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1.
MODELING EPHEMERAL GULLY EROSION FOR CONSERVATION PLANNING   总被引:9,自引:0,他引:9  
1INTRODUCTIONEphemeral gully erosion,which is caused by concentrated flow within cultivated farm fields,is distinct from rill erosion.Ephemeral gully erosion is also distinct from gully erosion in permanent,deep,incised channels,formed by headcuts moving upstream.Ephemeral gully erosion is often overlooked.It is not estimated with rill-interrill erosion prediction technology such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(Renard et al.,1997),and it is often not measured in field survey…  相似文献   

2.
The European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM) is a dynamic distributed model, able to simulate sediment transport, erosion and deposition over the land surface by rill and interill processes in single storms for both individual fields and small catchments. Model output includes total runoff, total soil loss, the storm hydrograph and storm sediment graph. Compared with other erosion models, EUROSEM has explicit simulation of interill and rill flow; plant cover effects on interception and rainfall energy; rock fragment (stoniness) effects on infiltration, flow velocity and splash erosion; and changes in the shape and size of rill channels as a result of erosion and deposition. The transport capacity of runoff is modelled using relationships based on over 500 experimental observations of shallow surface flows. EUROSEM can be applied to smooth slope planes without rills, rilled surfaces and surfaces with furrows. Examples are given of model output and of the unique capabilities of dynamic erosion modelling in general. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

3.
In the rill erosion process, run-on water and sediment from upslope areas, and rill flow hydraulic parameters have significant effects on sediment detachment and transport. However, there is a lack of data to quantify the effects of run-on water and sediment and rill flow hydraulic parameters on rill erosion process at steep hillslopes, especially in the Loess Plateau of China. A dual-box system, consisting of a 2-m-long feeder box and a 5-m-long test box with 26.8% slope gradient was used to quantify the effects of upslope runoff and sediment, and of rill flow hydraulic parameters on the rill erosion process. The results showed that detachment-transport was dominated in rill erosion processes; upslope runoff always caused the net rill detachment at the downslope rill flow channel, and the net rill detachment caused by upslope runoff increased with a decrease of runoff sediment concentration from the feeder box or an increase of rainfall intensity. Upslope runoff discharging into the rill flow channel or an increase of rainfall intensity caused the rill flow to shift from a stratum flow into a turbulent flow. Upslope runoff had an important effect on rill flow hydraulic parameters, such as rill flow velocity, hydraulic radius, Reynolds number, Froude number and the Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient. The net rill detachment caused by upslope runoff increased as the relative increments of rill flow velocity, Reynolds number and Froude number caused by upslope runoff increased. In contrast, the net rill detachment decreased with an increase of the relative decrement of the Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient caused by upslope runoff. These findings will help to improve the understanding of the effects of run-on water and sediment on the erosion process and to find control strategies to minimize the impact of run-on water.  相似文献   

4.
Soil erosion models are essential tools for the successful implementation of effective and adapted soil conservation measures on agricultural land. Therefore, models are needed that predict sediment delivery and quality, give a good spatial representation of erosion and deposition and allow us to account for various soil conservation measures. Here, we evaluate how well a modified version of the spatially distributed multi‐class sediment transport model (MCST) simulates the effectiveness of control measures for different event sizes. We use 8 year runoff and sediment delivery data from two small agricultural watersheds (0·7 and 3·7 ha) under optimized soil conservation. The modified MCST model successfully simulates surface runoff and sediment delivery from both watersheds; one of which was dominated by sheet and the other was partly affected by rill erosion. Moreover, first results of modelling enrichment of clay in sediment delivery are promising, showing the potential of MCST to model sediment enrichment and nutrient transport. In general, our results and those of an earlier modelling exercise in the Belgian Loess Belt indicate the potential of the MCST model to evaluate soil erosion and deposition under different agricultural land uses. As the model explicitly takes into account the dominant effects of soil‐conservation agriculture, it should be successfully applicable for soil‐conservation planning/evaluation in other environments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

5.
PHYSICALPROCESSBASEDSOILEROSIONMODELINASMALLWATERSHEDINTHEHILLYLOESSREGION1CAIQiangguo2ABSTRACTAphysicalprocesbasedperstorm...  相似文献   

