Abstract
For the first time, this experimental research analyzed the efficacy of rice straw fiber as soil cover in controlling slope erosion using a physical model. Three variations of rainfall intensity, soil slope degree, and rice straw fiber were conducted in this research. The results showed that rice straw fiber in the physical model had reduced the amount of erosion significantly. In general, a higher erosion rate was obtained with the increases of rainfall intensity and soil slope degree. The experiment was conducted with the percentage 30%, 60%, and 90% of soil cover using rice fiber straw, reducing erosion rates by 92.09%, 95.55%, and 98.21 %, respectively. Therefore, the higher the percentage of rice straw fiber used as soil cover, the smaller the ground will be affected by erosion. The ratio from the soil affected by erosion was 7.91%, 4.45%, and 1.79%, respectively. The result reveals that there is a significant decrease in erosion due to the increase of fiber used in the experiments. Meanwhile, the amount of erosion in the physical model without soil cover was 98.21% for the same rainfall severity and soil slope degree. This research showed that the application of rice straw fiber as a soil surface shield is highly effective in controlling slope erosion.
Highlights
Soil erosion is an environmental concern that leads to diminishing soil fertility and sedimentation of reservoirs, and it has become a critical problem worldwide, in tropical countries
The rainfall intensity and/or the increment of hillside slope would trigger the increment of erosion rate. The purpose of this experimental study is to determine the efficacy of Rice Straw Fiber (RSF) as a land cover to control slope erosion by simulating rainfall at specific rainfall intensities and slope conditions
The results of the experiment revealed that the landslide rate excalated in line with the rise of soil slope degree and rainfall intensity in the model
Summary
Soil erosion is an environmental concern that leads to diminishing soil fertility and sedimentation of reservoirs, and it has become a critical problem worldwide, in tropical countries. It has affected over 20 million km of agricultural land globally. Soil erosion is a process where the soil top layer is moved during the rainfall and runoff events [2, 3]. Other natural factors such as land cover and soil slope degree may affect the rate of soil erosion [4, 5,6,7,8,9]. To restrain the soil erosion, several methods have been employed, such as the use of vegetation [10], terracing [11], and soil cover [12]
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