Soil erosion prediction is an effective decision-support tool in rangeland where soil loss is considered a key indicator of ecosystem health. Most processed-based erosion prediction equations available for rangeland ecosystems have been developed from experimental data collected on soils with low salt content. On saline soils, detachment processes are often exacerbated due to the weakening effect of salts on soil cohesion, resulting in poor performance of existing erosion models in saline environments. Rangelands in the U.S. and in the world encompass considerable expanses of saline soils (e.g. rangelands in the Mancos shale geologic formation) which often pose off-site water quality concerns as a consequence of sediments and salt discharge to surface waters. Accurate soil erosion estimation equations are therefore needed for saline rangelands. In this study, data collected from rainfall simulation experiments in saline rangelands of the western US were used to develop prediction equations for runoff and soil loss. These newly developed equations will be incorporated in the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM).
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.