The Santa Rosa Creek watershed is one of the most pristine watersheds on California’s Central Coast. Preserving this watershed is of great interest because it provides rich soils for agriculture, vast rangelands for cattle, and flowing streams for federally threatened species such as steelhead trout. Soil erosion could impact these resources. Using prediction tools, it is possible to study the erosion that could be occurring in a watershed and identify locations which could contribute the highest amounts of sediment. The objectives of this study were to use RUSLE2 and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to predict soil erosion rates for each soil map unit in every drainage of the upper Santa Rosa Creek watershed and to determine areas where soil erosion could surpass a soil development rates. Environmental and anthropogenic factors that influence soil erosion such as topography, climate, soil, geology, vegetation, and land use, were described for the entire watershed to provide supplementary data used in the RUSLE2 model and to explain erosion in highly erosive areas. Predicted soil erosion rates were studied to determine if correlations exist between other factors such as slope, existing erosion features, and vegetation. Predicted soil erosion rates calculated using RUSLE2 confirmed that the watershed is healthy and that 98 percent of the drainages are within sustainable soil erosion rates (five tons/acre/year). There were 37 soil map units totaling 1,617 acres (5.6 percent of the entire upper watershed area) with predicted soil erosion rates above a sustainable rate. In Perry Creek watershed, these sites were located on steep slopes tangent to streams. Along the main-stem of Santa Rosa Creek these sites were found in the headwaters where on average slopes are steep, soils are shallow, and rock outcrops exist. There appeared to be no relationship between predicted high soil erosion rates and mapped upland erosion sites, however upland erosion features could not be identified where vegetation canopy restricted view of the soil surface. Additionally, RUSLE2 predicts rill and interrill erosion while upland erosion sites identified using GIS identified larger erosion features, such as gullies. Correlations between predicted soil erosion rates and vegetation formations were confirmed with shrub and tree formations having the highest average predicted soil erosion values. In addition, there was a moderate positive correlation between slope percent and predicted soil erosion (r=0.76), affirming that predicted soil erosion rates increased with increasing slopes.

Urban development will continue to increase in Texas because of population growth and urban sprawl. Despite the desire for urbanization and expansion of the economy, this growth increases the amount of construction, which, if not properly managed, can increase non-point source pollution and threaten surface water quality. Therefore, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has approved and promoted the use of compost as a stormwater best management practice (BMP) during highway construction. The objectives of this study were to construct and calibrate an indoor rainfall simulator and to determine the effectiveness of using compost rather than conventional hydroseeding or topsoil to reduce erosion from disturbed soils. Runoff rates, interrill erosion, and interrill erodibility were determined and compared across five compost treatments following TxDOT specifications for compost applied as an erosion control and two control treatments of topsoil (TS) and hydroseeding (HS) applied at 5 cm depth. The simulator produced 89% uniformity using ten Veejet 80100 nozzles at a target rate of 100 mm h-1. The surface runoff was collected after 5 minutes of rainfall (first flush) and during the last 30 minutes of rainfall (steady-state). The first flush mean runoff for GUC-5 treatment was significantly higher than all other treatments. All other treatments; 50% woodchips and 50% compost blend (ECC-1.3, ECC-5), and hydroseeding (HS) had significantly lower runoff and erosion rates compared to topsoil (TS) and compost manufactured topsoil (CMT) at first flush and steady-state. Furthermore, there were no performance differences between 1.3 cm and 5 cm compost applications at first flush or steady-state. The results of this project indicate that particle size, soil moisture capabilities, and time at which rainfall is applied affect surface runoff. TxDOT specification of using ECC at 5 cm depth on a max of 3:1 slope should be reconsidered. An ECC application depth of 1.3 cm was effective in reducing first flush runoff and interrill erosion rates.

