Effect of vegetation cover percentage on runoff and soil loss of interill erosion in forest road cutslope (Case study: Kohmiyan Forest, Azadshahr).

Document Type : Complete scientific research article

Authors

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Roads provide access to forest resources for properly management of timber production, transportation, forest protection and ecotourism. Also, forest roads are known as one of the main sources of sediment production in forest watersheds. Globally, soil erosion is one of the most important environmental problems which is threaten soil and water resources. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate on soil erosion of forest roads and determination of its quantity rate. The measurement of soil erosion rates under natural rainfall conditions is costly and time consuming. Data provided by rainfall simulation and static site measurements can be used to predict erosion rates under natural conditions, especially for erosion rates from forest roads. Various studies were investigated the factors affecting water erosion in forest roads and their results had shown a significant correlation among slope percentage, vegetation cover percentage, climate, Physical and chemical soil characteristics, road traffic with the amount of soil erosion. This study, specifically, aimed to assess the effect of vegetation cover on soil erosion, runoff production and sedimentation.
Materials and Methods: This study was done to investigate the effects of vegetation cover of cut-slope forest road on erosion variables such as runoff amount, sediment concentration, soil loss, time to runoff and runoff coefficient in Kohmiyan Forest of Azadshahr. It was conducted five treatments of vegetation cover including 0, <25%, 25-50%, 50-75% and 75-100%, each with four replicates on one square meter plot by rainfall simulation at an intensity of 80 mm/h for 15 min and distance 3 minutes.
Results: The results indicated that the average amount of runoff in five levels of vegetation cover including bare ground, less than 25%, 25-50%, 50-75% and 75-100% were 24.7,17.82, 12.78, 5.23 and 2.64 l/m2, average amount of sediment concentration were 15.66, 9.41, 7.37, 5.07 and 2.39 g/l and average time of runoff were 12.00,75.00, 150.00, 238.75 and 365.75 and runoff coefficient were 47.8, 35.62, 25.71, 10.58 and 5.27 percent, respectively. The results statistically showed significant differences between amount of runoff and soil loss due to vegetation cover of road cut-slope. The results of Tukey test indicated significant differences among mean runoff and sediment of five level and decrease with increased road cut-slope of vegetation cover percentage.
Conclusion: The effect of vegetation cover on the cut-slope road is completely significant on the amount of runoff, sediment concentration, soil loss, time to runoff and runoff coefficient. In other words, the amount of runoff and soil loss has a reverse and significant relationship with vegetation cover percentage. Vegetation cover percentage has had a positive impact and role in the reduction of the amount of runoff and sediment in the forest roads.

Keywords: Soil erosion, Runoff coefficient, Sediment concentration, Rainfall simulator, Rainfall intensity.

