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Response of soil aggregate disintegration to the different content of organic carbon and its fractions during splash erosion
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  • Hairu Li,
  • Gang Liu,
  • Ju Gu,
  • Hong Chen,
  • Hongqiang Shi,
  • Mohamed A.M. Abd Elbasit,
  • Feinan Hu
Hairu Li
Northwest A&F University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Gang Liu
Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University
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Ju Gu
Northwest A&F University
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Hong Chen
Northwest A&F University
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Hongqiang Shi
Northwest A&F University
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Mohamed A.M. Abd Elbasit
Institute for Soil Climate and Water
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Feinan Hu
Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University
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Abstract

Aggregate disintegration is a critical process in soil splash erosion. However, the effect of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions on soil aggregates disintegration is still not clear. In this study, five soils with similar physical and chemical properties and different contents of SOC have been used. The effects of slaking and mechanical striking on splash erosion were distinguished by using deionized water and 95% ethanol as raindrops. The simulated rainfall experiments were carried out in four heights (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 m). The result indicated that the soil aggregate stability increased with the increases of SOC and light fraction organic carbon (LFOC). The relative slaking and the mechanical striking index increased with the decreases of SOC and LFOC. The reduction of macroaggregates in eroded soil gradually decreased with the increase of SOC and LFOC, especially in alcohol test. The amount of macroaggregates (>0.25mm) in deionized water tests were significantly less than that in alcohol tests under the same rainfall heights. The contribution of slaking to splash erosion increased with the decrease of heavy fractions organic carbon (HFOC). The contribution of mechanical striking was dominant when the rainfall kinetic energy increased to a range of threshold between 9 J m-2 mm-1 and 12 m-2 mm-1. This study could provide the scientific basis for deeply understanding the mechanism of soil aggregates disintegration and splash erosion.
10 Oct 2020Submitted to Hydrological Processes
10 Oct 2020Submission Checks Completed
10 Oct 2020Assigned to Editor
10 Oct 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
09 Nov 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
12 Nov 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Major
24 Dec 20201st Revision Received
24 Dec 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
24 Dec 2020Submission Checks Completed
24 Dec 2020Assigned to Editor
19 Jan 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
20 Jan 2021Editorial Decision: Accept
Feb 2021Published in Hydrological Processes volume 35 issue 2. 10.1002/hyp.14060