Urban development will continue to increase in Texas because of population growth and urban sprawl. Despite the desire for urbanization and expansion of the economy, this growth increases the amount of construction, which, if not properly managed, can increase non-point source pollution and threaten surface water quality. Therefore, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has approved and promoted the use of compost as a stormwater best management practice (BMP) during highway construction. The objectives of this study were to construct and calibrate an indoor rainfall simulator and to determine the effectiveness of using compost rather than conventional hydroseeding or topsoil to reduce erosion from disturbed soils. Runoff rates, interrill erosion, and interrill erodibility were determined and compared across five compost treatments following TxDOT specifications for compost applied as an erosion control and two control treatments of topsoil (TS) and hydroseeding (HS) applied at 5 cm depth. The simulator produced 89% uniformity using ten Veejet 80100 nozzles at a target rate of 100 mm h-1. The surface runoff was collected after 5 minutes of rainfall (first flush) and during the last 30 minutes of rainfall (steady-state). The first flush mean runoff for GUC-5 treatment was significantly higher than all other treatments. All other treatments; 50% woodchips and 50% compost blend (ECC-1.3, ECC-5), and hydroseeding (HS) had significantly lower runoff and erosion rates compared to topsoil (TS) and compost manufactured topsoil (CMT) at first flush and steady-state. Furthermore, there were no performance differences between 1.3 cm and 5 cm compost applications at first flush or steady-state. The results of this project indicate that particle size, soil moisture capabilities, and time at which rainfall is applied affect surface runoff. TxDOT specification of using ECC at 5 cm depth on a max of 3:1 slope should be reconsidered. An ECC application depth of 1.3 cm was effective in reducing first flush runoff and interrill erosion rates.

Raindrop kinetic energy and sheet flow can disintegrate aggregates during interrill erosion, a process responsible for non point source pollution. Also, the dissolution process during aggregate wetting can affect interrill erosion. These factors can be responsible for changes in particle size distribution in the sediment, especially when different tillage systems are compared. The effect of soil tillage and management on soil properties is not uniform, which determine a wide range of runoff and sediment delivery rate. Variety in these rates can be associated with pore functions and their interactions with aggregate stability. One of the objectives of this study was to analyze the wetting behavior of soil aggregates from soils under conventional tillage compared with soils under no tillage. It was expected that the wetting rate is a function of pore system and that different tillage systems would affect the soil wetting behavior based on their impact on soil structure and shape. The second objective was to analyze the relationships among soil wetting rate, particle movement, organic carbon (OC) and iron release with the sediment produced via interrill erosion. A rainfall simulation experiment was performed in the field to determine the effect of low and fast soil wetting on total soil loss through high and low kinetic rainfall energy, sediment particle size distribution and OC loss. Two soils that differed in soil textural composition and that were under conventional and no tillage were investigated. Soil loss depended largely on soil characteristics and wetting rate. Particle size distribution of sediment was changed by treatment and the proportion of particles smaller than 0.053 mm increased over time, at any kinetic energy wetting level. Temporal OC and iron release were constant, which required a continuous source principally due to aggregate slaking. An empirical model was proposed to improve an interrill erosion equation by using a bond-dissolution mechanism that identified soil as a regulator of particle release.

Orientador: Mara de Andrade Marinho Weill / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agricola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T23:57:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marques_SebastiaoRovilson_M.pdf: 2012881 bytes, checksum: 02fe84fe830500a896bdf7b4ca236c55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O crescimento populacional e o desenvolvimento sustentam a demanda por alimentos e fibras e elevam a pressão sobre o uso da terra. O uso intensivo das terras comumente traz como conseqüência a degradação dos recursos naturais. A erosão, um importante processo de degradação, leva ao empobrecimento do solo, à diminuição da capacidade de produzir boas safras e ao aumento dos custos de produção. Esses fatores em conjunto condicionam menores rendimentos para o produtor rural. O objetivo geral do trabalho foi o de avaliar comparativamente dois sistemas de manejo agrícola, plantio direto e plantio convencional com grade aradora, em termos dos efeitos sobre o controle da erosão, a qualidade do solo e indicadores biométricos e de produtividade da cultura do milho. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida no Campo Experimental da Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola da Universidade Estadual de Campinas-SP, em parcelas experimentais dotadas com sistemas coletores de enxurrada, sendo o solo,o Latossolo Vermelho Distroférrico típico (Typic Latosol), pertencente à Unidade Barão Geraldo, e a cultura o milho. Foram determinados os atributos edáficos granulometria, estabilidade de agregados, densidade do solo, porosidade (total, macro e microporosidade), retenção de água, pH, nutrientes e matéria orgânica. As amostragens ocorreram em duas épocas, antes da instalação do ensaio, para caracterização da condição presente do solo, e após a implantação do mesmo, para avaliação das variações ocorridas por efeito do manejo. Nas comparações relativas à qualidade do solo, a condição do solo sob vegetação natural de mata tropical subcaducifolia foi adotada como referência. Durante o ciclo da cultura, foi feita a coleta do material erodido das parcelas, para determinação quantitativa e qualitativa das perdas de terra. O desenvolvimento da cultura foi avaliado com base em parâmetros biométricos e na produtividade. Os resultados já mostram na fase de pré-ensaio que o solo das parcelas experimentais apresentou degradação física decorrente do uso agrícola anterior quando comparado com a condição original do solo sob mata tropical. Em termos comparativos, a qualidade do solo no que se refere à densidade do solo e à porosidade total, piorou em relação aos mesmos atributos do solo sob mata. O período de pousio e regeneração da vegetação na parcela referida como Memória não foi suficiente para diferenciar a qualidade do solo nessa parcela em relação à qualidade do solo nas outras parcelas experimentais. Os resultados do primeiro ano de ensaio atual indicam a ocorrência de maiores valores de densidade do solo e menores valores de macroporosidade e de porosidade total no solo sob sistema plantio direto (SPD) em comparação com o sistema convencional (SC). Não ocorreram diferenças significativas entre os sistemas de manejo com relação à retenção de água no solo, mas sim entre camadas do solo, para ambos sistemas, com maior retenção de umidade nos microporos na camada de 0-20cm. Com relação aos atributos de fertilidade, o solo sob SPD apresentou maiores valores para cálcio e potássio, indicando maior concentração de nutrientes sob este sistema. Com relação à erosão, observaram-se maiores valores de perda de terra no SC, embora a diferença observada entre tratamentos não seja significativa. A análise de fertilidade do material erodido proveniente das parcelas sob SC mostrou haver maior concentração de nutrientes em relação ao material erodido proveniente das parcelas sob SPD. Apesar dos indicadores físicos mostrarem uma condição menos favorável da qualidade do solo sob SPD, esse fato não restringiu o desenvolvimento da cultura nesse sistema, dado que a altura média das plantas e o peso de 1000 grãos foi significativamente superior em relação ao SC. Ainda, a produtividade média do milho sob SPD foi 13% superior à produtividade média sob SC, muito embora, em virtude da grande variabilidade dos dados, não tenha sido determinada significância estatística. Admite-se que a grande variabilidade dos dados tenha mascarado o efeito dos tratamentos, podendo esta variabilidade ser reportada à influência do ensaio anterior, uma vez se tratar do primeiro ano de implantação do ensaio atual / Abstract: Population growth and development sustain the need for food and fibers and raise the pressure for land use. The intensive and inadequate use usually promotes the degradation of natural resources. The erosion, an important land degradation process, leads to the nutrient depletion of soil, lowers its capacity of producing good yields and raises production costs. All these factors promote lower income for the producer. The main goal of this work was to evaluate two agricultural management systems, no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage with heavy harrow (CT), in terms of erosion control, soil quality, crop biometric indicators, and crop productivity. The research was conducted at Agricultural Engineering College of Campinas State University- SP, in experimental plots which have systems for runoff collect. The soil is a Red Latosol (Typic Hapludult) (Barão Geraldo Soil Mapping Unit) and maize was the installed crop. The determined soil attributes were size grains, soil density, porosity (overall, macro and micro porosity), water retention, pH, nutrients and organic matter. The soil samplings have occurred in two occasions, before the experiment installation, to characterize the present soil condition, and after this, to evaluate the changes due to the management systems. For comparisons referred to soil quality, the soil condition under natural vegetation of tropical forest was adopted as a reference. During the lifecycle of the crop, the eroded material from the experimental plots was collected, and the soil losses were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The crop development was evaluated considering biometric parameters and productivity. The results already show in the pre-essay phase that the soil in experimental plots was degraded in comparison with soil under tropical forest as a consequence of previous agricultural