6.
Quantifying the relative proportions of soil losses due to interrill and rill erosion processes during erosion events is an important factor in predicting total soil losses and sediment transport and deposition. Beryllium‐7 (7Be) can provide a convenient way to trace sediment movement over short timescales providing information that can potentially be applied to longer‐term, larger‐scale erosion processes. We used simulated rainstorms to generate soil erosion from two experimental plots (5 m × 4 m; 25° slope) containing a bare, hand‐cultivated loessal soil, and measured 7Be activities to identify the erosion processes contributing to eroded material movement and/or deposition in a flat area at the foot of the slope. Based on the mass balance of 7Be detected in the eroded soil source and in the sediments, the proportions of material from interrill and rill erosion processes were estimated in the total soil losses, the deposited sediments in the flat area, and in the suspended sediments discharged from the plots. The proportion of interrill eroded material in the discharged sediment decreased over time as that of rill eroded material increased. The amount of deposited material was greatly affected by overland flow rates. The estimated amounts of rill eroded material calculated using 7Be activities were in good agreement with those based on physical measurements of total plot rill volumes. Although time lags of 45 and 11 minutes existed between detection of sediment being removed by rill erosion, based on 7Be activities, and observed rill initiation times, our results suggest that the use of 7Be tracer has the potential to accurately quantify the processes of erosion from bare, loessal cultivated slopes and of deposition in flatter, downslope areas that occur in single rainfall events. Such measurements could be applied to estimate longer‐term erosion occurring over larger areas possessing similar landforms. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

7.
A series of controlled laboratory experiments were conducted in order to obtain precise data on the hydraulic and sediment transport conditions during rill formation. Tests were carried out using a crusting-prone binary mixed soil in a 15 m long flume at an average slope of 0·087 under simulated rainfall. Rainfall intensities varied from 30–35 mm h?1 and developed about 70 per cent of the kinetic energy of natural rainfall of similar intensity. Runoff and sediment discharge measured at the downstream weir were strongly influenced by rill forming processes. Essentially, rill incision reduced runoff discharge as a result of increased percolation in rill channels but increased sediment discharge. Secondary entrainment processes, such as bank collapse, also increased sediment discharge at the weir. Knickpoint bifurcation and colluvial deposition, however, decreased sediment discharge. Rills always developed through the formation of a knickpoint. The critical condition for knickpoint initiation was the development of supercritical flow and waves which mould and incise the bed. Prior smoothing of the soil surface by entrainment and redistribution of sediment facilitated supercritical flow. Statistical analysis showed that hydraulic and sediment transport conditions differed significantly in rilled and unrilled flows. The relationship between sediment discharge, rill erosion, and flow hydraulics was found to be nonlinear, conforming to a standard power function in the form y = axb. Rills were also associated with significantly increased sediment transport capacities. However, rill initiation was not clearly defined by any specific hydraulic threshold. Instead, rilled and unrilled flows were separated by zones of transition within which both types of flow occur.  相似文献   

