Vol. 7, Issue 3 (2019)
Soil erodibility estimation and its correlation with soil properties in Coimbatore district
Author(s): Suraj Baruah, R Kumaraperumal, Balaji Kannan, KP Ragunath and MR Backiyavathy
Abstract: Soil erodibility represents soil susceptibility to suffer detachment by hydric erosion processes. Spatial representation of soil erodibility is decisive for allocation of soil conservation practices, siteâ€based land management, and soil erosion modelling. Soil erosion by water is becoming a major environmental concern in the Western-Ghats and many parts of Coimbatore due to deforestation, rapid urbanisation and lack of conservation practices in the region. The application of erosion prediction model (i.e., RUSLE) requires an estimate of the soil erodibility factor for the main soil types of the region. Therefore, the objective of this study was to calculate the soil erodibility from the soil survey database and to correlate the K-factor values with soil texture and organic matter. This study presents soil erodibility values computed for a large variety of soil types and surface conditions (367 points based on physiography) and provide the soil erodibility values for most of the cultivated land areas of the district. The average K-factor value in the study area was estimated to be 0.0174±0.005881 t ha h ha-1 MJ-1 mm-1. Most of the study area had erodibilities between 0.01 and 0.03 t∙ha∙h∙ha-1∙MJ-1∙mm-1. Soil erodibility increased with silt content (r=0.872), and soil textures that contained predominantly silt as the primary particles were estimated to be the most vulnerable to water erosion. Organic matter content was not correlated to soil erodibility (r=0.056). The results of this study demonstrated the convenience of using silt content instead of clay, organic matter, or sand in preliminary classifications of water erosion vulnerability in Coimbatore or areas with similar soil characteristics.
Pages: 3327-3332 | 435 Views 112 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Suraj Baruah, R Kumaraperumal, Balaji Kannan, KP Ragunath, MR Backiyavathy. Soil erodibility estimation and its correlation with soil properties in Coimbatore district. Int J Chem Stud 2019;7(3):3327-3332.