Keywords

References

1.Abdollahi, Z., Sadeghi, S.H., and Khaledi Darvishan, A. 2016.  Variation of simulated rainfall characteristics by permuting intake discharge and water pressure. J. Water. Manage. Sci. Engin. 10: 34. 51-62. (In Persian)
2.Akay, A.E., Erdas, E.M., Reis, M., and Yuksel, A. 2008. Estimating sediment yield from forest road network by using a sediment predication model and GIS techniques. J. Build. Environ. 43: 678-695.
3.Akbarimehr, M., and Naghdi, R. 2012. Assessing the relationship of slope and runoff volume on skid trails (Case study: Nav 3 district). J. For. Sci. 58: 8. 357-362. (In Persian)
4.Arnaez, J., Larrea, V., and Ortigosa, L. 2004. Surface runoff and soil erosion on unpaved forest roads from rainfall simulation tests in northeastern Spain. Catena. 57: 1-14.
5.Bakr, N., Tamer, A., Elbana, A.E., Arceneaux, Y.Z., Weindorf, D.C.H., and Magdi, S. 2015. Runoff and water quality from highway hillsides: Influence compost/mulch. Soil Tillage. Res. 150: 158-170.
6.Battany, M.C., and Grismer, M.E. 2000. Rainfall runoff and erosion in NapaValley vineyards: effects of slope, cover and surface roughness. J. Hydrol. Proc. 14: 1289-1304.
7.Casermeiro, M.A., Molina, J.A., Delacruz Caravaca, M.T., Hernando Massanet, M.I., and Moreno, P.S. 2004. Influence of scrubs on runoff and sediment loss in soils of Mediterranean climate. Catena. 57: 97-107.
8.Cerda, A. 2007. Soil water erosion on road embankments in eastern Spain. J. Sci. Total Environ. 378: 151-155.
9.Chaplot, V.A.M., and Bissonnais, Y.L. 2003. Runoff features for interrill erosion at different rainfall intensities, slope length and gradient in an agricultural Loessial hillslope.J. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 67: 844-851.
10.De Ona, J., Osorio, F., and Garcia, P.A. 2009. Assessing the effects of using compost- sludge mixtures to reduce erosion in road embankments. J. Hazard. Mat. 164: 1257-1265.
11.Diseker, E.G., and Sheridan, J.M. 1971. Predicting sediment yield from roadbanks. Trans. Am. Soc. Agric. Eng. 14: 1. 102-105.
12.Duiker, S.W., Flanagan, D.C., and Lal, R. 2001. Erodibility and infiltration characteristics of five major soils of southwest Spain. Catena 45: 103-121.
13.Elliot, W.J., Foltz, R.B., and Robichaud, P.R. 2009. Recent findings related to measuring and modeling forest road erosion. In Proc. 18th World IMAC/MODSIM Congress Cairns, Australia. Pp: 4078-4084.
14.FAO. 2006. Guidelines for soil description. Fourth 12- edition, Rome, 108p.
15.Foltz, R.B., Copeland, N.S., and Elliot, W.J. 2009. Reopening abandoned forest roads in Northern Idaho, USA: Quantification of runoff, sediment concentration, infiltration and interrill erosion parameters. J. Environ. Manage. 90: 2542-2550.
16.Ford, E.D., and Deans, D. 1978. The effect of canopy  structure on the stemflow, throughfall and interception loss in a young Sitka spruce plantation. J. Appl. Eco. 15: 3. 905-917.
 17.Fu, B., Newham, L.T., and Ramos-Scharron, C.E. 2010. A review of surface erosion and sediment delivery models for unsealed roads. Environ Model and Soft, 25: 1-14.
18.Geissen, V., Sánchez-Hernández, R., Kampichler, C., Ramos-Reyes, R., Sepulveda-Lozada, A., Ochoa-Goana , S., de Jong, B.H.J., Huerta-Lwanga, E., and Hernández-Daumas, S. 2009. Effects of land-use change on some properties of tropical soils-An example from Southeast Mexico. Geoderma. 151: 87-97.
19.Ghahraman, B., and Abkhezr, H.R. 2004. Correction of the rainfall intensity- durationfrequency equations in Iran. J. Sci. Technol. Agric. Natur. Resour. 8: 2. 1-13.
(In Persian)
20.Grace, J.M. 2002. Effectiveness of vegetation in erosion control from forest road sideslopes. Trans. Asae. 45: 3. 681-685.
21.Hadson, N. 1993. Soil Conservation (Translating by Hossein Ghadiri). ShahidChamranUniversity Press. 470p. (In Persian)
22.Hematzadeh, Y., Barani, H., and Kabir, A. 2009. The role of vegetation management on surface runoff. J. Soil Water. Cons. 162: 2. 19-33. (In Persian)
23.Jordan, A., and Martınez-Zavala, L. 2008. Soil loss and runoff rates on unpaved forest roads in southern Spain after simulated rainfall. J. For. Ecol. Manage. 255: 913-919.
24.Jordan-Lopez, A., Martinez-Zavala, L., and Bellinfante, N. 2009. Impact of different parts of unpaved forest roads on runoff and sediment yield in a Meditrranean area. J. Sci. Total Environ. 4: 7. 937-944.
25.Kato, H., Onda, Y., Tanaka, Y., and Asano, M. 2009. Field measurement of infiltration rate using an oscillating nozzle Rainfall Simulator in the cold- semi arid Grass land of Mongolia. Catena. 76: 173-181.
26.Kavianpoor, A.H., Jafarian, Z., Smahli, A., Kavian, A. 2015. The effect of vegetation cover on runoff and soil loss using rainfall simulation. J. Geograp. Environ. Plan. 58: 2. 179-190.
27.Khaledi Darvishan, A., Homayonfar, V., and Sadeghi, S.H. 2016. Designing, construction and calibration of a portable rainfall simulator for field runoff and soil erosion studies.
J. Water. Manage. Sci. Engin. 10: 34. 105-112. (In Persian)
28.Li, X.Y. 2003. Gravel-sand mulch for soil and water conservation in the semiarid loess region of northwest China. Catena. 52: 105-127.
29.Lopez-Bermudez, F., Romero-Diaz, A., Martinez-Fernandez, J., Martinez-Fernandez, J. 1998. Vegetation and soil erosion under a semi-arid Mediterranean climate: a case study from Murcia (Spain). Geomorphology. 24: 51-58.
