Abstract
Wind erosion, a primary cause of soil degeneration, is a problem in arid and semiarid areas throughout the world. Many methods are available to study soil erosion, but there is no an effective method for making quantitative measurements in the field. To solve this problem, we have developed a new instrument that can measure the change in the shape of the soil surface, allowing quick quantification of wind erosion. In this paper, the construction and principle of the new instrument are described. Field experiments are carried out using the instrument, and the data are analyzed. The erosion depth is found to vary by 11% compared to the average for measurement areas ranging from to . The results show that the instrument is convenient and reliable for quantitatively measuring wind erosion in the field.
Highlights
Soil erosion is a global disaster, especially in northern China [1]
Erosion depths were recorded for eleven soil areas from 10 × 10 cm2 to 30 × 30 cm2
To quick quantification of wind erosion measurements in the field, a new instrument that measures the change in the shape of the soil surface was designed
Summary
Soil erosion is a global disaster, especially in northern China [1]. Erosion studies have been widely carried out around the world, and many measuring methods have been developed [2, 3]. Wind erosion is often observed by iron rod and digital cameras in the field. The measured results can be of low precision when the soil surface is covered by vegetation. Laser-scanning instruments have been used to observe changes in soil surface shape. It is affected by vegetation, and the measurements have large errors. The installation is complex, causing difficulty for field observation [9]. To avoid these various difficulties, we have designed a new mechanical measurement tool, the soil surface shape change measurement instrument, which is not affected by vegetation and has high precision [10]. The new tool has a simple construction and is convenient for field measurement of wind erosion
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