High Soil Erosion Rates Research Articles

Topographic controls on soil nitrogen availability in a lowland tropical forest

Geomorphic position often correlates with nutrient cycling across landscapes. In tropical forests, topography is known to influence phosphorus (P) availability, but its effect on nitrogen (N) cycling has received less exploration, especially in lowland forests where widespread N richness is frequently assumed. Here, we report significant effects of topographic slope and landscape position on multiple aspects of the N cycle across a highly dissected lowland tropical forest on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. A suite of N cycle metrics measured along a topographic sequence revealed a distinct gradient in N availability. Values of soil δ15N, inorganic N pools, net nitrification rates, and nitrification potentials were all substantially lower on a flanking steep hillslope (~28°) compared to a relatively flat ridge top (~6°), indicating lower N availability and a less open N cycle in steep parts of the landscape. Slope soils also hosted smaller total carbon and nitrogen stocks and notably less weathered soil minerals than did ridge soils. These latter findings suggest that elevated N loss resulting from high rates of soil and particulate organic matter erosion could underpin the spatial variation in N cycling and availability. Expanding our analysis to the larger study landscape, a strong negative linear relationship between soil δ15N values and surface slope angles was observed. N isotope mass balance models suggest that this pattern is most plausibly explained by an increase in N loss via erosive, non‐fractioning pathways from steep zones, as most other variables commonly assumed to affect soil δ15N values (such as temperature, precipitation, and vegetation type) did not vary across the sampled region. Together, these results reveal notable hillslope‐scale variation in N richness and suggest an important role for non‐fractionating N loss in the maintenance of this pattern. Such findings highlight the importance of geomorphology and the significant capacity of erosion to influence N availability in steepland ecosystems.

Influence of bare soil and cultivated land use types upstream of a bank gully on soil erosion rates and energy consumption for different gully erosion zones in the dry-hot valley region, Southwest China

This study assessed temporal variation in soil erosion rates in response to energy consumption of flow (DE). It employed an in situ bank gully field flume experiment with upstream catchment areas with bare (BLG) or cultivated land (CLG) that drained down to bare gully headcuts. Water discharge treatments ranged from 30 to 120 L Min(-1). Concentrated flow discharge clearly affected bank gully soil erosion rates. Excluding minimal discharge in the CLG upstream catchment area (30 L min(-1)), a declining power function trend (p <= 0.1) was observed with time in soil erosion rates for both BLG and CLG upstream catchment areas and downstream gully beds. Non-steady state soil erosion rates were observed after an abrupt collapse along the headcut slope after prolonged scouring treatments. However, as the experiment progressed, Delta E and energy consumption of flow per unit soil loss (Delta Eu) exhibited a logarithmic growth trend (p < .1) at each BLG and CLG position. Although similar temporal trends in soil erosion and infiltration rates were observed, values clearly differed between BLG and CLG upstream catchment areas. Furthermore, Darcy-Weisbach friction factor (f) values in the CLG upstream catchment area were higher than the corresponding BLG area. In contrast to the BLG upstream catchment area, lower Delta Eu and higher soil erosion rates were observed in the CLG upstream catchment area as a result of soil disturbances. This indicated that intensive land use changes accelerate soil erosion rates in upstream catchment areas of bank gullies and increase soil sediment transport to downstream gullies. Accordingly, reducing tillage disturbances and increasing vegetation cover in upstream catchment areas of bank gullies are essential in the dry-hot valley region of Southwest China.

Radiocarbon dated episode of Bronze Age slope instability in the south-eastern Burren, county Clare

While previously reported evidence from lacustrine sediments has linked Burren soil erosion to anthropogenic forest clearance, there have been no previous accounts of dateable episodes of prehistoric slope instability based on evidence from terrestrial sites. Described here is the occurrence of charcoal buried lo a depth of C. 2m within diamicton at a site on Knockanes hill close to Mullach Mór hill in the south-eastern Burren. An AMS radiocarbon dale places the formation of this charcoal in the Bronze Age, contemporary with exceptionally high rates of soil erosion and forest clearance in a nearby lake catchment. EMS images indicate that the charcoal is of fine grained deciduous wood, most probably hazel (Corylus avellana) but perhaps birch (Betula spp.). Results of analyses of diamictons present in the vicinity of the charcoal support the view that the pattern of occurrence of diamictons in the present day Burren landscape is in part the product of prehistoric mass movement.

