Questions and answers

What is soil Erosivity?

What is soil Erosivity?

Definition. Erosivity is a measure of the potential ability of soil, regolith, or other weathered material to be eroded by rain, wind, or surface runoff.

What is the role of soil erodibility to erosion?

Soil erodibility is an estimate of the ability of soils to resist erosion, based on the physical characteristics of each soil. Texture is the principal characteristic affecting erodibility, but structure, organic matter and permeability also contribute.

How do you measure soil Erosivity?

The rainfall erosivity is calculated by multiplying the kinetic energy by the maximum rainfall intensity during a period of 30-minutes for each rainstorm. The R-factor accumulates the rainfall erosivity of individual rainstorm events and averages this value over multiple years.

Which type of erosion is most highly visible?

In cultivation or pastures, advanced rill erosion can develop into gully erosion. This type of erosion is highly visible and affects soil productivity, restricts land use, and can damage roads, fences and buildings.

What plays a key role in the erodibility of soil?

Soil moisture has long been considered a critical factor in the erodibility of soils by the wind because of the effect that increasing soil moisture has on cohesion and threshold friction velocity.

What type of soil is most easily eroded?

Soils most susceptible to erosion are those with the largest amount of medium (silt)-size particles. Clay and sandy soils are less prone to erosion.

What are the agents of soil erosion?

The agents of soil erosion are the same as the agents of all types of erosion: water, wind, ice, or gravity. Running water is the leading cause of soil erosion, because water is abundant and has a lot of power. Wind is also a leading cause of soil erosion because wind can pick up soil and blow it far away.

What are the two effects of soil erosion?

Some of the greatest effects of soil erosion include:

  1. Loss of Topsoil. Obviously, this is the biggest effect of soil erosion.
  2. Soil Compaction.
  3. Reduced Organic and Fertile Matter.
  4. Poor Drainage.
  5. Issues With Plant Reproduction.
  6. Soil Acidity Levels.
  7. Long Term Erosion.
  8. Water Pollution.

How do you calculate soil erodibility factor?

in which K represents the soil erodibility factor (Mg ha h ha-1 MJ-1 mm-1); A is the annual soil loss (Mg ha-1 yr-1) determined in an experimental unit (standard) for 12 % slope; R is the rainfall erosivity factor (MJ mm ha-1 h-1); and S is the slope steepness factor to 12 % (1.536).

Which is correct formula for rainfall erosivity?

3.1. The event erosivity EI30 (MJ mm ha− 1 h− 1) is defined as:(2) E I 30 = ∑ r = 1 0 e r v r I 30 where er is the unit rainfall energy (MJ ha− 1 mm− 1) and vr is the rainfall volume (mm) during a time period r. I30 is the maximum rainfall intensity during a 30-min period of the rainfall event (mm h− 1).

What is the relationship between erosivity and soil erodibility?

In this article we will discuss about erosivity and soil erodibility. It is defined as the potential ability of rain to cause the erosion. It is dependent on the physical char­acteristics of rainfall, which include raindrop size, drop size distribution, kinetic energy, terminal velocity etc.

Why is the ei30 still in the new equation?

The unit remains in the new equation because E (Erosion) is calculated using Q (Runoff) not R (Soil Erosivity). The new equation still uses K however, which means the EI30 unit from the K is no longer cancelled out.

What is the meaning of the term erosivity?

Rainfall erosivity is a term that is used to describe the potential for soil to be washed off from disturbed, de-vegetated areas and move with into surface waters during storms. It may also be defined as the potential ability of rain to cause the erosion.

What is the soil erodibility factor in kfact?

Texture is the principal factor affecting Kfact, but structure, organic matter, and permeability also contribute. The soil erodibility factor ranges in value from 0.02 to 0.69 (Goldman et al. 1986; Mitchell and Bubenzer 1980).