Erosion control

  1. Pages with broken file links
  2. Construction
  3. Environmental soil science
  4. Geotechnical engineering
  5. Riparian
  6. Sustainable environmental design
  7. Water pollution


File:TerracesBuffers.JPG
Terraces, conservation tillage, and conservation buffers save soil and improve water quality on this Iowa farm. 1999. Photo by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion in agriculture, land development and construction. Effective erosion controls are important techniques in preventing water pollution and soil loss.

Introduction

Erosion controls are used in natural areas, agricultural settings or urban environments. In urban areas erosion controls are often part of stormwater runoff management programs required by local governments. The controls often involve the creation of a physical barrier, such as vegetation or rock, to absorb some of the energy of the wind or water that is causing the erosion. On construction sites they are often implemented in conjunction with sediment controls such as sediment basins and silt fences.

Examples

Hydroseeding in UK

Examples of erosion control methods include:

Mathematical modeling

Since the 1920s and 1930s[3] scientists have been creating mathematical models for understanding the mechanisms of soil erosion and resulting sediment surface runoff, including an early paper by Albert Einstein applying Baer's law.[4] These models have addressed both gully and sheet erosion. Earliest models were a simple set of linked equations which could be employed by manual calculation. By the 1970s the models had expanded to complex computer models addressing nonpoint source pollution with thousands of lines of computer code.[5] The more complex models were able to address nuances in micrometerology, soil particle size distributions and micro-terrain variation.

See also

32x28px Environment portal
32x28px Ecology portal
32x28px Earth sciences portal
32x28px Sustainable development portal

Notes

  1. ↑ State of California Department of Transportation, Division of Environmental Analysis, Stormwater Program. Sacramento, CA."Cellular Confinement System Research." 2006.
  2. ↑ Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Nashville, TN."Tennessee Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook." 2002.
  3. ↑ Robert E. Horton. 1933
  4. ↑ Albert Einstein. 1926
  5. ↑ C. Michael Hogan, Leda Patmore, Gary Latshaw, Harry Seidman et al. 1973

References

  • Albert Einstein. 1926. Die Ursache der Mäanderbildung der Flußläufe und des sogenannten Baerschen Gesetzes, Die Naturwissenschaften, 11, S. 223–224
  • C. Michael Hogan, Leda Patmore, Gary Latshaw, Harry Seidman et al. 1973. Computer modeling of pesticide transport in soil for five instrumented watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Southeast Water laboratory, Athens, Ga. by ESL Inc., Sunnyvale, California
  • Robert E. Horton. 1933. The Horton Papers
  • U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Washington, DC. "National Conservation Practice Standards." National Handbook of Conservation Practices. Accessed 2009-03-28.
</dl>

External links


...