Selection of a parameter describing soil surface roughness

Lehrsch, G.A. and Whisler, F.D. and Römkens, M. J. M. (1988) Selection of a parameter describing soil surface roughness. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 52:1439-1445.

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Abstract

The microrelief of the soil surface, termed soil surface roughness,
affects water movement into a soil profile as well as seedling germination
in the seedbed. When analyzing surface roughness, the
selection of a measurable, physically significant parameter describing
roughness is critical. An evaluation was conducted on eight
roughness parameters, including maximum peak height, a microrelief
index (the area per unit transect length between the measured
surface profile and the least-squares regression line through all measured
positions of the transect), peak frequency, and MIF (the product
of the microrelief index and peak frequency). The objective of
the study was to select the parameter being the best descriptor of
soil surface roughness. An automated, noncontact profiler was used
to obtain surface profiles along transects, 5-cm apart, of 1-m by 1-
m plots after a cultivation and a simulated rainfall application at
each of three different stages of soybean [Glycine max (L.)] development.
For each cultivation, surface profiles were obtained on bare
plots before rainfall and on adjacent vegetated plots after rainfall.
The common logarithm of the MIF parameter was selected as the
best descriptor of surface roughness because of its sensitivity to simulated
rainfall as a source of variation, and its consistent response
to such rainfall. MIF can also account for spatial dependency and
can be measured relatively precisely.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0665
Subjects:	Soil Research methodology Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Users 6 not found.
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:53
Last Modified:	05 Jan 2017 19:15
Item ID:	505
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/505