use. In comparative terms, soil quality dealing with soil density and overall porosity has declined in relation to these same soil attributes under forest. The fallow period and vegetation regeneration in experimental plot referred as Memory wasn¿t sufficient to differentiate soil quality in this plot in relation to the soil in the other experimental plots. The results from first year of the present essay indicate that under no-tillage system the values of soil density are greater and the values of overall soil porosity are minor comparing with conventional system. The differences are not significant between management systems in relation to water retention, but they are significant between layers for both systems, as the water retention in micro pores is bigger at the 0-20cm layer. In relation to the fertility attributes, the soil under NT system has major values of calcium and potassium, indicative of greater nutrient concentration under this system. In relation to the erosion control, the soil losses were bigger under CT, although this difference was not significant. The fertility analysis of the eroded material from the CT experimental plots has showed that nutrient concentration was major in comparison with NT. In spite of the fact of physical indicators have showed an more unfavorable condition of soil quality under NT, this fact didn¿t affect the crop development, as the average height of plants and mass of 1000 grains were significantly greater in NT in relation to the CT. Thus, the average yield of maize under NT system was 13% superior in relation to the CT system, even though this difference was not significant, probably as an influence of the high variability of the data. The great variability of data has affected the effect of the management systems. This variability might be related to the influence of previous essay, once analyzed data were derived from the first year of implementation of the current essay / Mestrado / Agua e Solo / Mestre em Engenharia Agrícola

L’objectif de cette thèse est de proposer un modèle d’érosion diffuse qui intègre les principaux processus de ce phénomène (détachement, transport, sédimentation) et qui prend en compte l’interaction des gouttes de pluie avec ces processus. Dans un premier temps, nous avons établi une loi de détachement par la pluie qui inclut l’effet des gouttes et celui de l’épaisseur de la lame d’eau qui couvre la surface du sol. Pour obtenir cette loi, une étude numérique avec le logiciel Gerris a permis de modéliser les cisaillements créés par l’impact des gouttes sur des épaisseurs de lame d’eau variables. Ces cisaillements estiment la quantité de sol détaché par chaque goutte. Nous avons montré, à travers une étude probabiliste, que les gouttes sont quasiment indépendantes lors du détachement. Les détachements de l’ensemble des gouttes sont donc sommés pour établir la loi de détachement pour la pluie. Par ailleurs, l’étude probabiliste a montré la possibilité d’une forte interaction entre les gouttes de pluie et les particules en sédimentation. Par conséquent, pour le processus de transport-sédimentation, nous avons privilégié une approche expérimentale. Cette étude a révélé que l’effet des gouttes de pluie est d’augmenter la vitesse de sédimentation des particules. Enfin, nous avons proposé un nouveau modèle d’érosion qui généralise plusieurs modèles d’érosion de la littérature et décrit l’évolution des concentrations en sédiments avec des effets linéaires et non-linéaires. Selon le choix des paramètres du modèle, celui-ci peut représenter l’érosion diffuse et concentrée à l’échelle du bassin versant, le transport par charriage dans les rivières ou encore le transport chimique. L’intégration du modèle dans le logiciel de ruissellement FullSWOF est aussi réalisée. / The aim of this work is to formulate an interrill erosion model. This model should take into account the main erosion processes (detachment, transport and sedimentation) and the interaction of raindrops during these processes. First we develop a law for rainfall detachment that includes the effects of the raindrops and the water layer thickness at the soil surface. We use the Gerris software to simulate the shear stresses created by the impacts of raindrops at the soil surface. These shear stresses allow to evaluate the quantity of soil detached by each raindrop. We have shown with a probabilistic approach that raindrops are almost independent during soil detachment. Then by summing all the raindrops detachments we obtain the rainfall detachment law. Futhermore the probabilistic study has revealed the possibility of a strong interaction between raindrops and settling particles. So, we used specific laboratory experiments to investigate the particles transport and sedimentation processes. These experiments show that the effect of raindrops is to increase the particles settling velocity. Finally, we propose a new erosion model which encompasses previous literature erosion models and that can describe the behavior of sediments concentrations with linear and non-linear behaviors. The model is able to simulate interrill and rill erosions at the watershed scale, bedload transport in rivers and chemical transfer. The integration of the model in the FullSWOF runoff software is also carried out.