TILLAGE RESEARCH NEEDED TO REDUCE WIND EROSION

E. L. Skidmore- 11

NATURE OF WIND EROSION PROBLEM

Wind e ros ion i s severe i n many areas of t h e world and is the dominant problan on about 30 mi l l i on hec tares of land i n the United States. On the average, about 2 m i l l i o n hec ta re s are moderately to severe ly damaged each year. 19 th century warned of impending d i s a s t e r , and during the 1930's a prolonged dry s p e l l culminated i n s o i l d e s t r u c t i o n and d i s a s t r o u s d u s t storms on t h e . Great P l a i n s (Svobida, 1940; Malin, 1946a, b , c; Johnson, 1947).

Extensive s o i l e ros ion i n the Great P l a i n s dur ing t h e l a s t ha l f of t h e

Although g e n e r a l l y bel ieved t o be important only i n semiar id and a r i d areas, s o i l e r o s i o n by wind may occur wherever s o i l , vege ta t ive , and climatic condi t ions are conducive. Such condi t ions e x i s t wherever (1) t h e s o i l is loose, dry, and reasonably f i n e l y divided; (2) t h e s o i l s u r f a c e is smooth and vege ta t ive cover absent o r sparse; (3) t h e f i e l d is l a r g e enough; and (4) t h e wind is s t rong enough t o i n i t i a t e s o i l movement (Food and Agr icu l ture Organization of t h e United Nations, 1960) .

Those cond i t ions are m e t o f t ene r i n semiar id and a r i d areas where prec ip i - t a t i o n is inadequate o r wher'e t h e v a g a r i e s from season t o season o r year t o year prevent maintenance of c rops o r r e s i d u e cover on t h e land. The combi- na t ion of cond i t ions a l s o occurs i n subhumid and sometimes even humid areas. Vegetable c rops are o f t e n damaged on sandy s o i l s i n areas of high r a i n f a l l .

Wind e r o s i o n phys ica l ly removes t h e most f e r t i l e po r t ion of the s o i l and, therefore , lowers p roduc t iv i ty of t h e land (Daniel and Langham, 1936; Lyles , 1975).

Blowing s o i l f i l l s d i t ches and f ence r o w s , b locks highways, reduces seedl ing s u r v i v a l and growth, and lowers t h e marke tab i l i t y of vege tab le crops.

Some s o i l from damaged land e n t e r s suspension and becomes p a r t of the atmospheric dus t load (Hagen and Woodruff , 1973). Dust a s soc ia t ed with wind eros ion obscures v i s i b i l i t y , p o l l u t e s t h e a i r , causes automobile acc idents ,

' fou ls machinery, and i r r i t a tes homanakers.

PAST AND PRESENT RESEARCH

Numerous s t u d i e s of wind eros ion mechanics and c o n t r o l l e d t o t h e develop- ment of a wind e ros ion equation (Chepil and Woodruff, 1963; Woodruff and Siddoway, 1965) and establ ishment of t h e fol lowing bas i c p r i n c i p l e s (Woodruff

L'Soil s c i e n t i s t , Agr i cu l tu ra l Research Service, U. S. Department of Agri- c u l t u r e , Manhattan, Kans.; i n cooperat ion wi th the A g r i c u l t u r a l Experiment S t a t i o n , Kansas State Universi ty , Manhattan.

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' and others, 1972) t o c o n t r o l wind erosion: (1) e s t a b l i s h and maintain vege- tat ive or nonvegetative land cover; (2) reduce f i e l d widths along p reva i l i ng wind d i r e c t i o n ; (3) produce s t a b l e c lods o r aggrega tes on the land sur face ; and (4) roughen t h e land, opera t ions .

Three of those p r i n c i p l e s relate d i r e c t l y t o t i l l a g e

S ince t h e va lue of r e s i d u e f o r wind e ros ion c o n t r o l w a s recognized, v a r i o u s s t u d i e s (Woodruff and o the r s , 1965a, b; Fens te r and o the r s , 1965; Woodruff and o thers , 1966; Woodruff and Chepil, 1958; Fenster and McCalla, 1970; Anderson, 1965; Anderson, 1961) have evaluated performance of t i l l a g e implements i n a stubble-mulch system.