8.
Many studies attribute the effects of vegetation in reducing soil erosion rates to the effects of the above‐ground biomass. The effects of roots on topsoil resistance against concentrated flow erosion are much less studied. However, in a Mediterranean context, where the above‐ground biomass can temporarily disappear because of fire, drought or overgrazing, and when concentrated flow erosion occurs, roots can play an important role in controlling soil erosion rates. Unfortunately, information on Mediterranean plant characteristics, especially root characteristics, growing on semi‐natural lands, and knowledge of their suitability for gully erosion control is often lacking. A methodological framework to evaluate plant traits for this purpose is absent as well. This paper presents a methodology to assess the suitability of plants for rill and gully erosion control and its application to 25 plant species, representative for a semi‐arid Mediterranean landscape in southeast Spain. In this analysis determination of suitable plants for controlling concentrated flow erosion is based on a multi‐criteria analysis. First, four main criteria were determined, i.e. (1) the potential of plants to prevent incision by concentrated flow erosion, (2) the potential of plants to improve slope stability, (3) the resistance of plants to bending by water flow and (4) the ability of plants to trap sediments and organic debris. Then, an indicator or a combination of two indicators was used to assess the scores for the four criteria. In total, five indicators were selected, i.e. additional root cohesion, plant stiffness, stem density, the erosion‐reducing potential during concentrated flow and the sediment and organic debris obstruction potential. Both above‐ and below‐ground plant traits were taken into account and measured to assess the scores for the five indicators, i.e. stem density, sediment and organic debris obstruction potential, modulus of elasticity of the stems, moment of inertia of the stems, root density, root diameter distribution, root area ratio and root tensile strength. The scores for the indicators were represented on amoeba diagrams, indicating the beneficial and the weak plant traits, regarding to erosion control. The grasses Stipa tenacissima L. and Lygeum spartum L. and the shrub Salsola genistoides Juss. Ex Poir. amongst others, were selected as very suitable plant species for rill and gully erosion control. Stipa tenacissima can be used to re‐vegetate abandoned terraces as this species is adapted to drought and offers a good protection to concentrated flow erosion and shallow mass movements. Lygeum spartum can be used to vegetate concentrated flow zones or to obstruct sediment inflow to channels at gully outlets. Stipa tenacissima and Salsola genistoides can be used to stabilize steep south‐facing slopes. The methodology developed in this study can be applied to other plant species in areas suffering from rill and gully erosion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
Active gully systems developed on highly weathered or loose parent material are an important source of runoff and sediment production in degraded areas. However, a decrease of land pressure may lead to a return of a partial vegetation cover, whereby gully beds are preferred recolonization spots. Although the current knowledge on the role of vegetation on reducing sediment production on slopes is well developed, few studies exist on the significance of restoring sediment transport pathways on the total sediment budget of degraded mountainous catchments. This study in the Ecuadorian Andes evaluates the potential of vegetation to stabilize active gully systems by trapping and retaining eroded sediment in the gully bed, and analyses the significance of vegetation restoration in the gully bed in reducing sediment export from degraded catchments. Field measurements on 138 gully segments located in 13 ephemeral steep gullies with different ground vegetation cover indicate that gully bed vegetation is the most important factor in promoting short‐term (1–15 years) sediment deposition and gully stabilization. In well‐vegetated gully systems ( ≥ 30% of ground vegetation cover), 0.035 m3 m–1 of sediment is deposited yearly in the gully bed. Almost 50 per cent of the observed variance in sediment deposition volumes can be explained by the mean ground vegetation cover of the gully bed. The presence of vegetation in gully beds gives rise to the formation of vegetated buffer zones, which enhance short‐term sediment trapping even in active gully systems in mountainous environments. Vegetation buffer zones are shown to modify the connectivity of sediment fluxes, as they reduce the transport efficiency of gully systems. First calculations on data on sediment deposition patterns in our study area show that gully bed deposition in response to gully bed revegetation can represent more than 25 per cent of the volume of sediment generated within the catchment. Our findings indicate that relatively small changes in landscape connectivity have the potential to create strong (positive) feedback loops between erosion and vegetation dynamics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

10.
Rill development studies have focused almost exclusively on surface erosion processes and critical threshold hydraulic conditions. Characteristic rill features, such as arcuate headcuts and knickpoints, are morphologically similar to the ‘theatre-headed’ valleys which have been associated with ‘sapping’ processes at various scales. This paper reports on laboratory experiments designed to identify linkages between surface flow hydraulics, subsurface moisture conditions and rill development. Experiments were carried out in a 16·57 m2 flume under simulated rainfall with soil samples up to 0·15 m depth in which moisture conditions were monitored by miniature time-domain reflectometer probes. Tests showed complex responses in which some rill incision reflected surface flow conditions, but major rill system development with markedly enhanced sediment yield was closely associated with high soil moisture contents. It was not possible to measure seepage forces directly, but calculation and observation indicate that these were less important than reduction in soil strength with saturation, which resulted in increased effective runoff erosivity. This caused concentrated undercutting along the water table at rill walls, while slightly stronger surface layers above the water table formed microscarps. These retreated along the water table into interrill surfaces, producing residual pediment transport slopes. The microscarps eventually disappeared when the water table reached the surface, eliminating differential soil strength. The experiments showed complex relationships between surface and subsurface erosional processes in evolving rill systems, strongly influenced by soil moisture dynamics. The very small topographic and hydraulic head amplitudes indicate that seepage forces and ‘sapping’ were minimal. The dominant effect of soil moisture was reduction of soil strength with saturation, and increased runoff entrainment. Experimental conditions were not unusual, either for agricultural fields or natural hillslopes, and the intricate interrelationship of surface and subsurface erosion processes observed is probably not uncommon. Attempts to link specific morphologic features at rill scale to dominance of surface or subsurface processes alone are therefore unlikely to be successful or reliable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

