Soil Erosion across Scales: Assessing Its Sources of Variation in Sahelian Landscapes under Semi-Arid Climate

Author:

Mounirou Lawani AdjadiORCID,Yonaba RolandORCID,Tazen FowéORCID,Ayele Gebiaw T.ORCID,Yaseen Zaher MundherORCID,Karambiri Harouna,Yacouba Hamma

Abstract

Soil erosion varies in space and time. As the contributing surface area increases, heterogeneity effects are amplified, inducing scale effects. In the present study, soil erosion processes as affected by the observation scale and the soil surface conditions are assessed. An experimental field scale setup of 18 plots (1–150 m2) with different soil surface conditions (bare and degraded, cultivated) and slopes (0.75–4.2%) are used to monitor soil losses between 2010 to 2018 under natural rainfall. The results showed that soil loss rates range between 2.5 and 19.5 t.ha−1 under cultivated plots and increase to 12–45 t.ha−1 on bare and degraded soils, which outlines the control of soil surface conditions on soil erosion. At a larger scale (38 km2), soil losses are estimated at 2.2–4.5 t.ha−1, highlighting the major contribution of scale. The scale effect is likely caused by the redistribution of sediments in the drainage network. These findings outline the nature and contribution of the emerging and dominant soil erosion processes at larger scales. At the plot scale, however, diffuse erosion remains dominant, since surface runoff is laminar and sediment transport capacity is limited, resulting in lower soil erosion rates.

Funder

Griffith Graduate Research School, the Australian Rivers Institute and School of Engineering, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Nature and Landscape Conservation,Ecology,Global and Planetary Change

Reference99 articles.

1. An Assessment of the Global Impact of 21st Century Land Use Change on Soil Erosion;Borrelli;Nat. Commun.,2017

2. How Reliable Are Our Methods for Estimating Soil Erosion by Water?;Parsons;Sci. Total Environ.,2019

3. Lefevre, C. (2019). Soil Erosion: The Greatest Challenge for Sustainable Soil Management, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

4. Land Use and Climate Change Impacts on Global Soil Erosion by Water (2015–2070);Borrelli;Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA,2020

5. Recent Advancements in Rainfall Erosivity Assessment in Brazil: A Review;Moreira;CATENA,2022

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3