The effects of Rubus hyrcanus L. and Philonotis marchica (Hedw.) Brid. on soil loss prevention from cutslopes of a forest road

Abstract

The effects of Rubus hyrcanus L. and Philonotis marchica (Hedw.) Bridon on runoff generation and soil loss from cutslopes of forest roads were investigated. The study was conducted at the northern forest of Iran, about 30 km south of the city of Sari. Runoff and sedimentation after each rainfall simulation and chemical and physical soil properties were measured in 14 plots with an area of 0.48 m2. The obtained results indicate that the vegetation dominated by Philonotis marchica exhibited the higher runoff coefficient and soil loss, with averages of 27.25% and 92.40 g.m-2.h-1(gram per square meter per hour), respectively, in comparison to Rubus hyrcanus. For Philonotis marchica (Hedw.) Brid. the sediment concentration increased quickly at the beginning of rainfall simulations and after 10-12 min there was a fast decrease in sediment concentration. The peak of sediment concentration was for the Rubus hyrcanus L. in the 13th-15th min In conclusion, Rubus hyrcanus L. prevented or decreased the risk of runoff and soil loss from cutslopes of forest roads in our study area.

Keywords

• vegetation type
• runoff
• soil loss
• cutslope
• forest road