Controlling erosion and sediment loss on furrow-irrigated land

Carter, David L. (1985) Controlling erosion and sediment loss on furrow-irrigated land. In: El-Swaify, S.A. and Moldenhauer, W.C. and Low, Andrew, (eds.) Soil Erosion and Conservation. pp. 355-364. Soil Cons. Soc. Amer., Ankeny, Iowa.

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Abstract

Erosion and sediment loss from irrigated land has been recognized as a
serious problem for about 40 years. Only during the past 10 years has significant
progress been made toward controlling such erosion. Carter (5)
reviewed and evaluated information available before 1976 and proposed
a set of guidelines for controlling erosion and sediment loss on furrow-irrigated
land. Brown and associates (4) measured sediment inflows and outflows
for two large irrigated tracts and provided information on sediment
and phosphorus (P) concentrations in surface drainage waters or irrigation
return flows (6). Sediment concentrations in return flows from these
two large tracts ranged from 20 to 15,000 mg/l. Total P concentrations
were proportional to sediment concentrations. Therefore, conserving
sediment also conserves P.

Berg and Carter (2) conducted detailed investigations of water and sediment
inflows and outflows from 50 furrow-irrigated fields, They concluded
that an average of 50 percent of the water applied ran off the surface.
Their data have been used to develop estimated sediment losses for
different crops on various slopes along the furrow (7). Additional data
have been collected and several computer models are being developed to
provide better estimates of erosion and sediment loss.
During the past five years, considerable research has been directed toward
evaluating present practices for reducing erosion and sediment loss
on furrow-irrigated land. Initially, most of this research was directed at
reducing the sediment concentration in irrigation return flows. Presently,
greater emphasis is being placed on reducing erosion and sediment loss on
individual fields. Along with the evaluation of known practices came the
development and evaluation of new management alternatives for erosion
and sediment loss control.

Here, we report the erosion control and sediment removal efficiencies
for five practices and provide information on the advantages and disadvantages
of each. We also present a brief summary of the application of
these practices, along with some water management practices on a
1,600-ha irrigated basin and the resulting decrease in sediment loss.
Third, we present the initial results of some research on the relationship of
topsoil loss from erosion to crop yield decreases, work that is just beginning.

Item Type:	Book Section
NWISRL Publication Number:	0564
Subjects:	Irrigation > Furrow irrigation > Erosion Irrigation > Furrow irrigation > Runoff losses > Sediment Soil > Erosion Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:55
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2017 16:52
Item ID:	766
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/766