Prevent Wind Erosion Research Articles

The Simulation Model of Surface Soil Moisture for Estimation of Water Amount for Preventing Wind Erosion

The Simulation Model of Surface Soil Moisture for Estimation of Water Amount for Preventing Wind Erosion

Shelter effect on a row of coal piles to prevent wind erosion

The shelter effect of porous wind breakers over a row of coal piles is studied in a wind tunnel. Two sets of tests are described in the paper, one performed in two dimensional configuration in which the shelter effect of several barriers with different heights and porosities is evaluated. In the other the effect of wind direction is considered using a tridimensional model. Wall shear-stress measurements performed with a hot-film sensor allowed the characterization of the transport properties of fine particles of coal. By integration of the local wind properties the rates of pollutant emission were determined leading to the conclusion of an effective shelter action of the porous wind breakers.

Vegetation development on newly embanked sandflats in the Grevelingen (The Netherlands) under different management practices

In 1971 the Grevelingen estuary was embanked. In the newly created lake Grevelingen the tidal movements stopped and a few thousand ha of sandflats fell permanently dry. Ca 40% of the surface of those flats was immediately afterwards sown with rye and other grasses to prevent wind erosion. This fixation of a rather uniform environment resulted in a monotonous vegetation cover. Grazing with domestic animals is now applied as management practice to create more environmental variation and thereby a higher species diversity.

Preliminary observations on the effect of removal of black bluebush (Maireana pyramidata) and Pearl Bluebush (M. sedifolia) on shrub regeneration, herbage production and erosion potential.

The effects of mechanical removal of shrub tops and grazing on two bluebush communities, one with Maireana pyramidata (black bluebush)and the other with M. pyramidata and M. sedifolia (pearl bluebush) as co-dominants, were examined on the western edge of the Riverine Plain in New South Wales Measurements were made on shrub regeneration, the relationship of shrub units to a critical value for an erosion index, the change in soil surface levels, and the growth of herbaceous plants over time Shrub regeneration was slower under grazed than ungrazed conditions and occurred mainly from basal shoots of established plants rather than from seedling establishment. Herbage yields Increased on the mounds previously occupied by shrubs, whereas production between shrubs was not affected by shrub removal. After four years there was sufficient shrub growth to prevent wind erosion, except on the cleared and grazed plot at the M. sedifolia site.

A wind tunnel simulation of the erosion of soil: Effect of soil texture, sandblasting, wind speed, and soil consolidation on dust production

This experiment was undertaken to see if a wind tunnel could be used to investigate fine particle ( d < 25 μm) production by wind erosion. The effects of sandblasting, wind speed, soil consolidation and soil surface texture were separated. Results for loose soil showed that wind speed was of primary importance whereas surface texture and sandblasting had little effect. Surface crust effectively eliminated fine particle emission and greatly limited coarse particle emission. The effectiveness of the surface crust in preventing wind erosion seemed to be related to the modulus of rupture of the soil. Sand fluxes in the wind tunnel tests agreed with field observed fluxes but fine particle fluxes differed between wind tunnel and field observations.

Wind Erosion: The Protective Role of Simulated Standing Stubble

ABSTRACT WIND-TUNNEL studies indicated that for standing stubble uniformly spaced or in rows normal to wind direction, critical friction-velocity ratios (CFVR) were 1.4 to 2.0 times larger than those for stubble in rows parallel to the wind—the larger the CFVR, the more effective the stubble in preventing wind erosion of the soil. On a weight basis, 5.5 and 8.7 times more standing grain sorghum and corn stubble, respectively, than standing wheat stubble were required to provide the same wind-erosion protection. Equations presented here may be used to determine if soil will erode and the total amount that will erode for a given wind-soil-stubble condition.

Commercial Soil Stabilizers for Temporary and Wind-Erosion Control

A GRICULTURAL crops are most vulnerable to damage by blowing soil immediately after seeding and during early growth (Lyles and Woodruff 1960, Skidmore 1966). Damage ranges from blowouts before emergence to complete destruction by abrasion after emergence. The risk of damage from windblown soil prevents direct seeding of tomatoes in some areas. (Wittmeyer 1974) One feasible approach toward preventing wind erosion for 5 to 7 wks (or until the crop establishes a canopy to protect the soil surface) is to spray the soil surface at seeding time with commercially available stabilizers. In a field study Lyles et al. (1969), evaluating four materials soon after application, showed that per-acre costs could be reduced by using higher water-dilution ratios at manufacturers' recommended total volumes, or by using lower total volumes at recommended dilution ratios and applying the material with fine-spray nozzles. Armbrust and Dickerson (1971), who tested 34 materials in the laboratory, used recommended water-dilution ratios but tested lower total volumes applied through fine-spray nozzles. Because of plugging, finespray nozzles could not be used with some of their products. They suggested six stabilizers, based on certain criteria, that would cost $50 or less per acre (material cost only) and provide temporary wind-erosion control. Our study extends previous research by including rainfall effects in laboratory-screening tests and by including field trials of selected soil stabilizers found effective in laboratory tests.

