The Effect of Polyacrylamide on Erosion, Runoff and Infiltration of a Silty Loam Soil

Abstract

Nowadays application of soil conditioners for mitigation and reduction of runoff is a current method. Considering the advantages of Polyacrylamide (PAM), this study was arranged to evaluate impacts of this soil conditioner on soil infiltration rate, runoff and erosion control. To fulfill the goal, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was carried out with four PAM treatments (0, 6, 10, 20 kgha-1), three slope levels (3, 6 and 9 %), three irrigation treatments and three replications. Surficial (0-10 cm) soil samples were collected from Shahrekord University campus and poured into square plots (55×55cm) with 15 cm depth, after pretreatments. The plots were treated with a simulated rainfall intensity of 36 mm.h-1 for 15 minutes and the attributed runoff, sediment load and drained water were collected and measured. The results showed significant differences among the runoff and soil erosion of control and of PAM treated soils. PAM minimized the raindrop negative impacts on soils and improved water infiltration and diminished the attributed runoff. Soil treatment with PAM as a soil conditioner significantly reduced soil erosion and sediment yield in all treatments.

Keywords

• erosion
• infiltration
• polyacrylamide
• rainfall simulation
• runoff
• silty loam.