Soil erosion potential of reclaimed mined lands

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6521456

Hartley, D M; Schuman, G E

Runoff and erosion from three mulch treatments was measured on a surface coal mine near Hanna, Wyoming. Treatments included no mulch, standing grain mulch and crimped straw mulch. Treatments were subjected to artificial rainfall generated by a portable rainfall simulator during three successive growing seasons. The first set of rainfall events was made after imposition of the mulch treatments, the second set was made during the summer following autumn seeding of all treatments with a perennial grass seed mixture and the final set of runs was made 18 months after perennial seeding. Soil loss data indicate a peak in erosion risk during the summer following perennial seeding on the mulched treatments. Soil losses were generally lowest on the straw mulch and highest on the no mulch treatments although soil loss differences declined by the third season. Temporal variation in soil losses as well as soil loss differences between treatments are correlated with ground cover variations. Runoff data indicate a general decline in infiltration rates on all treatments during the study period. Vegetation, soil loss and runoff data were used to calibrate a runoff and erosion computer simulation model. Computer simulation results indicate low amounts of soil loss even for very infrequent, intense, one hour design storms on moderate slopes regardless of mulching method. Simulations indicate that erosion risks are highly dependent upon antecedent soil moisture conditions and the time distribution of storm intensities. 14 references, 4 figures, 5 tables.

• Research Organization: Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO (USA); Department of Agriculture, Cheyenne, WY (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6521456
• Report Number(s): CONF-8306126-5; ON: DE85900088
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
510500 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
COAL MINES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EROSION
LAND RECLAMATION
MASS TRANSFER
MINES
MINING
MOISTURE
RAIN
RUNOFF
SIMULATION
SLOPE STABILITY
SOILS
STABILITY
SURFACE MINING
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES