Sean Bennett

Pattern Emergence and Resilience of Rill Networks and Their Relation to Soil Loss, Landscape Degradation, and Erosion Prediction Technology

Pattern Emergence and Resilience of Rill Networks and Their Relation to Soil Loss, Landscape Degradation, and Erosion Prediction Technology.

Dr. Sean Bennett

This study sought to monitor erosion processes within an experimental landscape filled with packed homogenous soil, which was exogenically forced by rainfall and base level adjustments, and to define the temporal and spatial variation of erosion regimes. Results show that four distinct erosion regimes can be identified (raindrop impact [red], sheetflow [blue], rill [cyan], and gully [green]), and as the landscape evolved, the erosion regimes varied in areal coverage and in relative contribution to total sediment efflux measured at the outlet of the catchment. Such information has important implications for improving soil erosion prediction technology, for assessing landscape degradation by soil erosion, for mapping regions vulnerable to future erosion, and for mitigating soil losses and managing soil resources.

The research was supported by NSF-BCS Collaborative Research: Pattern Emergence and Resilience of Rill Networks and Their Relation to Soil Loss, Landscape Degradation, and Erosion Prediction Technology, Award #1359904.

Citation: Momm, H.G., RR Wells, and S.J. Bennett, 2017, Disaggregating soil erosion processes within an evolving experimental landscape, Earth Staface Processes and Landforms, DOI: 10.1002/esp.4268.