11.
Knowledge of soil loss rates by water erosion under given climate, soil, topography, and management conditions is important for establishing soil conservation schemes. In Galicia, a region with Atlantic climatic conditions in Spain, field observations over the last decade indicate that interrill, rill and ephemeral gully erosion may be an important sediment source. The aim of this work was to assess concentrated erosion rates, describe types of rills and ephemeral gullies and determine their origin, evolution and importance as sediment sources. Soil surface state and concentrated flow erosion were surveyed on medium textured soils, developed over basic schists of the Ordenes Complex series (Coruña province, Spain) from 1997 to 2006. Soil surface state was characterized by crust development, tillage features and roughness degree. Soil erosion rate was directly measured in the field. Concentrated flow erosion took place mainly on seedbeds and recently tilled surfaces in late spring and by autumn or early winter. During the study period, erosion rates were highly variable and the following situations could be distinguished: (a) no incision or limited rill incision, i.e. below 2 Mg ha?1 year?1; (b) generalized rill and ephemeral gully incision in the class of mean values between 2·5 and 6·25 Mg ha?1 year?1, this was the most common erosion pattern; and (c) heavy erosion as observed during an extremely wet winter period, between October 2000 and February 2001, with erosion figures that may be about ten orders of magnitude higher, up to 55–60 Mg ha?1 year?1. Therefore, low values of soil losses are dominant, but also large values of rill and ephemeral gully erosion occurred during the study period. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

12.
RUSLE2 (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) is the most recent in the family of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)/RUSLE/RUSLE2 models proven to provide robust estimates of average annual sheet and rill erosion from a wide range of land use, soil, and climatic conditions. RUSLE2's capabilities have been expanded over earlier versions using methods of estimating time‐varying runoff and process‐based sediment transport routines so that it can estimate sediment transport/deposition/delivery on complex hillslopes. In this report we propose and evaluate a method of predicting a series of representative runoff events whose sizes, durations, and timings are estimated from information already in the RUSLE2 database. The methods were derived from analysis of 30‐year simulations using a widely accepted climate generator and runoff model and were validated against additional independent simulations not used in developing the index events, as well as against long‐term measured monthly rainfall/runoff sets. Comparison of measured and RUSLE2‐predicted monthly runoff suggested that the procedures outlined may underestimate plot‐scale runoff during periods of the year with greater than average rainfall intensity, and a modification to improve predictions was developed. In order to illustrate the potential of coupling RUSLE2 with a process‐based channel erosion model, the resulting set of representative storms was used as an input to the channel routines used in Chemicals, Runoff, and Erosion from Agricultural Management Systems (CREAMS) to calculate ephemeral gully erosion. The method was applied to a hypothetical 5‐ha field cropped to cotton in Marshall County, MS, bisected by a potential ephemeral gully having channel slopes ranging from 0·5 to 5% and with hillslopes on both sides of the channel with 5% steepness and 22·1 m length. Results showed the representative storm sequence produced reasonable results in CREAMS indicating that ephemeral gully erosion may be of the same order of magnitude as sheet and rill erosion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

13.
Abstract

Soil erosion and eroded sediment are serious threats to sound land management. However, less attention has been given to quantifying the importance of different soil erosion features based on appropriate control measures that could be designated. Accordingly, this research was planned to quantify the contribution of potential sediment sources, i.e. sheet, rill and gully erosion, in Idelo watershed in Zanjan Province, Iran, using composite fingerprinting. Toward this aim, 16 geochemical and organic tracers were detected in sediment sources and sediment deposited at the outlet. The results of applying the composite fingerprinting technique, with a relative error of 16%, showed that sheet, rill and gully sources contributed 56%, 44% and 0%, respectively, to sediment yield. It was also apparent from the results that the composite fingerprinting approach could be successfully utilized to assess the provenance of sediment deposited at the main outlet of the study watershed by soil erosion type.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz  相似文献   

