Comparative Study on Rain Splash Erosion of Representative Soils in China

As the first event of soil erosion, rain splash erosion supplies materials for subsequent transportation and en-trainment. The Loess Plateau, the southern hilly region and the Northeast China are subject to serious soil and water loss; however, the characteristics of rain splash erosion in those regions are still unclear. The objectives of the study are to ana-lyze the characteristics of splash erosion on loess soil, red soil, purple soil and black soil, and to discuss the relationship between splash erosion and soil properties. Soil samples spatially distributed in the abovementioned regions were col-lected and underwent simulated rainfalls at a high intensity of 1.2mm/min, lasting for 5, 10, 15, and 20min, respectively. Rain splash and soil crust development were analyzed. It shows that black soil sample from Heilongjiang Province corre-sponds to the minimum splash erosion amount because it has high aggregate content, aggregate stability and organic mat-ter content. Loess soil sample from Inner Mongolia corresponds to the maximum splash erosion amount because it has high content of sand particles. Loess soil sample from Shanxi Province has relatively lower splash erosion amount be-cause it has high silt particle content and low aggregate stability easily to be disrupted under rainfalls with high intensity. Although aggregate contents of red soil and purple soil samples from Hubei and Guangdong provinces are high, the sta-bility is weak and prone to be disrupted, so the splash erosion amount is medium. Splash rate which fluctuates over time is observed because soil crust development follows a cycling processes of formation and disruption. In addition, there are two locations of soil crust development, one appears at the surface, and the other occurs at the subsurface.

Average iron isotopic compositions of the upper continental crust：constrained by loess from the Chinese Loess Plateau

Iron isotopic composition of the upper continental crust(UCC) is critical for understanding Fe mobilization and migration through the Earth. Because rocks exposed at Earth's surface have heterogeneous δ^(56)Fe, finegrained clastic sediments can be used to estimate the average composition of UCC. In this study, we report δ^(56)Fe of loess-paleosol sequences from Yimaguan, Chinese Loess Plateau(CLP), to constrain the average Fe isotopic composition of UCC. The loess-paleosol sequences in this area formed in glacial-interglacial cycles and are characterized by varying degrees of weathering. Our data show that the loess-paleosol layers have extremely homogeneous Fe isotopic compositions with δ^(56)Fe ranging from 0.06‰ to 0.12‰, regardless of variations in the major element composition and weathering intensity. Our study indicates that since Fe isotopes are not significantly fractionated during loess deposition, the loess can be regarded as representative of UCC. It follows that the average δ^(56)Fe of UCC is 0.09‰± 0.03‰(2SD), consistent with previous estimates based on igneous rock data.

Development of Soil Crusts Under Simulated Rainfall and Crust Formation on a Loess Soil as Influenced by Polyacrylamide

This study evaluated the morphological characteristics and dynamic variation in characteristics of soil crust and iden-tified the relationships between soil crust and splash erosion under simulated rainfall.The effect of polyacrylamide (PAM) on soil aggregate stabilization and crust formation was also investigated.A laboratory rainfall simulation experiment was carried out using soil sample slices.The slices were examined under a polarized light microscopy and a scanning electron microscope (SEM).The results revealed that the soil crusts were thin and were characterized by a greater density,higher shear strength,finer porosity,and lower saturated hydraulic conductivity than the underlying soil.Two types of crusts,i.e.,structural and depositional crusts,were observed.Soil texture was determined to be the most important soil variable influ-encing surface crust formation;depositional crust formation was primarily related to the skeleton characteristics of the soil and happened when the soil contained a high level of medium and large aggregates.The crust formation processes observed were as follows:1) The fine particles on the soil surface became spattered,leached,and then rough in response to raindrop impact and 2) the fine particles were washed into the subsoil pores while a compact dense layer concurrently formed at soil surface due to the continual compaction by the raindrops.Therefore,the factors that influenced structural crust formation were a large amount of fine particles in the soil surface,continual impact of raindrops,dispersion of aggregates into fine particles,and the formation of a compact dense layer concurrently at the soil surface.It was concluded that the most important factor in the formation of soil crusts was raindrop impact.When polyacrylamide (PAM) was applied,it restored the soil structure and greatly increased soil aggregate stabilization.This effectively prevented crust formation.However,this function of PAM was not continuously effective and the crust reformed with long-term rainfall.In conclusion,this study showed that soil micromorphological studies were a useful method for evaluating soil crust formation.

Process and Mechanism for the Development of Physical Crusts in Three Typical Chinese Soils

To compare the development of physical crusts in three typical cultivated soils of China, a black soil （Luvic Phaeozem）, a loess soil （Haplic Luvisol）, and a purple soil （Calcaric Regosol） were packed in splash plates with covered and uncovered treatments, and exposed to simulated rainfall. Meshes covered above the surfaces of half of soil samples to simulate the effects of crop residue on crusting. The results indicated a progressive breakdown of aggregates on the soil surface as rainfall continued. The bulk density and shear strength on the surface of the three soil types increased logarithmically as rainfall duration increased. During the first 30 min of simulated rainfall, the purple soil developed a 7-8 mm thick crust and the loess soil developed a 3-4 mm thick crust. The black soil developed a distinguishable, but still unstable, crust after 80 rain of simulated rainfall. Soil organic matter （SOM） content, the mean weight diameter （MWD） of soil aggregates, and soil clay content were negatively correlated with the rate of crust formation, whereas the percentage of aggregate dispersion （PAD）, the exchangeable sodium percentage （ESP）, and the silt and sand contents were positively correlated with crusting. Mechanical breakdown caused by raindrop impact was the primary mechanism of crust formation in the black soil with more stable aggregates （MWD 25.0 mm, PAD 3.1%） and higher SOM content （42.6 g kg-1）. Slaking and mechanical eluviation were the primary mechanisms of crust formation in the purple soil with low clay content （103 g kg-1）, cation exchange capacity （CEC, 228 mmol kg-1）, ESP （0.60%）, and SOM （17.2 g kg-1）. Mechanical breakdown and slaking were the most important in the loess soil with low CEC （80.6 mmol kg-1）, ESP （1.29%）, SOM （9.82 g kg-1）, and high PAD （71.7%） and MWD （4.6 mm）. Simulated residue cover reduced crust formation in black and loess soils, but increased crust formation in purple soil.