Impacts of Rainfall Characteristics and Slope on Splash Detachment and Transport of Loess Soil

June Liu (), Fangyue Du, Xike Cheng, Xiaoqian Qi, Ning Wang, Nan Shen, Chunyan Ma and Zhanli Wang
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June Liu: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Fangyue Du: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Xike Cheng: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Xiaoqian Qi: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Ning Wang: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Nan Shen: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Chunyan Ma: Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration in Shaanbei Mining Area, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, China
Zhanli Wang: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: To identify the key parameters and develop accurate experimental models of detachment and transport, splash detachment and transport of loess soil were investigated in relation to the rainfall characteristics and slope. The experiment was conducted under 25 combinations of five rainfall intensities (60, 84, 108, 132 and 156 mm h −1 ) and five slope gradients (0°, 5°, 10°, 15° and 20°), using a custom splash pan. Raindrop characteristics (diameter, velocity and kinetics) and splash mass were measured in downslope and upslope. The results indicated that rainfall intensity and slope contributed 94.77% and 0.46%, respectively, to the detachment rate, and 24.39% and 67.82%, respectively, to the transport rate. From a holistic viewpoint, the positive effect of slope became more visible on the detachment rate when the rainfall intensity exceeded 108 mm h −1 , and on the transport rate when the slope exceeded 15°. Based on the rainfall simulator in this study, the rainfall kinetic energy ( KE , J), raindrop median particle size ( D 50 , mm) and raindrop terminal velocity ( V , m s −1 ) all increased with increasing rainfall intensity ( I ) within the 60~108 mm h −1 range but decreased with increasing rainfall intensity within the 132~156 mm h −1 range. The rainfall intensity and raindrop characteristics ( D 50 / V / KE ) are the key parameters of splash detachment ( D r , g·m −2 min −1 ), and three detachment models were developed: (1) D r = 0.1153 I 1.09 D 50 0.79 ( R 2 = 0.99, NSE = 0.98, p < 0.01); (2) D r = 0.0162 I 1.11 V 1.22 ( R 2 = 0.99, NSE = 0.99, p < 0.01); and (3) D r = 0.0813 I 1.10 KE 0.18 ( R 2 = 0.99, NSE = 0.99, p < 0.01). The rainfall intensity and slope are the key parameters for splash transport ( T r , g·m −2 min −1 ), and the developed transport models could be expressed as: (1) T r = 0.00657 I 1.343 S 0.116 ( R 2 = 0.914, NSE = 0.874, p < 0.01) (slopes of 0°, 5° and 10°) and (2) T r = 0.00218 I 1.165 S 1.033 ( R 2 = 0.986, NSE = 0.986, p < 0.01) (slopes of 15° and 20°). The results of this study could enhance the understanding of soil splash detachment and transport on loess slopes.

Keywords: splash erosion; contribution rate; rainfall intensity; splash model; raindrop energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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