Simulated rainfall evaluation of revegetation/mulch erosion control in the Lake Tahoe Basin—1: method assessment

Abstract

AbstractRevegetation of road cuts and fills is intended to stabilize those drastically disturbed areas so that sediment is not transported to adjacent waterways. Sediment has resulted in water quality degradation, an extremely critical issue in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Many revegetation efforts in this semiarid, subalpine environment have resulted in low levels of plant cover, thus failing to meet project goals. Further, no adequate physical method of assessing project effectiveness has been developed, relative to runoff or sediment movement. This paper describes the use of a portable rainfall simulator (RS) to conduct a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of a variety of erosion‐control treatments and treatment effects on hydrologic parameters and erosion. The particular goal of this paper is to determine whether the RS method can measure revegetation treatment effects on infiltration and erosion. The RS‐plot studies were used to determine slope, cover (mulch and vegetation) and surface roughness effects on infiltration, runoff and erosion rates at several roadcuts across the basin. A rainfall rate of ≈60 mm h−1, approximating the 100‐yr, 15‐min design storm, was applied over replicated 0·64 m2 plots in each treatment type and over bare‐soil plots for comparison. Simulated rainfall had a mean drop size of ≈2·1 mm and approximately 70% of ‘natural’ kinetic energy. Measured parameters included time to runoff, infiltration, runoff/infiltration rate, sediment discharge rate and average sediment concentration as well as analysis of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and dissolved phosphorus (TDP) from filtered (0·45 μm) runoff samples. Runoff rates, sediment concentrations and yields were greater from volcanic soils as compared to that from granitic soils for nearly all cover conditions. For example, bare soil sediment yields from volcanic soils ranged from 2–12 as compared to 0·3–3 g m−2 mm−1 for granitic soils. Pine‐needle mulch cover treatments substantially reduced sediment yields from all plots. Plot microtopography or roughness and cross‐slope had no effect on sediment concentrations in runoff or sediment yield. RS measurements showed discernible differences in runoff, infiltration, and sediment yields between treatments. Runoff nutrient concentrations were not distinguishable from that in the rainwater used. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.