30.Lotfalian, M., Shirvani, Z., and Naghavi, H. 2009. Investigation of effective factors on skid roads erosion. J. For. 1: 2. 115-124. (In Persian)
31.Mingguo, Z., Qiangguo, C., and Hao, C. 2007. Effect of vegetation on runoff sediment yield relationship at different spatial scales in hilly areas of the Loess Plateau, North China. ActaEcologica Sinica. 27: 9. 3572-3581.
32.Moghadamirad, M., Abdi, E., Mohseni Saravi, M., Rouhani, H., and Majnounian, B. 2013. The effect of traffic on forest road surface erosion. J. For. Pop. Res. 20: 4. 634-644.
(In Persian)
33.Moreno, D.H., Merino, M.L., and Nicolau, J.M. 2009. Effect of vegetation Cover on the Hydrology of Reclaimed mining soils under Mediterranean- Continental Climate. Catena. 77: 39-47.
34.Morgan, R.P.C. 2005. Soil erosion and conservation, Third Edition, Blackwell. 304p.
35.Morin, J., and Kosovsky, A. 1995. The surface infiltration model. J. Soil Water. Cons.
50: 470-476.
36.Moslehi, M., Habashi, H., and Khormali, F. 2011. Evaluation of through fall and rainfall interception of Beech in Hyrcanian forest. J. For. W. Pro. 64: 3. 319-330. (In Persian)
37.Nadal-Romero, E., Lasanta, T., Regues, D., Lana- Renaul, N., and Cerda, A. 2011. Hydrological response and sediment production under different land covers in abandoned farmland fields in a Mediterranean mountain environment. Boletín de la Asociacion de Geógrafos Españoles. 55: 303-323.
38.Najafian, L., Kavian, A., Ghorbani, J., and Tamartash, R. 2010. Effect of soil properties on runoff and soil erosion. J. Raeng. 4: 2. 334-347. (In Persian)
39.Nekooimehr, M., Rafatnia, N., Raisian, R., Jahanbazi, H., Talebi, M., and Abdolahi, Kh. 2006. Impact of road construction on forest destruction in Bazoft region. J. For. Pop. Res. 14: 3. 228-243. (In Persian)
40.Pan, Ch., and Shangguan, Zh. 2006. Runoff hydraulic characteris and sediment generation in sloped grassplots under simulated rainfall condition. J. Hydrol. 331: 178-185.
41.Parsakhoo, A., Lotfalian, M., and Jalilvand, H. 2014. The effects of soil properties and vegetation cover on the sedimentation of forest roads. J. Soil Sci. Environ. Manage.
Pp: 20-28. (In Persian)
42.Puya, K., Majnounian, B., Feghhi, J., Lotfalian, M., and Abdi, E. 2009. The efficiency of Backmund method for evaluation of forest road networks with regard to capabilities of wheeled skidders in ground skidding method. J. For. 1: 1. 35-42. (In Persian)
43.Rafahi, H.Gh. 2006. Water erosion and conservation. University of Tehran Press (5 Ed), 671p.
44.Ramos-Scharrón, C.E., and MacDonald, L.H. 2005. Measurement and prediction of sediment production from unpaved roads, St John, USVirgin Islands. J. Earth Surf. Process. Landf. 30: 1283-1304.
45.Rastgar, Sh. 2013. Estimating and comprising the economic value of forage production and soil conservation functions of range vegetation, Ph.D. Thesis. Gorgan Agricultural Sciences and NaturalResourcesUniversity, Faculty of Natural Resources, 158p. (In Persian)
46.Reidel, M.S., and Vose, J.M. 2002. Forest road erosion, sediment transport and model validation in the southern appalachians. In: Second Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modelling Conference, July 28–August 1, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
47.Romero-Diaz, A., Cammeraat, L.H., Vacca, A., and Kosmas, C. 1999. Soil erosion at three experimental sites in the Mediterranean. J. Eart Surf. Process. Landf. 24: 1243-1256.
48.Sadeghi, S.H. 2010. Study and measurement of water erosion. Tarbiat modares university press, 199p. (In Persian)
49.Sheridan, G., Noske, P., Lane, P., and Sherwin, C. 2008. Using rainfall simulation and site measurements to predict annual inter rill erodibility and phosphorus generation rates from unsealed forest roads: Validation against in-situ erosion measurements. Catena. 73: 49-62.
50.Solgi, A., Najafi, A., and Sadeghi, S.H.R. 2014. Effects of traffic frequency and skid trail slope on surface runoff and sediment yield. J. For. Eng. 25: 2. 171-178. (In Persian)
51.Stroosnijder, L. 2005. Measurement of erosion: is it possible?. Catena. 64: 2-3. 162-173.
52.The natural resources and watershed management general office of Golestan province. Kouhmian's Forest management  Plan Booklet, 1995. 250p. (In Persian)
53.Vahabi, J., and Mahdian, M.H. 2010. Investigation effect of vegetation cover and soil moisture on runoff by rainfall simulation. P 25-26, In: 4st National Conference on erosion and sediment, Noor, Iran. (In Persian)
54.Wainwright, J., Parsons, A.J., and Abrahams, A.D. 2000. Plot-scale studies of vegetation, overland flow and erosion interactions: case studies from Arizona and New Mexico.
J. Hydrol. Proc. 14: 2921-2943.
55.Williams, J.D., Wilkins, D.E., McCool, D.K., Baarstad, L.L., Klepper, B.L., and Papendick, R.I. 1998. A new rainfall simulator for use in low-energy rainfall areas. Am. Soc. Agric. Eng. 14: 3. 243-247.
56.Yousefi Fard, M., Jalalian, A., and Khademi, H. 2007. Estimating nutrient and soil loss
from pasture land use change using rainfall simulator. J. Sci. Technol. Agric. Natur. Resour. 40: 93-57.
58.Zhou, Z.C., and Shangguan, Z.P. 2007. The effects of ryegrass roots and shoots on loess erosion under simulated rainfall. Catena. 70: 350-355.
Journal of Water and Soil Conservation
Volume 25, Issue 2
May and June 2018
Pages 219-233

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics