ROLE OF EROSION PROCESSES IN TRANSFER OF RADIONUCLIDES: RESULTS OF FIELD EXPERIMENTS1

ABSTRACT: An experimental one-year fieldwork has been conducted in the vicinity of the Chernobyl NPP, within an agricultural watershed, to study the transfer of radionuclides brought into the environment by the disaster of 1986. Presented are results of observation of the washout of ¹³⁷Cs from the runoff plot both in natural conditions and under artificial rainfalls. Beside traditional hydro-logical methods, new techniques were used allowing to consider microtopographical peculiarities of the runoff plot and their role in the redistribution of radionuclides. The estimate of the annual mass balance for the soil and the radionuclides within the runoff plot has shown that, regardless of significant areal variation of their concentration, the ¹³⁷Cs washout with the solid runoff resulted from artificial rainfalls amounts to some 1 percent of its reserves in the uppermost 5 cm of the topsoil. The same parameter for the natural runoff is lower by an order of magnitude. Both these factors of self-purification are about two times less than natural radioactive decay of ¹³⁷Cs.     

EROSION ON LOGGING ROADS IN REDWOOD CREEK,NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA1

Road-related erosion was estimated by measuring 100 randomly located plots on a 180 km road network in the middle reach of R'dwood Creek in northwestern California. The estimated erosion ratn of 177 m³ km^-1 was contrasted with two earlier studies in nearby parts of the same watershed. A sizable proportion of the great reduction in erosion from that reported in the earlier studies is attributed to changes in forest practice rules. Those changes have resulted in better placement and sizing of culverts and, especially, to less reliance on culverts to handle runoff from logging roads.     

“R1-R4” AND “BOISED” SEDIMENT PREDICTION MODEL TESTS USING FOREST ROADS IN GRANITICS1

ABSTRACT: Erosion and sedimentation data from research watersheds in the Silver Creek Study Area in central Idaho were used to test the prediction of logging road erosion using the R1-R4 sediment yield model, and sediment delivery using the “BOISED” sediment yield prediction model. Three small watersheds were instrumented and monitored such that erosion from newly constructed roads and sediment delivery to the mouths of the watersheds could be measured for four years following road construction. The errors for annual surface erosion predictions for the two standard road tests ranged from +31.2 t/ha/yr (+15 percent) to -30.3 t/ha/yr (-63 percent) with an average of zero t/ha/yr and a standard deviation of the differences of 18.7 t/ha/yr. The annual prediction errors for the three watershed scale tests had a greater range from -40.8 t/ha/yr (-70 percent) to +65.3 t/ha/yr (+38 percent) with a mean of -1.9 t/ha/yr and a standard deviation of the differences of 25.2 t/ha/yr. Sediment yields predicted by BOISED (watershed scale tests) were consistently greater (average of 2.5 times) than measured sediment yields. Hillslope sediment delivery coefficients in BOISED appear to be overly conservative to account for average site conditions and road locations, and thus over-predict sediment delivery. Mass erosion predictions from BOISED appear to predict volume well (465 tonnes actual versus 710 tonnes predicted, or a 35 percent difference) over 15 to 20 years, however mass wasting is more episodic than the model predicts.     

Conservation strategies for effective land management of protected areas using an erosion prediction information system (EPIS)

This research demonstrates the predictive modeling capabilities of a geographic information system (GIS)-based soil erosion potential model to assess the effects of implementing land use change within a tropical watershed. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was integrated with a GIS to produce an Erosion Prediction Information System (EPIS) and modified to reflect conditions found in the mountainous tropics. Research was conducted in the Zenzontia subcatchment of the Río Ayuquíla, located within the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), México. Expanding agricultural activities within this area will accentuate the already high rate of soil erosion and resultant sediment loading occurring in the Río Ayuquíla. Two land-use change scenarios are modeled with the EPIS: (1) implementation of soil conservation practices in erosion prone locations; and (2) selection of sites for agricultural expansion which minimize potential soil loss. Confronted with limited financial resources and the necessity for expedient action, managers of the SMBR can draw upon the predictive capacity of the EPIS to facilitate rapid and informed land-use planning decisions.     

SAMPLING FRAME FOR IMPROVING PEBBLE COUNT ACCURACY IN COARSE GRAVEL‐BED STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: Improved sampling techniques are needed to increase the accuracy of pebble‐count particle‐size distributions used for stream studies in gravel‐bed streams. However, pebble counts are prone to operator errors introduced through subjective particle selection, serial correlation, and inaccurate particle‐size measurements. Errors in particle‐size measurements can be minimized by using a gravel template. Operator influence on particle selection can be minimized by using a sampling frame, 60 by 60 cm, in which sampling points are identified by the cross points of thin elastic bands. Serial correlation can be minimized by adjusting the spacing between the cross points and setting it equal to the dominant large particle size (=D₉₅). In a field test in a cobble‐bed stream, the sampling frame developed in this study produced slightly coarser size distributions, particularly in the cobble range, than the traditional heel‐to‐toe walk that selects particles with a blind touch at the tip of the boot. The sampling frame produced more similar sampling results between two operators than heel‐to‐toe walks. The difference between the two sampling methods is attributed to an unbiased selection of fine and coarse particles when using the sampling frame.     