Water resource developments in Ethiopia: potential benefits and negative impacts on the environment, vector-borne diseases, and food security

To satisfy the growing demand for electricity, Ethiopia plans to increase its electricity production five-fold between 2010 and 2015, mainly through the construction of dams. A literature review shows that while dams can boost power and agricultural production, promote economic development, and facilitate flood control, they can also lead to environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic changes. Several case studies show that dams may alter the composition and density of vectors and intermediate host species, increase the incidence of malaria schistosomiasis and possibly lymphatic filariasis, and lead to eutrophication of reservoirs, soil erosion, and earthquakes. There is evidence that dams and commercial irrigation schemes can increase soil and water degradation, vulnerability to drought, and food insecurity in riverine and lacustrine areas downstream of dams. It appears that dams in Ethiopia are also vulnerable to high soil erosion rates and earthquakes. Consequently, the current and proposed large-scale dam construction program in Ethiopia requires in-depth research to improve our understanding of the unintended negative effects of projects and to guide the location, design, and implementation of appropriate preventive and remedial programs.

Conservation Agriculture as an Alternative for Soil Erosion Control and Crop Production in Steep-slopes Regions Cultivated by Small-scale Farmers in Motozintla, Mexico

Agricultural activities in steep-slope regions of the world have been increasing in recent years. When annual crops are produced in these regions, high soil erosion rates become a constant threat. An extended body of literature proposes reforestation or plantations with perennial crops as potential solutions. However, such approaches fail to meet the needs of the small-scale farmers who rely on annual crops to produce the lion’s share of their food. Another commonly used measure to tackle erosion is the construction of physical barriers – a solution that demands substantial investment, for both implementation and maintenance. Analternative solution is conservation agriculture (CA), which is a cropping system based on three principles: 1) minimal soil disturbance; 2) crop rotations and/or intercropping, and 3) permanent soil cover through crop residue management. Using longitudinal statistical analysis this research – based on survey data (154 observations) collected in 1994 and 2008 within two <i>e</i><i>jidos</i> of Motozintla in the state of Chiapas, Mexico – found that under CA, maize (<i>Zea</i><i> </i><i>mays</i>) and bean (<i>Phaseolus</i><i> </i><i>vulgaris</i>) yields remained at minimum consistent, and in some cases increased over time. Maize yields reached 3.3 ton ha<SUP>-1</SUP>, whilst bean reached 262 kg ha<SUP>-1</SUP>. Maize yields were also consistently higher than the long-term state's average (1987-2012) of 2.3 ton ha<SUP>-1</SUP>. Moreover, 90% of the farmers perceived that CA improved soil fertility and 99% observed that CA effectively controlled erosion. The traditional system in these two <i>ejidos</i><i> </i>presented a number of enabling characteristics for facilitating CA implementation: no mechanisation was being utilized, intercropping was already a common practice, and the main competitor for crop residue use (ruminants) could eventually be substituted for other livestock such as pigs. This research provides evidence to demonstrate that long-term adoption of CA in a steep-slope region can help to control soil erosion whilst allowing farmers to produce their staple crops.

Spatiotemporal Variations in Annual Sediment Yield from the Middle Yellow River, China, 1950–2010

AbstractThe Yellow River is an important source of sediment flux to oceans in the world, and approximately 90% of the sediment originates from the middle Yellow River, an area with known high rates of soil erosion and sediment delivery. Trends and interannual variations in sediment discharge have considerable implications for reservoir operation and river management of the lower Yellow River. The annual sediment discharge of four main stream stations and ten tributary stations was used to show the spatiotemporal variation in sediment yield and to quantify the relative contribution of precipitation change and human activities, especially the influence of vegetation restoration with implementation of the Grain for Green Project (GGP) in 1999. The Mann-Kendall and Pettitt tests were used to detect the abrupt change in sediment discharge since the 1950s. The annual sediment yield of the middle Yellow River has shown a significant downward trend, decreasing by an order of magnitude in the last decade (2000–201...

Climate and land use controls on soil organic carbon in the loess plateau region of China.

