MEASUREMENT OF SOIL EROSION

Submitted To:
Engr. Faisal Baig
hello!
Najum Ul Hassan (01-AG-2015)

Hadeed Ashraf (21-AG-2015)

Muhammad Bilal (25-AG-2015)

 Introduction
• Soil erosion is the natural wearing away of topsoil, caused
by rain, flooding, wind.

• Soil Erosion is also caused due to unnatural wearing which

includes farming practices, deforestation, urbanization.

• When fields are plowed for agricultural purposes or forests

are cut down for development, the soil is vulnerable to
washing or blowing away. Landslides become more likely.
Rainwater washes over exposed soil generating a run-off
rather than soaking into it, causing flooding.
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 Types of Soil Erosion
Let’s start with the water erosion types
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Sheet Erosion
 Rill
Erosion
 Gully
Erosion
Streambank Erosion
Factors Affecting Soil Erosion
Here’s a few
 Factors
The factors that influence erosion are:
1. The amount and intensity of rainfall and wind velocity.
2. Topography with special reference to slope of land.
3. Physical and chemical properties of soil.
4. Ground cover its nature and extent.
Methods of Soil Erosion Measurement
Let’s start with the basics
 Methods of Measurement
Techniques for measuring soil erosion by water and wind can be
divided into:

1. Surveying Methods of Various Types

2. Soil Erosion Plots
3. Soil Erosion Traps
4. Soil Erosion Tracers
 Surveying/Reconnaissance Methods
1. Erosion pins
This widely-used method
consists of driving a pin
into the soil so that the
top of the pin gives a
datum from which
changes in the soil
surface level can be
measured.
 Surveying/Reconnaissance Methods
2. Painted collars
An indication of large changes in level, for example in a stream bed or gully floor, can
be obtained by painting a collar just above soil level round rocks, boulders, tree roots,
fence posts, or anything firm and stable. Erosion reveals an unpainted band below
the paint line, indicating the depth of soil removed.
3. Bottle Tops
Another simple way to record the original level is to press bottle tops into the soil
surface. The depth of subsequent erosion is shown by the height of the pedestals
where the soil is protected by the bottle top.
 Surveying/Reconnaissance Methods
2. Painted collars
An indication of large changes in level, for example in a stream bed or gully floor, can
be obtained by painting a collar just above soil level round rocks, boulders, tree roots,
fence posts, or anything firm and stable. Erosion reveals an unpainted band below
the paint line, indicating the depth of soil removed.
3. Bottle Tops
Another simple way to record the original level is to press bottle tops into the soil
surface. The depth of subsequent erosion is shown by the height of the pedestals
where the soil is protected by the bottle top.
 Soil Erosion Plots
The runoff plot erosion test
commonly measures the amount
of soil erosion driven by rill and
inter-rill erosion, collects model
input data for USLE, for example,
derives soil erosion models, and
measures the effect of agricultural
management practices, vegetative
filter strips.
The standard plot size, used to derive
the USLE, measures 72.6 feet (22.1 m),
with a variable width on a 9% slope.
The width is not specified but 13.3 feet
(4.1 m) or wider is preferred to allow
the development of rill and inter-rill
erosion patterns.
Soil
Erosion
Plots
Soil
Erosion
Plots
Soil
Erosion
Plots
Soil
Erosion
Plots
Soil
Erosion
Traps
 Soil Erosion Tracers
1. Rare earth elements (REEs) have been proved ideal tracers for soil erosion and
aggregation. REE tracer method (REETM) is used to study soil erosion, as a new
technique, has been developed in recent 20 years.
2. It is able to quantitatively monitor the temporal and spatial variation of erosion
intensity, compared with traditional approaches.
3. The applications of REETM are study of sediment differentiation law, erosion
process evolution, determination of sediment sources and sedimentation
investigations, and determination of prediction parameters.
Silt
Fences
Soil Erosion Measurement Stick
THANKS!
Any questions?
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