Tillage erosion and its interactions with wind and water erosion

人类活动加速的土壤侵蚀是加拿大和#年土地退化的主要形式。 世界上许多其他地区，威胁着我们生产粮食的能力，破坏财产，污染空气和水资源。风和水对土壤侵蚀的研究已有几十年的历史，人们对这些过程已有充分的了解。土壤侵蚀科学最近的一个重大进展是认识到耕作侵蚀，即耕作使土壤移动，导致土壤流失和堆积。耕作侵蚀是一个独立于风和水侵蚀的过程。在耕地景观中，耕作侵蚀往往是侵蚀的主要形式，它移动了大量的土壤，导致了严重的土壤流失。申请人对耕作侵蚀过程进行了彻底的调查，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模型。 土壤侵蚀研究中最具挑战性的领域是侵蚀过程之间的相互作用，因此在很大程度上是未被探索的领域。预计耕作侵蚀和风、水侵蚀之间会有很强的相互作用。在上坡，耕作侵蚀暴露出通常更容易受到风和水侵蚀的底土，而在下坡，耕作侵蚀将土壤输送到水蚀最严重的地区，从而切割沟渠。申请人于1995年首次确定了这些相互作用，并自那以来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，该模型预测了风、水和耕作侵蚀的综合影响。然而，该模型仅限于单独流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到侵蚀过程之间的相互作用。 这项研究的目的是论证和量化耕作侵蚀和风、水侵蚀之间的相互作用，并在这些试验的基础上，开发一个更准确的综合土壤侵蚀模型。为此，将在实验室和野外进行一系列实验。

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.