The significance of the fallow year in the dry-farming system of the Great Konya Basin, Turkey.

About 20% of the area is irrigated and about 35% dry farmed using a fallow period of stubble to prevent wind erosion and hold snow in place in winter. In about 30 trials on farmers' fields during 1966-68, the contribution of moisture stored during the fallow year to the transpiration of a following wheat crop was 45 and 65%, indicating the indispensability of the fallow period. A tentative scheme for the area recommends the following: with an annual precipitation of 450mm precipitation, permanent cultivation, with N dressings replacing the fallow year.[281:132.2]. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

Influence of Tillage Practices on Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Yields1

AbstractAn experiment to investigate seedbed preparation and planting methods for safflower was conducted from 1963 through 1965. Three tillage intensities, designated excessive, moderate, and minimum depending on the number and kind of tillage operations performed prior to planting, were used.Three different tillage tools were used as the primary implement in preparing the seedbed — sweep machine, one‐way, and plow. Two different types of drill were used: one with a double rolling disk furrow opener and the other with a planting shoe opener.Minimumm, oderate, and excessive tillage plot yields averaged 462, 419, and 383 kg/ha, respectively. Yields of 459, 397, and 383 kg/ha of safflower were obtained from sweep‐machine, plow, and oneway plots, respectively. Shoe‐drill plots averaged 455 kg/ha, disk‐drill plots averaged 387 kg/ha, and in only rare instances did the diskdrill equal or exceed shoe‐drill plot yields. Sweep‐machine, minimum tillage plots seeded with the shoe drill gave 336 kg/ha greater safflower yields than commercial fields in the 3 years of the test and 25% better yields than the next highest plot yields in the test. Implements used to produce these yields are common items in farmers' equipmenbt but are seldom used for this crop. In addition, the use of minimum tillage would leave crop residue on the soil surface to help prevent wind erosion and conserve moisture.

The Responses of Grasshoppers to Ecological Changes Produced by Agricultural Development in Southwestern Manitoba

AbstractSouthwestern Manitoba, a semiarid area subject to periodic droughts, was originally covered by a mixed prairie on light sandy soil. Settlement commenced on the completion of the land survey in 1890. By 1913 all the land was taken up and a cereal grain economy had developed. Soil drifting became a problem and was particularly severe during the drought years of 1929 to 1934. Local species of grasshoppers, Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius), Melanoplus bivittatus (Say) and Camnula pellucida (Scudder) first became pests during a minor drought in 1901 and occurred in a severe outbreak in the major drought period. Recently abandoned fields suffered severe wind erosion and drift ridges of soil provided the most favorable egg laying sites for M. sanguinipes and to a lesser extent for M. bivittatus. The effect of slope of ground on egg deposition and grasshopper behavior in relation to temperature and moisture are recorded. Succulent, introduced weeds and cereal crops supplied abundant food. C. pellucida, a grass feeder, was favored by the planting of cereal crops adjacent to egg bed sites among Carex stenophylla Wahl., and Agropyron smithii Rydb. on the roadsides. Methods of farming designed to prevent wind erosion, the use of herbicides and the grading of roadsides have shown the possibilities of ecological management to reduce grasshopper increase.

Stubble Mulching With Various Types of Machinery

AbstractStubble‐mulch farming has been recognized as the simplest and surest way of preventing wind erosion in the Great Plains. Maintaining residues for adequate soil protection while controlling the weeds and preparing the seedbed has been a major problem in a stubble‐mulch program. Reduction of surface residues should be held to a minimum unless they are excessive. Tillage and planting tools have various characteristics in their ability to conserve or reduce residues, to work in heavy residues, to control weeds, to penetrate the soil and keep the soil in good tilth for proper germination and plant growth. Satisfactory stubble‐mulch tillage equipment is now available from major implement companies. The correct machines can be selected by making an inventory of the residues at the beginning of the tillage season, and by determining the amount of residues necessary to protect a given piece of land. With proper equipment, knowledge and ability, a year‐round system of managing plant residues can be used in which all tilling, planting, cultivating, and harvesting operations are performed to keep a constant protective cover on the land.