Two types of t i l lage machines were used i n s t u b b l e mulching: (a) those t h a t stir and mix t h e s o i l , and (b) those t h a t c u t beneath the su r face without s t i r r i n g o r turning the t i l l e d layer . With e i t h e r type, t he quan t i ty of r e s i d u e conserved i s a f u n c t i o n of quant i ty , he ight , or l ength , and previous pos i t i on ing of p r e t i l l a g e res idue . than do such mixing type implements as one-way d isks .

'

Subsurface sweeps conserve more r e s i d u e

Experimental r e s u l t s show that s tubb le mulching and reduced t i l l a g e leave more r e s i d u e and l eave i t more erect than convent ional t i l l a g e does; conse- .

quent ly , providing more e f f e c t i v e wind erosion c o n t r o l (Anderson, 1961; Fens te r , 1960; Unger and o t h e r s , 1971; Woodruff and o the r s , 1965a; Schmidt and T r i p l e t t , 1967; Schmidt and Kroetz, 1969; Moldenhauer and Duncan, 1969; Duncan and Moldenhauer, 1968) ,

P a s t research on t i l l a g e t o c o n t r o l wind e r o s i o n w a s centered a t Manhattan, Kans., w i t h s c i e n t i s t s a t o the r Great P l a i n s l o c a t i o n s p a r t i c i - p a t i n g : i n Kansas (Colby, S t . John, Garden City, Hays, Tribune), Nebraska (All iance, Lincoln) , Texas (Big Spring, Bushland), and Colorado (Akron). Corn B e l t l o c a t i o n s of Ames, Iowa, and Wooster, Ohio, have contr ibuted, as has r e s e a r c h a t Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Present ARS l o c a t i o n s with support f o r wind eros ion r e s e a r c h are Manhattan, Kans., Big Spring, Tex., and Sidney, Mont., w i t h 5.2, 0.8, and 0.4 SY's respec t ive ly . S ince t i l l a g e , p a r t i c u l a r l y r e s i d u e management, p l ays such a n important r o l e i n wind eros ion con t ro l p r a c t i c e s , a po r t ion of t h e support l i k e l y i s devoted t o t i l l a g e aspects.

R E S W C H NEEDS AND APPROACHES

T i l l a g e research needs appl ied t o those p r i n c i p l e s f o r con t ro l l i ng wind e ros ion may inc lude the fol lowing object ives: (1) t o develop t i l l a g e t h a t w i l l r e c o n s t r u c t t h e f i n e s o i l p a r t i c l e s and aggregates i n t o s t a b l e aggregates l a r g e r than 1 mm b u t small enough f o r a good seedbed; (2) t o develop t i l l a g e that w i l l l e a v e a b lanket of s t a b l e c lods on t h e s u r f a c e ; (3) t o develop t i l l a g e and r e s idue management t o minimze overwinter breakdown of s o i l . aggrega tes on s o i l s s u s c e p t i b l e t o wind erosion; (4) t o optimize t i l l a g e f o r producing s o i l roughness; (5) t o develop t i l l a g e t h a t w i l l conserve and manage r e s idue f o r e ros ion c o n t r o l and m a x h u m crop y i e l d s ; (6) t o evaluate in t e r - a c t i o n between t i l l a g e and cropping h i s t o r y on s o i l phys i ca l p roper t ies , p a r t i c u l a r l y those t h a t r e l a t e t o wind e r o d i b i l i t y . Research approaches l i s t e d i n ARS Nat iona l Research Program 20800, Technical Objec t ive 2 (Wind Erosion , .) t h a t i nc lude t i l l a g e a spec t s a re :

I I I i i I

1 I

1 I

i i i

I

1 I

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- Improve wind erosion con t ro l from crop r e s idues a f t e r t i l l a g e : Conduct n o - t i l l , minimum, and s tubb le mulching research t o determine optimum o r i e n t a t i o n of r e s idues ; develop improved he rb ic ide - t i l l age techniques , improve the r o l e of sequence and frequency of opera t ions , and improve d r i l l i n g and p l an t ing procedures.

