of this study are: (i) to investigate where, how and why researchers from different wine-growing regions applied rainfall simulations with successful results as a tool to measure soil erosion processes; (ii) to make a qualitative comparison about the general soil erosion processes in European terroirs; (iii) to demonstrate the importance of the development of standard method for measurement of soil erosion processes in vineyards, using rainfall simulators; and (iv) and to analyze the key factors that should be taken into account to carry out rainfall simulations. The rainfall simulations in all cases allowed infiltration capacity, susceptibility of the soil to detachment and generation of sediment loads to runoff to be determined. Despite using small plots, the experiments were useful to analyze the influence of soil cover to reduce soil erosion, to make comparisons between different locations, and to evaluate the influence of different soil characteristics. The comparative analysis of the studies performed in different study areas points out the need to define an operational methodology to carry out rainfall simulations, which allows us to obtain representative and comparable results and to avoid errors in the interpretation in order to achieve comparable information about runoff and soil loss.
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