14.
Rill erosion is a serious concern in the hilly region of China with purple soil, and maize is extensively cultivated in this region. Evaluations of the dynamic mechanisms of rill erosion in sloping farmland areas are particularly important during the maize growing season to determine whether rill erosion can occur. A new ridge tillage (RT) system was designed using local agricultural methods in China. Twelve artificial rainfall experiments were conducted in three 1 × 2 m experimental plots with a slope of 15°, which is a typical slope in the study area. The rainfall intensities were designated as 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mm min?1. The rainfall experiments were performed in the field to determine the characteristics of run‐off and sediment transport related to rill erosion processes during different stages of maize growth and to analyse how hydraulic parameters and the sediment yield of the rill erosion process are related. The results showed that rill flow patterns were mainly classified as subcritical transition flow during all the growth stages of maize. The effects of hydrodynamic parameters on the sediment yield were ordered as follows: Reynolds number > stream power > Froude number > shear stress. The total sediment yield varied by stage as follows: seedling stage > jointing stage > mature stage > tasseling stage. The sediment yield and run‐off rate exhibited a linear relationship that was well described at the hillslope scale. To initiate soil loss in sloping farmland areas with purple soil during the maize growing season, the critical hydrodynamic shear stress and stream power must be at least 46.505 Pa and 1.541 N m?1 s?1, respectively.  相似文献   

15.
Concentrated flow erosion is the dominant form of winter erosion in northern France. This study correlates the ephemeral rill and gully volumes measured in 20 cultivated catchments (4–95 ha) for three consecutive winters with the size of the potential runoff-contributing areas. These areas were identified by characterizing soil surface state through crust development stage, importance of surface wheel tracks and roughness grade. A single and significant relationship was found between the size of runoff-contributing areas, estimated by this criterion, and the rill and gully volumes. This identified the proportion of the catchment area occupied by fields with a degraded surface structure as the main factor controlling the variability of erosion in a context of concentrated flow erosion on cultivated land. The extension of degraded areas was shown to be controlled by dynamic interactions between weather, land occupation and soil physical properties. This criterion accounts for the uneven distribution of rainfall in space and time. Morphological factors, such as talweg length and slope, are believed to determine part of the residual variability.  相似文献   

16.
Gully rehabilitation can contribute to catchment management by stabilizing erosion and reducing downstream sediment yields, yet the globally observed responses are variable. Developing the technical basis for gully rehabilitation and establishing guidelines for application requires studies that evaluate individual rehabilitation measures in specific environments. An eight-year field experiment was undertaken to evaluate sediment yield and vegetation responses to several gully rehabilitation measures. The rehabilitation measures aimed to reduce surface runoff into gully head cuts, trap sediment on gully floors and increase vegetation cover on gully walls and floors. The study occurred in a savanna rangeland in northeast Australia. Two gullies were subject to treatments while four gullies were monitored as untreated controls. A runoff diversion structure reduced headcut erosion from 4.3 to 1.2 m2 yr−1. Small porous check dams and cattle exclusion reduced gully total sediment yields by more than 80%, equivalent to a reduction of 0.3 to 2.4 t ha−1 yr−1, but only at catchment areas less than 10 ha. Fine sediment yields (silt and clay) were reduced by 7 and 19% from the two treated gullies, respectively. The porous check dam deposits contained a lower percentage of the fine fraction than the parent soil. Significant regeneration of gully floor vegetation occurred, associated with trapping of organic litter and fine sediment. Increases in vegetation cover and biomass were comprised of native perennial grasses, trees and shrubs. In variable climates, long-term gully rehabilitation will progress during wetter periods, and regress during droughts. Understanding linkages between rehabilitation measures, their hydrologic, hydraulic and vegetation effects and gully sediment yields is important to defining the conditions for their success.  相似文献   

17.
Soil detachment by rill flow is a key process of rill erosion, modelling this process can help in understanding rill erosion mechanisms. However, many soil detachment models are established on conceptual assumptions rather than experimental data. The objectives of this study were to establish a model of soil detachment by rill flow based on flume experimental data and to quantitatively verify the model. We simulated the process of soil detachment by rill flow in flume experiments with a soil-feeding hopper using loessial soil on steep slopes. Seven flow discharges, six slopes and five sediment loads were combined. Soil detachment capacity, sediment transport capacity, and soil detachment rate by rill flow under different sediment loads were measured. The process of soil detachment by rill flow can be modelled by a dual power function based on soil detachment capacity and transport capacity deficit as variables. The established model exhibited high credibility (NSE=0.97; R2=0.97). The contributions of soil detachment capacity and transport capacity deficit to soil detachment rate by rill flow reached 60% and 36%, respectively. Soil detachment capacity exerted more influence on soil detachment rate than did transport capacity deficit. The performance of the WEPP rill erosion equation is also favourable (NSE=0.95; R2=0.97). The two power exponents in the model we established strengthen the role of soil detachment capacity in soil detachment rate and weaken that for transport capacity deficit. Soil detachment capacity and transport capacity deficit played important roles in the determination of soil detachment rate by rill flow. The results can be applied to implement the numerical modeling and prediction of rill erosion processes on steep loessial hillslopes. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