The Loess Plateau of China has the highest soil erosion rate in the world where billion tons of soil is annually washed into Yellow River. In recent decades this region has experienced significant climate change and policy-driven land conversion. However, it has not yet been well investigated how these changes in climate and land use have affected soil organic carbon (SOC) storage on the Loess Plateau. By using the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM), we quantified the effects of climate and land use on SOC storage on the Loess Plateau in the context of multiple environmental factors during the period of 1961–2005. Our results show that SOC storage increased by 0.27 Pg C on the Loess Plateau as a result of multiple environmental factors during the study period. About 55% (0.14 Pg C) of the SOC increase was caused by land conversion from cropland to grassland/forest owing to the government efforts to reduce soil erosion and improve the ecological conditions in the region. Historical climate change reduced SOC by 0.05 Pg C (approximately 19% of the total change) primarily due to a significant climate warming and a slight reduction in precipitation. Our results imply that the implementation of “Grain for Green” policy may effectively enhance regional soil carbon storage and hence starve off further soil erosion on the Loess Plateau.

A participatory GIS approach to identify critical land degradation areas and prioritize soil conservation for mountainous olive groves (case study)

Climate change scenarios predict an increase in the frequency of heavy rainfall events in some areas. This will increase runoff and soil erosion, and reduce agricultural productivity, particularly on vulnerable mountainous agricultural lands that is already exhibiting high rates of soil erosion. Haphazard implementation of soil and water conservation (SWC) interventions on scattered fields is inefficient in reducing soil erosion. The objective of this study was to identify areas at high risk of erosion to aid the design and implementation of sustainable SWC using GIS analysis and farmers’ participation approach. A 25 m digital elevation model (DEM) was used to derive layers of flow accumulation, slope steepness and land curvature, which were used to derive an erosion-risk (priority) map for the whole watershed. Boundaries of farmers’ fields were mapped and verified by the community and each field was classified into high, moderate or low erosion risk. Fields with low flow accumulation (top of hill) and/or steep slope and/or convex slope were assigned high erosion risk and therefore high implementation priority. The study showed that more than 64% of the fields were classified into high erosion risk areas. Accordingly, a community-watershed plan was established, revised and approved by the community. Incentive loans to implement SWC measures were distributed to 100 farmers based on the priorities of their fields. Judged by local farmers and using 16 randomly selected fields, 90% of the targeted areas were correctly identified using the erosion risk map. After two years, the conservation measures had led to marked improvement of soil conservation. The approach is simple and easy to comprehend by the community and provides scientific basis to prioritize the implementation of SWC and to target the most degraded areas, which amplify the impact of these in reducing the vulnerability to land degradation.

A stable mid-late Holocene monsoon climate of the central Tibetan Plateau indicated by a pollen record

A 9500-year Holocene pollen record from a river valley wetland of the central Tibetan Plateau reveals the history of climate fluctuations. At the beginning of the Holocene, the catchment area of the study site was covered by sparse drought-tolerant herbaceous vegetation, suggesting a climate cooler and drier than today. This period was characterised by a high rate of soil erosion as indicated by the deposition of siliciclastic sediment at the site. The environment became wetter during the early mid-Holocene around 8060–7120 cal. BP, and during which a wetland habitat dominated by sedges was developed at the site. Throughout the mid-Holocene, the wetland remained stable, with steady accumulation of organic material. A change to a slightly drier condition took place in the late Holocene, and after about 1000 cal. BP, a marked increase in drought-tolerant herbs occurred. Although no trees lived around the site, the record shows low, but steady increasing, tree pollen frequencies throughout the mid-late Holocene. This result confirms a stable, largely monsoonal, climate in central Tibet over the middle to late Holocene. It also suggests that the optimum period of monsoonal precipitation in central Tibet occurred later and lasted longer than that in the East Asian Monsoon region.

Prioritising development planning in the Indian semi-arid Deccan using sustainable livelihood security index approach

This paper presents the status of sustainable livelihood security index (SLSI) of Karnataka, the most drought prone state in the Southern part of India. Computation of ecological security index, economic efficiency index and social equity index, and finally SLSI were carried out at the district level for the entire state, using empirical data. The selected indicators were first normalised, and then using estimated weights, indices were computed. The results indicate that the state has a very low SLSI with only 27.6% of total geographical area (TGA) and 21.7% of population being placed in the ‘sustainable’ and ‘highly sustainable’ categories (covering 10 districts) while only 34% of the TGA covering six districts falls in the ‘moderately sustainable’ category. The remaining area, confined mostly to the northern parts of the state, comprising 14 districts (51.8% of the state’s TGA) is categorised as ‘less sustainable’ and ‘very less sustainable’ exposing 44.4% (27.14 million) of state’s population to the perils of uncertain rainfall, high soil erosion rates, high social inequality and poor resource use efficiency. There is an urgent need to reorient development programmes and prioritise development investments in these vulnerable districts so that they are provided resources and opportunities to improve their ecological (more forest cover and less soil erosion), economic (higher agricultural productivity) and social (improved health and education facilities and rural infrastructure) status and achieve sustainable levels of livelihood.

