Experimental investigation and modelling of rainfall-induced erosion of semi-arid region soil under various vegetative land covers

Abstract

Abstract Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of three different vegetative covers (khus, dry leaves, and wheat straw) on soil erosion and runoff under four different surface slopes and two different types of soils. Results were compared with experiments for bare soil under similar conditions for three major parameters: surface runoff, sub-surface flow, and soil loss. It was found that wheat straw reduced the surface runoff from 60 ml/s (for bare soil) to 20 ml/s, while with leaves and khus, it was 40 ml/s. Wheat straw cover increased the infiltration by 60% and reduced soil loss by 85% compared to bare soil. The findings were validated with the HYDRUS-1D simulations for infiltration and surface runoff in bare soil under similar experimental conditions. Experimental findings were found to agree well with the model simulations. The present study can be treated as a nature-based solution to soil erosion, groundwater recharge, and delayed surface runoff in semi-arid regions.