1. Rainfall simulation to identify the storm-scale mechanisms of gully bank retreat
- Author
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Jean-Louis Janeau, Cornelia Rumpel, Pascal Podwojewski, Jacqueline Brown, Lauren Martin, Vincent Chaplot, Charmaine Nontokozo-Mchunu, Phesheya Dlamini, Ernest Oakes, Graham Jewitt, Simon Lorentz, Nhlakanipho Zondi, Sylvain Revil, Tarryn Eustice, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Réunion]), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), University of Pretoria [South Africa], South African Sugarcane Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, Biogéochimie et écologie des milieux continentaux (Bioemco), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Netherlands Directorate-General of Development Cooperation (DGIS), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Departement Soutien Formation (DSF) of the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD, former ORSTOM), School of Bioresources Engineering and Environmental Hydrology, Rabie Saunders Building, University of Kwazulu-Natal, University of KwaZulu-Natal [Durban, Afrique du Sud] (UKZN), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Bank retreat ,Watershed ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Erosion control ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Soil Science ,INTERRILL EROSION ,01 natural sciences ,CHINA ,South Africa ,NORTHERN LAOS ,Gully erosion ,SLOPING LANDS ,ERODIBILITY ,RATES ,Bank erosion ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,Water Science and Technology ,Hydrology ,Splash ,Involved mechanisms ,Storm ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,15. Life on land ,SOUTH-AFRICA ,Bulk density ,SOIL ,MODEL ,[SDE]Environmental Sciences ,040103 agronomy & agriculture ,Erosion ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,Environmental science ,Surface runoff ,Agronomy and Crop Science - Abstract
International audience; Gully erosion is one of the main causes of soil loss in drylands. Understanding the dominant mechanisms of erosion is important to achieve effective erosion control, thus in this study our main objective was to quantify the mechanisms involved in gully bank retreat as a result of three processes, falling of entire soil aggregates, transport of soil material by splash and by water running along gully banks (runoff). during rainfall events. The study was conducted in the sloping lands of the KwaZulu-Natal province, a region that is highly affected by gully erosion. Artificial rain was applied at 60 mm h(-1) for 45 min at the vertical wall of a gully bank typical to the area. The splash material was collected by using a network of 0.045 m(2) buckets. The sediments in the running water were assessed by sampling the runoff collected from a microplot inserted within the base of the bank, and collecting the fallen aggregates after the rainfall simulation was complete. Results indicated that the overall erosion for the simulation was 721 g m(-2) h(-1). Runoff erosion proved to be the dominant mechanism and amounted to 450g m(-2) h(-1), followed by splash and fall down of aggregates (about 170 g m(-2) h(-1)). Gully bank retreat occurred at a rate of 0.55 mm h(-1) and assuming that the soil bulk density is 1.3 g cm(-3), this corresponds to a retreat of 8.8 mm y(-1). Extrapolations to the watershed level, where about 500 m(2) of gully bank are observed per hectare, would lead to an erosion rate of 4.8 t ha(-1) y(-1). These limited results based on a simulated storm show that the three main mechanisms (runoff, splash and fall down of aggregates) are responsible for the retreat of gully banks and that to mitigate gully erosion, appropriate measures are required to control all three mechanisms. Further research studies are needed to confirm and to scale up, both in time and space, as these data are obtained at one location and from a single artificial storm. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2011
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