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SOIL PHYSICS

Enrichment of Organic Carbon in Sediment Transport by Interrill and Rill Erosion Processes

Department of Soil Management and Soil Care, Ghent Univ., Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

^* Corresponding authors (donald.gabriels{at}UGent.be).

Erosion and loss of organic carbon (OC) result in degradation of the soil surface. Rill and interrill erosion processes on a silt loam soil were examined in laboratory rainfall and flume experiments. These experiments showed that rill and interrill erosion processes have contrasting impacts on enrichment of OC in transported sediment. Rill erosion was found to be nonselective, while for interrill erosion the enrichment ratio of OC, ER_OC, varied between 0.9 and 2.6 and was inversely related to the unit sediment discharge. At unit sediment discharge values >0.0017 kg s^–1 m^–1, the ER_OC remained equal to 1. The enrichment process was not influenced by raindrop impact. Enrichment of OC by "aggregate stripping" was found to be unimportant in our study. This was attributed to the low aggregate stability of the soil and the equal distribution of OC within the different soil aggregate classes.

Abbreviations: Ek, kinetic energy of the rain on the soil surface • ER, enrichment ratio • OC, organic carbon • qs, unit sediment discharge