Study on Splash Erosion with Interaction of Different Kinetic Energy Flux and Soil Texture

Soil detachment due to rainfall is one of the most important phases that cause soil loss, which depends on rainfall and soil characteristics. The aim of this research was to determine the effects of different kinetic energy flux and different soil textures on splash erosion. Five different soil textures (clay, silt loam, clay loam, loam and sandy clay loam), and two kinetic energy flux (547.66 J m(-2) h(-1) and 2223.52 J m(-2) h(-1)) were used to form 30 rainfall simulations with three replications under laboratory conditions. Kinetic energy fluxes were arranged by increasing the water head and drop former efficiency of rainfall simulator. Statistical analyses showed that kinetic energy, texture and their interactions significantly affected the splash detachment. Splash erosion increased with increasing kinetic energy. Effect of low kinetic energy on splash detachment was the same on different textured soils. However, the amount of splash detachment varied depending on the texture under high kinetic energy rainfall. The highest splash detachment under high kinetic energy rainfall was obtained in sandy clay loam soils followed by clay loam, loam, silty clay and clay.