The Impact of Camping Activities on Soil Degradation in Kuwait

Desert camping is an old tradition in Kuwait. Today's camping involves activities that negatively impact the soil due to surrounding camp sites with barriers from the top soil, off-road transport by cars, using heavy equipment such as electrical generators, camping facilities such as bathrooms with cement floors, soccer and volleyball fields. This study used remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to study the role of camping activities on soil degradation in camping areas and recommend new camping sites and scenarios for environmentally safe camping. Soil erosion, soil compaction and vegetation cover decline were used as indicators for evaluating the degree of soil degradation in camping sites. Satellite images were processed, enhanced and interpreted to find out the area of camping sites. The rate of soil erosion was estimated by Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). About 43% of the camping sites studied had high soil erosion rate that reached16 tons/acre/year. The other 57% of camping sites had moderate soil erosion rates of 14 tons/acre/year. Camping soil barriers increase the rate of erosion inside the camping sites. The study shows that soil and vegetation are badly affected by camping activities. Soil bulk density in camping areas surpassed that of areas not subjected to camping by an average of 12%. The vegetation coverage outside camping area was markedly higher than that inside camping. To avoid soil degradation by camping new environmentally safe sites for camping were recommended.

Sustainable value of degraded soils in China's Loess Plateau: An updated approach

China's Loess Plateau is a highly distressed region where intensive crop production has been undermined by high soil erosion rates that threaten the long-term livelihood of its inhabitants. Regional policy goals aim to balance economic performance with the sustainable use of natural resources. From a practical perspective, challenges arise when measuring sustainability levels that mix multiple dimensions, scales, and benchmarks. This study addresses these challenges by comparing the sustainability of agricultural systems across varied crops, land types, and cropping techniques in China's Loess Plateau. Sustainability levels for each system are compared to benchmarks using data envelopment analysis, which is then used to calculate a sustainable value (SV). The SV approach provides a monetary measure of sustainability that includes economic, environmental and social dimensions. Results demonstrate that the most sustainable agricultural systems in the Loess Plateau involve machine intensive cropping systems, a corn–soybean–corn rotation, mulching, furrows ridging, and bench terracing.

Perspectives on the assumed causes of land degradation in the rangelands of Sub-Saharan Africa

Soil erosion and land degradation are serious problems in tropical Africa, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, where they are widely recognized as more serious problems than in non-tropical areas. Sub-Saharan Africa experiences deleterious levels of soil erosion, largely due to the interaction between harsh climates of high erosivity, fragile soils of high erodibility, steep slopes, and poor natural resource management. The fundamental challenge is to separate purely background-level soil erosion due to biophysical, geomorphic, topographic, and climatic conditions from what is caused by humans. This review shows that the human-induced causes of soil erosion and land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa are not fully understood and some of the commonly listed causes may not always stand the test of critical scrutiny. The popular views of human-induced soil erosion and land degradation not only fail to take into consideration the fact that land degradation is primarily a physical process, but also they do injustice to adaptive ecosystem management by the local inhabitants. The review specifically questions the stereotypes of overpopulation, overgrazing, deforestation, overstocking, and general rangeland degradation due to human resource use in Sub-Saharan Africa. Empirical evidence suggests that biophysical factors including soil properties, climatic characteristics, topography, and vegetation can sometimes interact among themselves to yield high soil erosion and degradation rates independent of anthropogenic impacts.