Determination of Frequency for Remeasuring Ground and Vegetation Cover Factor Needed for Soil Erosion Modeling

Determining a remeasurement frequency of variables over time is required in monitoring environmental systems. This article demonstrates methods based on regression modeling and spatio-temporal variability to determine the time interval to remeasure the ground and vegetation cover factor on permanent plots for monitoring a soil erosion system. The spatio-temporal variability methods include use of historical data to predict semivariograms, modeling average temporal variability, and temporal interpolation by two-step kriging. The results show that for the cover factor, the relative errors of the prediction increase with an increased length of time interval between remeasurements when using the regression and semivariogram models. Given precision or accuracy requirements, appropriate time intervals can be determined. However, the remeasurement frequency also varies depending on the prediction interval time. As an alternative method, the range parameter of a semivariogram model can be used to quantify average temporal variability that approximates the maximum time interval between remeasurements. This method is simpler than regression and semivariogram modeling, but it requires a long-term dataset based on permanent plots. In addition, the temporal interpolation by two-step kriging is also used to determine the time interval. This method is applicable when remeasurements in time are not sufficient. If spatial and temporal remeasurements are sufficient, it can be expanded and applied to design spatial and temporal sampling simultaneously.     

Soil erosion vulnerability under scenarios of climate land-use changes after the development of a large reservoir in a semi-arid area

Climate and land-use/cover changes (LUCC) influence soil erosion vulnerability in the semi-arid region of Alqueva, threatening the reservoir storage capacity and sustainability of the landscape. Considering the effect of these changes in the future, the purpose of this study was to investigate soil erosion scenarios using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. A multi-agent system combining Markov cellular automata with multi-criteria evaluation was used to investigate LUCC scenarios according to delineated regional strategies. Forecasting scenarios indicated that the intensive agricultural area as well as the sparse and xerophytic vegetation and rainfall-runoff erosivity would increase, consequently causing the soil erosion to rise from 1.78 Mg ha^?1 to 3.65 Mg ha^?1 by 2100. A backcasting scenario was investigated by considering the application of soil conservation practices that would decrease the soil erosion considerably to an average of 2.27 Mg ha^?1. A decision support system can assist stakeholders in defining restrictive practices and developing conservation plans, contributing to control the reservoir's siltation.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF POLYACRYLAMIDE (PAM) IN IMPROVING RUNOFF WATER QUALITY FROM CONSTRUCTION SITES1

ABSTRACT: Erosion from construction sites significantly affects water quality in receiving streams. A rainfall simulator was used to evaluate the effectiveness of different methods for controlling erosion from construction sites. Erosion control methods investigated included dry and liquid applications of polyacrylamide (PAM), hydroseed, and straw mulch. Fertilizer was also applied to each plot to examine the effectiveness of the methods in reducing nutrient losses in runoff. Runoff samples were analyzed for total suspended solids (TSS), nitrate, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), ammonium, total phosphorus (TP), and orthophosphate. Among all treatments investigated, straw mulch was the most effective treatment for controlling TSS and nutrient losses during short term and long term simulations. The low liquid PAM (half the recommended PAM) treatment resulted in the highest reduction in runoff, TSS bound nitrogen, and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations and loadings. The study results indicate that a high application rate (twice the recommended rate) of PAM could actually increase runoff and TSS losses. At a low application rate, both liquid and dry PAM were effective in reducing TSS and nutrient losses in runoff. However, application of the liquid form of PAM to construction sites is more practical and perhaps more economical than applying the PAM in the dry form.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF INORGANIC PARTICLES IN SELECTED RESERVOIRS AND TRIBUTARIES OF THE NEW YORK CITY WATER SUPPLY1

ABSTRACT: Individual particle analysis (IPA) by scanning electron microscopy interfaced with automated image and X‐ray analyses was used to characterize inorganic particles in five reservoirs and four tributaries located within the Catskill and Delaware systems of the New York City water supply. Individual particle analysis provides combined elemental and morphologic characterizations. Results are presented in terms of particle projected area per unit volume (PAV), consistent with optical impacts, and partitioned into seven generic particle types according to composition. Minerals of terrigenous origins, particularly clay minerals, dominated the inorganic particle populations of all the study systems except one downstream reservoir. Higher PAV levels were observed in the Catskill system. Particle dynamics represented by PAV were driven primarily by runoff, while the reservoirs were also greatly influenced by the timing of sediment resuspension promoted by drawdown of the surface and fall mixing. The benefit of the serial configuration of the reservoirs in decreasing inorganic particles with progression downstream towards the city is demonstrated. The patterns in PAV levels among the study systems generally tracked those of more common metrics of impacts of suspensoids, including mass concentrations of suspended solids, turbidity, and Secchi disc transparency.