| Title |
Applications of Surface Cover Materials for Reduction of Soil Erosion |
| Authors |
원철희 ( Chul Hee Won ) ; 신민환 ( Min Hwan Shin ) ; 최용훈 ( Yong Hun Choi ) ; 신재영 ( Jae Young Shin ) ; 박운지 ( Woon Ji Park ) ; 최중대 ( Joong Dae Choi ) |
| Keywords |
Rainfall simulation; Rice straw mats cover; Runoff; Sediment |
| Abstract |
The objective of this research was to experimentally test the effect of rice straw mats on the reduction of runoff, sediment and discharge under a laboratory scale with different rainfall intensity and slopes. We used the small runoff plots of 1 m × 1 m × 0.65 m (L×W×H) in size were filled with loamy sand. Experimental treatments were bare (control), rice straw mats+PAM(SP), rice straw mats+PAM+sawdust(SPS) and rice straw mats+PAM+rice husks(SPR); slope of 10% or 20%; and rainfall intensity of 30 or 60 mm/hr. Runoff volume and coefficient from covered plots were significantly lower than those from control plots. Under the 30 mm/hr and 10% simulations, average runoff coefficient of covered plots decreased more than 92%. Under 60 mm/hr and 20% simulations, the ratios were between 39.8~58.1%. Under the condition of 30 mm/hr rainfall and 10% slope, sediment discharge from covered plots was practically zero. And at 20% plots, sediment reduction ratio was more than 95%. Under the condition of 60 mm/hr rainfall, sediment reduction ratio of 10 and 20% plots ranged between 86.3~95.3% and between 79.8~86.5%, respectively. The differences in initial runoff time, runoff and sediment discharge among different cover materials were not significant. Rainfall intensity showed higher impact on initial runoff time, runoff, and sediment discharge than slope. It was also shown that even if runoff reduction by surface cover were low, sediment discharge reduction could be very significant and contribute to improve the water quality of streams in sloping agricultural regions. It was concluded that the use of straw mat and PAM on sloping agricultural fields could reduce soil erosion and muddy runoff significantly and help improve the water quality and aquatic ecosystem in receiving waters. |