Soil erosion assessment on tillage and alternative soil managements in a Sicilian vineyard

Mediterranean crops favor high erosion rates. Vineyards use to reach the highest soil and water losses due to the lack of vegetation cover. A topographical approach by means of the use of vineyards poles as fixed reference point as erosion markers allowed to quantify high and non-sustainable soil erosion rates on the Sicilian vineyards during 9 years. In order to develop strategies to control the soil losses, seven land managements were selected and applied in a typical blanc wine grape irrigated vineyard located in southwestern Sicily. Comparable plots were managed traditionally using conventional tillage and alternatively using various cover crops: (1) Vicia faba; (2) V. faba and Vicia sativa; (3) Trifolium subterraneum, Festuca rubra, and Lolium perenne; (4) T. subterraneum, F. rubra, and Festuca ovina; (5) Triticum durum; and (6) T. durum and V. sativa. To estimate the soil losses the C factor of the USLE was calculated. And to monitor the water and sediment yield, Gerlach troughs were installed on the vineyard inter-row. Runoff and erosion were measured after each rainfall event from November 2005 to April 2007. Both runoff and erosion were significantly reduced when cover crops of T. subterraneum, F. rubra, and L. perenne; and T. subterraneum, F. rubra, and F. ovina were sown. The least effective management systems for soil erosion were conventional tillage and alternative management using the V. faba cover crop. Our results suggest that planting the appropriate cover crops provides an effective soil and water management system for Sicilian vineyards which will make sustainable the wine and grapes production under Mediterranean climate conditions.

Assessing effects of landscape pattern on sediment yield using sediment delivery distributed model and a landscape indicator

The rationale behind this research concerns the need to better understand relationships between landscape pattern and soil loss processes. Landscape indicators are commonly used to delineate these relationships. However, most indicators were not developed on the basis of soil loss progresses, and therefore their specific relationships with soil loss are difficult to construct. We improved the Location-weighted landscape Contrast Index which was developed based on sediment source–sink theory. This indicator encompasses three factors of landscape pattern: contribution of land cover types to soil erosion; composition and configuration of land covers. To analyze correlations between the landscape indicator and soil loss processes, variables expressing soil loss status should be first quantified. Therefore we applied the sediment delivery distributed model which incorporates revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and sediment delivery ratio. The methods were applied in the Heishui and Zhenjiangguan subwatershed in the Upper Min River. Modeling results showed that 90% of the study area experienced soil erosion larger than 10t/(hayr). While its sediment yield rate was smaller than most tributaries in the Upper Yangtze River. Results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the rainfall factor in RUSLE was the dominant control and explained 93% of variance in sediment yield rate. We suggested preserving and increasing percentage cover of forests to adapt to climate change for soil conservation. Besides precipitation, landscape pattern was a principle factor correlated with sediment yield rate. The landscape indicator was significantly correlated to sediment delivery ratio, and explained 98% variation in sediment yield rate not considering precipitation by dropping the rainfall factor. The landscape indicator indicated that the landscape pattern was generally favorable for soil conservation in the two subwatersheds. This advantage was mainly ascribed to superior sediment sink–source compositions. In the Heishui subwatershed, however, sediment source contributed more to soil erosion processes than sink. Spatial configuration of sediment source and sink related to flow length were the most unfavorable factor, mainly due to the crops located in river vallyes. We gave suggestion to further optimize the landscape pattern: reducing percentage cover of grasslands with high soil erosion rate; decreasing soil erosion rate of sediment source in the Heishui subwatershed; increasing lengths of flow path from crops to river channels.

Regional Scale Erosion Assessment of a Sub-tropical Highland Segment in the Western Ghats of Kerala, South India

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) has been used in combination with remote sensing and GIS techniques to assess the spatial pattern and annual rate of soil erosion in the Munnar Forest Division in Western Ghats, Kerala, India. The RUSLE takes into account several factors such as rainfall, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, land cover and erosion control practice for soil erosion prediction. Maximum soil loss of 109.31 t h−1y−1 and the areas with extreme erosion (erosion is higher than 50 t h−1y−1) are confined to 11.46% of the total area, while the area occupied by severe erosion (erosion rate between 25 and 50 t h−1y−1) is 27.53%. The high rate of annual soil erosion is associated with areas of high terrain alteration from the plantation activities and highly elevated hills/plateau margins with steep side slopes. Such an output is highly useful in decision making context to avoid land acquisition in erosion risk areas, or, alternatively, to recommend soil conservation measures to reduce soil loss, if developmental activities are to be continued at high soil erosion risk areas.

