Wind erosion in agricultural soils: an example of limited supply of particles available for erosion

Abstract

Soil erosion by wind is a complex process since many interacting factors are involved. In addition, wind erosion can show a considerable spatial and temporal variability associated with changes in soil surface conditions. During a wind erosion experiment conducted in August 1995 within an agricultural field of Central Aragón (NE Spain) (López et al., “in press”), a decay in dust emission (vertical dust flux) with an increase in wind speed was observed at the end of the experimental period. A further analysis of the evolution of the vertical flux with time in response to changes in soil erodibility is shown in the present study. The analysis is based on the comparison of the measured flux with the potential flux predicted for identical wind conditions assuming that the supply of erodible material at the soil surface was unlimited. The potential flux was estimated by using the dust emission model developed by Marticorena and Bergametti (1995). The model is based on the parameterization of the threshold wind shear velocity as a function of the aggregate size distribution and the roughness length of soil surface. The results indicate that the observed reduction in soil erodibility with time was probably due to variations in the aggregate size distribution and, more precisely, to a limited supply of erodible particles at the soil surface. This study underlines the need to consider the temporal variability of the surface conditions in wind erosion research and derived models.