علوم آب و خاک (Dec 2023)
Investigation of the Surface and Tunnel Runoff and Sediment Production in Saline-Sodic Soil under Different Slopes
Abstract
Awareness of the number of changes in runoff and sediment on different slopes can be useful in modeling the production of runoff and sediment. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the production of surface and tunnel runoff and sediment in saline and sodic soils on different slopes. Saline-sodic soil was collected and transported to the laboratory. Laboratory experiments were performed on a soil bed in a rectangular flume at three different slopes (5%, 10%, and 15%) under simulated rain (30 mm/h) for one hour. An analysis of variance was used to investigate the effect of slope on runoff and sediment production, and the means were compared using Duncan's test at the five percent level using SPSS version 26 software. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the slopes of the runoff (P<0.001) and sediment (P<0.001). In the first minute of the experiments, due to the lack of moisture in the soil, the amount of runoff was low, but over time, the amount of runoff increased. It is because the pores are blocked by the dispersion of soil particles owing to the presence of sodium ions, which ultimately leads to a decrease in permeability. Similarly, in the last few minutes, outflow from the tunnel was observed, and this flow occurred only on slopes of 10% and 15%. The amount of sediment was also low in the first few minutes, which could be related to the low amount of runoff and the lack of sediment particle removal. Nonetheless, after the lapse of time, its amount increased, and the primary reasons were reduced permeability, increased runoff, and removal of fine particles from the soil surface.
