Assessingsoilmanagementpracticesintermsofsoilerosioncontrolbyusingfieldexperimentsandmodelsimulations.docVIP

Assessing soil management practices in terms of soil erosion control by using field experiments and model simulations J. Schmidt, N. Seidel, M. Schindewolf Abstract In this paper the effectiveness of soil erosion control by alternative management practices is investigated by comparative model simulations taking different management practices into account. The EROSION 3D model (SCHMIDT, J. 1996, Von Werner, M. 1995) is applied in order to simulate soil loss and deposition as well as sediment transport into surface water courses on the watershed scale. EROSION 3D is an event-based model using the momentum flux approach by SCHMIDT, J. (1991). The model simulations show that despite of the conversion of conventional into conservation tillage erosion rates still exceed tolerable amounts resulting in the formation of ephemeral gullies at locations where surface runoff accumulates. Only the partial existence of a permanent vegetation cover (e.g. a grassed waterway) is able to avoid these kinds of linear erosion features and allows to limit soil loss within the entire catchment to a tolerable amount. Introduction The use of soils for agriculture requires to eliminate the natural vegetation cover and to replace it by cultivated plants. Thus the protection of soils with respect to the impact of wind and water is - if not completely suspended - at least occasionally interrupted. As a consequence soil erosion leads to irreversible soil losses, which in turn reduces soil productivity and impairs water quality because of the contamination by sediments and particle-bound pollutants. Above all accelerated soil erosion is a consequence of the missing permanent ground cover of most arable lands. Under the criterion of soil protection it is crucial to adapt soil management in a way that temporal gaps in soil cover can be avoided. Recent management practices pursue this goal, by abandoning the plow completely. At present following variants exist: The most advanced system is the direc