Challenges to sustainable management of the lakes of Malawi

This paper reviews the management challenges facing Malawi lakes and analyzes the management responses that have been developed to deal with these challenges. Malawi lakes are under considerable stress due to high population growth and increasing levels of poverty which have led to overexploitation of fishery resources. High rates of soil erosion in the lake catchments are increasing siltation of shallow lakes, deltas and embayments, affecting water quality and fish breeding habitats, thereby degrading fish production potential. This review further shows that past and current management approaches have focused on maximizing sustainable yield and have failed to adequately incorporate socio-ecological factors and broader lake catchment processes into fisheries management plans. This, in turn, led to the top-down development of fisheries laws and technical regulations which were difficult to enforce, increased conflict between resource users and fisheries managers, and failed to control fisheries over-exploitation and the collapse of the chambo (tilapia) and cyprinid fisheries. The paper recommends that the fisheries policy should be reviewed to focus on resilience of fisheries, environment and livelihoods. Policy makers should adopt integrated management planning to address the diverse interest of stakeholders in lake basins, as well as the ecological, socio-economic and external factors threatening sustainability of lake ecosystems and livelihoods of dependent communities.

Long-term sediment loading trends in the Paradise Creek watershed

The Northwest Wheat and Range Region is historically known for high soil erosion rates. During the 1920s and 1930s, erosion rates of 200 to 450 t ha−1 (90 to 200 tn ac−1) in a single winter season were observed. Improved soil conservation practices over the last 80 years have significantly reduced soil erosion rates, yet there is scarce evidence of significant reductions in sediment loading delivered by streams in the region. In this paper, detailed monitoring data collected in the Paradise Creek watershed, located in the high precipitation zone of the Northwest Wheat and Range Region in north central Idaho, provided an opportunity to assess the impacts of management practices on sediment loading at the watershed outlet. Both detailed event-based sampling over the last eight years and three day per week grab samples collected over the last 28 years indicate a statistically significant decreasing trend in overall sediment load. This decreasing sediment load can be attributed primarily to conversion from conventional tillage systems to minimum tillage and perennial grasses through the Conservation Reserve Program, practices initiated in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Over the last 10 years (1999 to 2009), management practices have targeted gully erosion and stream bank failures. Upstream and downstream sampling shows a larger than expected increase in sediment load through the urban areas of the watershed. Preliminary modeling results and empirical evidence indicate that delayed reduction in sediment load at the watershed outlet and the increased sediment load through the lower urban portion of the watershed may be caused by sediment storage in the stream channel.

Effects of Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) Practices on the Sustainability of Maize-based Farming Systems in Nepal

Maize is a staple summer crop grown in the hilly areas of Nepal, where the soil is fragile and fertility is declining over years due primarily to degradation of natural resource base, high rates of soil erosion, increased cropping intensity and inadequate replenishment of soil nutrients. Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development (FORWARD) with the financial support from Hill Maize Research Program (HMRP/CYMMIT) conducted eight Integrated Plant Nutrient Systems (IPNS) trials, 16 Farm Yard Manure (FYM) improvement demonstrations and 16 conservation farming demonstrations each year through two women farmer groups since 2003 in Makawanpur District in order to raise the awareness of farmers on sustainable soil management practices through better utilization of locally available and external resources. The three years' trial results revealed that the maize crop with IPNS (15 t ha-1 FYM + 60:30:30 NPK kg ha-1) was better with respect to crop vigor and grain yields compared to the control treatment (farmers' practice with FYM and urea top dressing). The Improved cultivar with IPNS practices increased the grain yield by 64% (p

The impact of cotton geotextiles on soil and water losses from Mediterranean rainfed agricultural land

AbstractHigh soil erosion risk of Mediterranean cultivated soils is due to steep slopes, high rainfall intensities and low vegetation cover. Traditional land management as ploughing and herbicides give rise to high soil erosion rates. This paper reports on the use of a cotton geotextiles to control soil and water losses on agricultural land under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Eight paired plots (1, 2, 4 and 16 m2) were studied during 1‐year period under natural rainfall. Forty rainfall simulations under wet and dry climatic conditions, and water drop penetration time (WDPT) tests, were carried out in order to analyze the effect of a geotextile on soil and water losses on a typical rainfed orchard in Eastern Spain. Results showed that an 8 mm thick cotton geotextile reduced soil loss to negligible values (from 14 to 0·1 Mg ha−1 y−1) due to the low sediment concentration as geotextile covered 100% of the soil. However, infiltration rates decreased and runoff increased due to the hydrophobic response of the cotton material. The runoff discharge increased from 8% to 16% for the 2004 period under natural rainfall and from 27% to 87% under simulated rainfall when summer dry conditions were reached. The cotton geotextile reduced local soil losses at plot‐scale, but increased runoff. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.