Abstract
The present paper is based on several field investigations (monitoring soil and rill erosion by aerial photography, rainfall simulations with portable rainfall simulators, and manmade rill flooding) in southern Spain. Experiments lead now to a closer understanding of the dynamics and power of different soil erosion processes in a gully catchment area. The test site Freila (Andalusia, Spain) covers an area of 10.01 ha with a rill density of 169 m ha−1, corresponding to a total rill length of 1694 m. Assuming an average rill width of 0.15 m, the total rill surface can be calculated at 250 m2 (0.025 ha). Given that, the surface covered by rills makes up only 0.25% of the total test site. Since the rill network drains 1.98 ha, 20% of the total runoff comes from rills. The rills’ sediment erosion was measured and the total soil loss was then calculated for detachment rates between 1685 g m−2 and 3018 g m−2. The interrill areas (99.75% of the test site) show values between 29 and 143 g m−2. This suggests an important role of rill erosion concerning runoff and soil detachment.
Highlights
Soil erosion by water involves different physical processes at variable spatial and temporal scales
The rill experiments were accomplished in five different rills; one rill was tested three times, once in a low flow experiments (LFEs) and two times in a high flow experiments (HFEs)
The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of rill and interrill areas concerning soil erosion on one abandoned land site in Andalusia
Summary
Soil erosion by water involves different physical processes at variable spatial and temporal scales. The soil detachment in interrill erosion is induced and enhanced by splash and shallow overland flow [1]. It is influenced by the intrinsic characteristics of the soils [2,3,4] and rainfall intensity [5, 6]. Rill erosion is caused by a concentrated overland flow [6,7,8] This is considered to be the most important process of sediment erosion and soil loss [9, 10]. Since huge areas in the Mediterranean are covered by fallow and shrub land [15], rill erosion can be assumed to be a major process of soil erosion in the Mediterranean
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