18.
Flow velocity is a basic hydraulic property of surface flows and its precise calculation is necessary for process based hydrological models, such as soil erosion and rill development models, as well as for modelling sediment and solute transport by runoff. This study presents a technique based on infrared thermography to visualize very shallow flows and allow a quantitative measurement of overland flow and rill flow velocities. Laboratory experiments were conducted to compare the traditional dye tracer technique with this new thermal tracer technique by injecting a combined tracer (heated dye) into shallow flowing surface water. The leading edge tracer velocities estimated by means of infrared video and by the usual real imaging video were compared. The results show that thermal tracers can be used to estimate both overland and rill flow velocities, since measurements are similar to those resulting from using dye tracers. The main advantage of using thermography was the higher visibility of the leading edge of the injected tracer compared with the real image videos. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

19.
Deposition and erosion play a key role in the determination of the sediment budget of a river basin, as well as for floodplain sedimentation. Floodplain sedimentation, in turn, is a relevant factor for the design of flood protection measures, productivity of agro‐ecosystems, and for ecological rehabilitation plans. In the Mekong Delta, erosion and deposition are important factors for geomorphological processes like the compensation of deltaic subsidence as well as for agricultural productivity. Floodplain deposition is also counteracting the increasing climate change induced hazard by sea level rise in the delta. Despite this importance, a sediment database of the Mekong Delta is lacking, and the knowledge about erosion and deposition processes is limited. In the Vietnamese part of the Delta, the annually flooded natural floodplains have been replaced by a dense system of channels, dikes, paddy fields, and aquaculture ponds, resulting in floodplain compartments protected by ring dikes. The agricultural productivity depends on the sediment and associated nutrient input to the floodplains by the annual floods. However, no quantitative information regarding their sediment trapping efficiency has been reported yet. The present study investigates deposition and erosion based on intensive field measurements in three consecutive years (2008, 2009, and 2010). Optical backscatter sensors are used in combination with sediment traps for interpreting deposition and erosion processes in different locations. In our study area, the mean calculated deposition rate is 6.86 kg/m2 (≈ 6 mm/year). The key parameters for calculating erosion and deposition are estimated, i.e. the critical bed shear stress for deposition and erosion and the surface constant erosion rate. The bulk of the floodplain sediment deposition is found to occur during the initial stage of floodplain inundation. This finding has direct implications on the operation of sluice gates in order to optimize sediment input and distribution in the floodplains. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

20.
Although there is much evidence of intense soil erosion in cultivated areas of Navarre (Spain), information on it is currently scarce. Rill and ephemeral gully volumes can be used as a guide to minimum erosion rates. With the main purpose of determining the annual soil loss rates in cultivated areas of central Navarre, a detailed assessment of rainfall and of rill and gully erosion was made in 19 small catchments from October 1999 to September 2001. Seventeen of them were randomly selected, and were cultivated with winter cereals, vineyards or sunflowers. The other two catchments were selected to represent partially uncultivated lands abandoned for ten years. Channel cross‐sections were measured by using a 1‐m‐wide micro‐topographic profile meter, describing 632 cross‐sections and processing information from 31 600 pins. Erosive events happened every year in the three study areas. For cereal catchments, soil losses occurred in only one or two rainfall events each year, usually at the end of autumn and in some summers, with high erosion rates (0·20–11·50 kg m?2 a?1). In vineyards, soil losses occurred several times per year, and in any season. This is attributed to the small percentage of surface covered by the crop throughout the year. Again, high erosion rates were found (0·33–16·19 kg m?2 a?1), with ephemeral gully erosion causing more loss than rill erosion. No‐till is proposed as an effective conservation measure. From this large data set, it can be stated that rill erosion and ephemeral gully erosion are widespread in Mediterranean regions, and that much more attention should be paid to the problem. Abandoned fields showed very high erosion rates (16·19 kg m?2 a?1 on average), suggesting that the abandonment of marginal lands without implementing any erosion control can lead to severe erosion rates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

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