Rainsplash and erosion rates in an interrill area on semi-arid grassland, Southern Arizona

Simultaneous measurements of rainsplash (as a surrogate for total raindrop detachment) and erosion were made during two rainfall simulation experiments on an 18 by 29 m runoff plot located in an interrill area on a semi-arid, grassland hillslope in southern Arizona. The temporal variation in splash was found to be more complex than hitherto reported. In the first experiment maximum splash occurred 15–20 minutes after the onset of rain and well after runoff began, whereas in the second experiment splash declined throughout the period of observation. The erosion rate, both within and between storms, was not closely related to the splash rate. Higher and increasing erosion rates were identified at times of lower and decreasing splash rates. Whereas splash (raindrop detachment) is controlled by surface-soil moisture and the availability of loose, detachable sediment, erosion is controlled not only by raindrop detachment but also by the areal extent of overland flow. Prediction of interrill soil erosion should not be based upon the assumption that the rate of sediment detachment by raindrops determines the rate of erosion, but upon the interactions among raindrop detachment, overland-flow distribution and ground-surface characteristics.

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