Tillage erosion and its interactions with wind and water erosion

人类活动造成的土壤加速侵蚀是加拿大土地退化的主要形式， 在世界许多其他地区，这些污染威胁到我们生产粮食的能力，破坏财产，污染空气和水资源。人们对风和水造成的土壤侵蚀已经研究了几十年，对这些过程已经有了很好的了解。土壤侵蚀科学最近的一个重大进展是认识到耕作侵蚀，耕作土壤的运动，导致土壤流失和积累。耕作侵蚀是一个独立于风蚀和水蚀的过程。在耕作景观中，耕作侵蚀往往是侵蚀的主要形式，移动大量土壤，造成严重的土壤流失。申请人彻底调查了耕作侵蚀的过程，在以下方面取得了重大进展：测量技术、对机制的理解、影响评估、控制和补救方法以及建模。 最具挑战性的，因此，在很大程度上未开发的土壤侵蚀研究领域是侵蚀过程之间的相互作用。预计耕作侵蚀与风蚀和水蚀之间会有很强的相互作用。在上坡上，耕作侵蚀暴露出通常更易受风蚀和水蚀侵蚀的底土，而在下坡上，耕作侵蚀将土壤输送到水蚀最严重的地区，形成沟渠。申请人在1995年首次发现了这些相互作用，此后一直是理论研究的主题。应联邦政府的要求，申请人开发了一个综合土壤侵蚀模型，预测风、水和耕作侵蚀的综合影响。然而，该模型仅限于单独过程的模型输出的简单叠加。一个真正完整的土壤侵蚀模型必须考虑侵蚀过程之间的相互作用。 该研究的目的是展示和量化耕作侵蚀与风蚀和水蚀之间的相互作用，并在这些实验的基础上，开发一个更准确的综合土壤侵蚀模型。为此，将在实验室和实地进行一系列实验。

Accelerated erosion of soil through human activities is the major form of land degradation in Canada and in many other parts of the world, threatening our ability to produce food, damaging property, and contaminating air and water resources. Soil erosion by wind and water has been studied for several decades and these processes are well understood. A recent and major advance in soil erosion science has been the recognition of tillage erosion, the movement of soil by tillage, resulting in soil loss and accumulation. Tillage erosion is a separate process from wind and water erosion. In cultivated landscapes, tillage erosion is often the dominant form of erosion, moving great quantities of soil and resulting in severe soil losses. The applicant has thoroughly investigated the process of tillage erosion, making major advances in: measurement techniques, understanding of mechanisms, assessment of impacts, methods of control and remediation, and modelling. The most challenging and, therefore, largely unexplored area of soil erosion research is the interactions between erosion processes. Strong interactions are expected between tillage erosion and wind and water erosion. On upper slopes, tillage erosion exposes subsoil which is normally more erodible to wind and water erosion, and on lower slopes tillage erosion delivers soil to areas where water erosion is most erosive, incising channels. These interactions were first identified by the applicant in 1995 and have been the subject of theoretical study since. At the request of the federal government, the applicant has developed an integrated soil erosion model that predicts the combined effects of wind, water and tillage erosion. However, this model is limited to a simple overlay of model outputs for the separate processes. A truly integrated soil erosion model must account for the interactions between erosion processes. The objectives of the proposed research are to demonstrate and quantify the interactions between tillage erosion and wind and water erosion, and, based on these experiments, to develop a more accurate integrated soil erosion model. To do so, a series of experiments will be conducted in the laboratory and in the field.