Abstract
From the viewpoint of sustainability, the annual soil erosion must be controlled below an erosion level. Palau is an island in the Micronesia region of the western Pacific Ocean. The island receives heavy rainfall and has steep slopes, so 80% of the land is categorized within the most fragile rank, with at most 1 ton per acre per year (T factor = 1). We tested several methods of preventing soil erosion on the land, with a slope of 15.4° (13.4°-17.3°), cultivated the land, planted sweet potatoes, and compared the amount of soil erosion. Surprisingly, there was no erosion at all in all plots (including control plots), although there were 24 rainfall events and the USLE equation predicted 32 ton per ha of the soil erosion in the cropping period. For the parameters of the USLE equation used in the present study, only the K factor was not actually measured. This means the K factor was larger than the actual value. Land at low risk of soil erosion and suitable for agriculture can be found by measuring K factor locally, even if the area is categorized as unsuitable.
Highlights
Any further responses from the reviewers can be found at the end of the article Introduction From the viewpoint of sustainability, the annual soil erosion must be controlled below an erosion level of the T factor (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The results show land at low risk of soil erosion can be found by determining site-specific K factor measurements
The experiment was conducted under severe conditions, with a slope of approximately 15° and vertical ridge, and the treatment with weed control fabric was expected to erase the effect of root mass for preventing soil erosion
Summary
Land at low risk of soil erosion and suitable for agriculture can be found by measuring K factor locally, even if the area is categorized as unsuitable. Any further responses from the reviewers can be found at the end of the article Introduction From the viewpoint of sustainability, the annual soil erosion must be controlled below an erosion level of the T factor (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service). We tried to clarify the risk of erosion and the effect of root mass for preventing soil erosion in a field with an incline typical for Palau in an area of categorized highly erodible. The results show land at low risk of soil erosion can be found by determining site-specific K factor measurements. We couldn’t evaluate the effects of the treatments; this information is important for Palau’s agricultural development
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