Comparative study on rain splash erosion of representative soils in China

As the first event of soil erosion, rain splash erosion supplies materials for subsequent transportation and entrainment. The Loess Plateau, the southern hilly region and the Northeast China are subject to serious soil and water loss; however, the characteristics of rain splash erosion in those regions are still unclear. The objectives of the study are to analyze the characteristics of splash erosion on loess soil, red soil, purple soil and black soil, and to discuss the relationship between splash erosion and soil properties. Soil samples spatially distributed in the abovementioned regions were collected and underwent simulated rainfalls at a high intensity of 1.2mm/min, lasting for 5, 10, 15, and 20min, respectively. Rain splash and soil crust development were analyzed. It shows that black soil sample from Heilongjiang Province corresponds to the minimum splash erosion amount because it has high aggregate content, aggregate stability and organic matter content. Loess soil sample from Inner Mongolia corresponds to the maximum splash erosion amount because it has high content of sand particles. Loess soil sample from Shanxi Province has relatively lower splash erosion amount because it has high silt particle content and low aggregate stability easily to be disrupted under rainfalls with high intensity. Although aggregate contents of red soil and purple soil samples from Hubei and Guangdong provinces are high, the stability is weak and prone to be disrupted, so the splash erosion amount is medium. Splash rate which fluctuates over time is observed because soil crust development follows a cycling processes of formation and disruption. In addition, there are two locations of soil crust development, one appears at the surface, and the other occurs at the subsurface