SOIL ERODIBILITY ON CONSTRUCTION AREAS

FORTY YEARS OF RESEARCH IN THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAS IDENTIFIED THE MAJOR FACTORS IN SOIL EROSION AND ESTABLISHED THEIR FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS TO SOIL LOSS. THE RELATIONSHIPS WERE COMBINED IN AN EMPIRICAL EROSION EQUATION THAT IS NOW WIDELY USED ON FARMLAND AND CAN BE ADAPTED TO SEDIMENT PREDICTION AND EROSION CONTROL PLANNING ON CONSTRUCTION AREAS. SOIL ERODIBILITY IS ONE OF THE SIX MAJOR FACTORS THAT DETERMINE SOIL-LOSS RATE AT A PARTICULAR SITE. IN THIS NARROW SENSE, THE TERM DENOTES THE INHERENT SUSCEPTIBILITY OF A SOIL TO DETACHMENT AND TRANSPORT BY RAINFALL AND RUNOFF. RESULTS OF AN INTENSIVE FIELD, LABORATORY, AND STATISTICAL STUDY OF THE RELATIONS OF SOIL PROPERTIES AND INTERACTIONS TO A SOIL'S ERODIBILITY ARE BRIEFLY SUMMARIZED. USE OF THE SOIL- ERODIBILITY FACTOR AND THE EROISION EQUATION TO PREDICT CONSTRUCTION SITE SEDIMENT YIELDS IS ILLUSTRATED. THE OTHER FACTORS IN THE EQUATION EVALUATE EFFECTS OF RAINFALL PATTERN, SLOPE LENGTH, SLOPE STEEPNESS AND SHAPE, COVER AND MANAGEMENT, AND CONSERVATION PRACTICES. THEY ARE INTERPRETED RELATIVE TO CONSTRUCTION-SITE CONDITIONS, AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR THEIR LOCALITY EVALUATION ARE DISCUSSED. RECENT TESTS OF COVER AND MANAGEMENT EFFECTS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES ARE REVIEWED. /AUTHOR/

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  • Authors:
    • Wischmeier, W H
    • Meyer, L D
  • Conference:
  • Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 20-29
  • Monograph Title: SOIL EROSION: CAUSES AND MECHANISMS: PREVENTION AND CONTROL
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00236631
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Jun 25 1973 12:00AM