Soil Consolidation
ØOverall, freshly tilled soil is about twice as erodible as a fully consolidated soil
ØErodibility decreases with time
-Seven years in the Eastern US
-Depends on rainfall in Western US, up to 25 years
Mechanical disturbance of the soil such tillage increases soil erosion.
The increase is assumed to be almost double.
Some of the increase is usually offset by roughness.
Wetting and drying cycles increase soil resistance to erosion.
About seven years is the time assumed for soil to fully regain it resistance after tillage.
RUSLE2 computes a long time in the Western US as a function of rainfall.
The effect is greater for rill erosion than for interrill erosion.
The effect is related to soil texture, being less for coarse textured soils.
RUSLE2 doesn’t consider the textural effect.