Laboratory Evaluation of Mulches in Reducing Erosion

ABSTRACT THE effectiveness of various mulch materials and their rates of application on reducing soil erosion was examined. Eleven mulch treatments were applied to a Hagerstown silty clay loam soil on a two percent slope located under a rotating disc rainfall simulator applying rain at 135 mm/h. The treatments included straw at two rates, two sizes of bark chips, three commercially available materials and two sizes of rocks, all of which were compared to a fallow or no mulch treatment. The presence of the mulch treatments influenced the depths of runoff, the sediment concentrations and the erosion rates observed during the 10-min rainstorm events. The mulches which were porous and capable of holding or storing water, such as straw, bark, burlap and jute, yielded reduced runoff depths, lower sediment concentrations, and lower erosion rates than the mulches which could not absorb water. The least effective erosion control mulches were the rocks.