Eroded Aggregate Size Distributions from Disturbed Lands

Abstract

A characterization of eroded soil properties, especially size, is required for proper usage of modern process-based soil erosion models. In a study addressing reclaimed mine land erodibility, over 350 measured eroded aggregate size distributions were collected from erosion plots created on reclaimed and nearby unmined soils at three separate strip mine sites. The experimental design allowed for a comparison of eroded aggregate size distributions as a function of land slope, run sequence, and reclamation treatment. No influence of slope was apparent, as distributions collected from plots constructed at 6% slope were coarser than those collected from 18% slope, but finer than those collected from 12%. Samples collected during extra inflow runs, in which runoff rates, flow velocity, and rill erosion were greatest, had coarser distributions than samples collected during rainfall only runs, which tended to have similar distributions. Distributions from reclaimed topsoil treatments were similar to nearby unmined soils and were distinct from subsoil reclamation treatments. At two sites, topsoil treatments had coarser distributions, while the converse was true at the third.