- Improve wind e ros ion c o n t r o l from t i l l a g e manipulation of s o i l s t ruc- t u r e : Conduct r e sea rch t o eva lua te clod production c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of v a r i o u s t i l l a g e machines, determine optimum c r i t i c a l f r i c t i o n v e l o c i t y r a t i o s f o r s o i l c lods and s u r f a c e roughness and develop parameters f o r des igning machines t o provide most e f f e c t i v e s o i l s u r f a c e condi t ions , and determine f e a s i b i l i t y of t r e a t i n g c lods with chemical and p e t r o 1 eum-ba sed pr e serva t ive s t o r es is t d is i n t e g r a t i o n .

'

-- U s e landforming f o r wind e ros ion con t ro l : Determine inf luence of topography on wind e ros ion and develop engineer ing s p e c i f i c a t i o n s and des ign cr i ter ia f o r landforming t o c o n t r o l wind erosion.

-- Improve wind eros ion c o n t r o l a t t a i n a b l e from deep plowing sandy s o i l s : Conduct r e sea rch t o e s t a b l i s h minimum c l a y con ten t s a t reachable depths t o provide c o n t r o l f o r extended per iods a t reasonable cos ts .

- P r e d i c t impact of emergency t i l l a g e on t o t a l seasonal erosion: Evalua te var ious emergency t i l l a g e implements such as c h i s e l s , furrow openers, s andf igh te r s , etc. f o r e f f e c t i v e n e s s and d u r a t i o n on s o i l s of v a r i o u s t e x t u r e s and water contents .

- Preserve and extend the wind eros ion p r o t e c t i o n of crop res idues : Study b a s i c microbia l a c t i v i t y , screen and test va r ious commercial p roducts with p o t e n t i a l f o r r e s idue preserva t ion , and develop economical methods f o r us ing t h e technology.

EXPECTED BENEFITS

In Technica l Object ive 2, "Improved Wind Erosion Control t o P ro tec t Crops and Soi l s and Reduce A i r Po l lu t ion , " estimates show t h a t annual b e n e f i t s from v i s u a l i z e d technology on wind e ros ion equal $146 mi l l ion .

Monetary b e n e f i t s would accrue from reduced crop l o s s e s ; a d d i t i o n a l acreage made a v a i l a b l e f o r economic r e t u r n ; improved s o i l p r o d u c t i v i t y from lessened erosion; more n e a r l y accu ra t e c u r r e n t and f u t u r e commodity p r i c i n g because of improved accuracy i n e s t ima t ing damage and fo recas t ing food suppl ies ; reduced maintenance of roads, fences , and i r r i g a t i o n and dra inage d i t c h e s ; and reduced damage t o mechanical and electrical apparatus from dus t .

Most of t he - v i s u a l i z e d technology relates t o t i l l a g e a spec t s of wind e ros ion cont ro l .

i 7

J

Health, acc iden t prevent ion, improved environment and a e s t h e t i c f a c t o r s by reducing d u s t and a i r p o l l u t i o n would b e n e f i t 1 2 m i l l i o n people and 36 m i l - lion l i v e s t o c k i n t h e Great P l a i n s , with similar b e n e f i t s t o o the r regions where wind e ros ion i s a problem.

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POTENTIAL FOR INTERREGI? EL EXTRAPOLATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY I N A PREDICTIVE SENSE (MODELING)

Because a wind e r o s i o n equat ion (de t e rmin i s t i c model) a l r e a d y exists and is used ex tens ive ly , p o t e n t i a l is e x c e l l e n t f o r i n t e r r e g i o n a l e x t r a p o l a t i o n of new technology. f i n e soil p a r t i c l e s , produce a cloddy su r face , i nc rease s u r f a c e roughness, and maintain r e s idue on t h e s u r f a c e can now b e evaluated f o r wind e r o s i o n cont ro l . However, much r e s e a r c h is needed t o eva lua te t i l l a g e requirements f o r t h e sundry s o i l , c l i m a t i c , v e g e t a t i v e , and moi s tu re v a r i a b l e s .

B e n e f i t s from new t i l l a g e technology t h a t w i l l r e c o n s t r u c t

REFERENCES

Anderson, De T. 1961. Sur face t r a s h conserva t ion wi th t i l l a g e machines. Canadian J o u r n a l of Soil Science 41: 99-114.

Anderson, D. T. 1965. Some f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g t r a s h conserva t ion wi th t h e heavy-duty c u l t i v a t o r o Canadian A g r i c u l t u r a l Engineering 7:46, 49, 56.

Chepil, We S., and Ne P. Woodruff. 1963. The phys ics of wind e r o s i o n and i t s con t ro l . Advances in Agronomy 15:211-302.

Daniel, He A., and We H. Langham. 1936. The e f f e c t of wind e r o s i o n and c u l t i v a t i o n on t h e t o t a l n i t rogen and o rgan ic matter content of s o i l s i n t h e Southern High P la ins . 28:587-596.

Jou rna l of t h e American Socie ty of Agronomy

Duncan, E. Re, and W e C. Moldenhauer. 1968. Con t ro l l i ng wind e ros ion i n Iowa. Pamphlet 432, Cooperat ive Extension Service, Iowa State Univers i ty , Ames, Iowa. 4 pages.

Fenster, C. Re 1960. S tubble mulching w i t h v a r i o u s types of machinery. Soil Science Socie ty of America Proceedings 24:518-523.

Fens te r , C. R., N. P. Woodruff, We S. Chepil, and F. H. Siddoway. 165. Per- 111. E f f e c t s formance of t i l l a g e implements i n a s t u b b l e mulch system:

of t i l l a g e sequences on r e s idues , s o i l c loddiness , weed c o n t r o l , and wheat y i e l d . Agronomy J o u r n a l 57:52-55.

Fens te r , C. Re, and T. M. McCalla. 1970. T i l l a g e p r a c t i c e s i n western Nebraska wi th a wheat-fallow r o t a t i o n . S t a t i o n B u l l e t i n 507. 20 pages.

Nebraska A g r i c u l t u r a l Experiment

Food and Agr i cu l tu re Organiza t ion of t h e United Nations. 1960. S o i l e ros ion by wind and measures for i ts c o n t r o l on a g r i c u l t u r a l lands. A g r i c u l t u r a l Development Paper Number 71.

FA0

Hagen, Le J., and Ne P. Woodruff. 1973. A i r p o l l u t i o n from dus ts torms i n t h e Great Pla ins . Atmospheric Environment 7:323-332.

Johnson, Vance. 1947, Heaven's t ab l e l and - t h e d u s t bowl s tory. F a r r a r , S t r aus , New York. Pages 155-157.

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Lyles, Leon. 1975. Poss ib le e f f e c t s of wind eros ion on s o i l p roduct iv i ty . Jou rna l o f S o i l and Water Conservation 30:279-283.

Malin, James C. 1946a. Dust storms - p a r t one, 1850-1860. The Kansas Historical Quar te r ly 14:129-144,

Malin, James C. 1946b. Dust storms - p a r t two, 1861-1880. The Kansas H i s t o r i c a l Quar te r ly 14:265-296.

Malin, James C. 1946c, Dust storms - p a r t t h ree , 1881-1900. The Kansas H i s t o r i c a l Quar te r ly 14:391-413.

MoIdenhauer, W. C., and E. R. Duncan. 1969. P r i n c i p l e s and methods of wind e ros ion c o n t r o l i n Iowa. Spec ia l Report Number 62, Iowa S t a t e Universi ty .

Schmidt, Berlie L a , and Marion E, Kroetz. 1969. Wind e ros ion on sands with reduced t i l l a g e and crop r e s i d u e management. Workshop o n Wind Erosion Proceedings, Des Pla ines , I l l i n o i s .

North C e n t r a l Regional Pages 66-72,

Schmidt, Berlie L., and G. B. T r i p l e t t , Jr. 1967. Con t ro l l i ng wind erosion. Ohio A g r i c u l t u r a l Research and Development Center, Ohio Report 52:35-37.

Skidmore, E. L., and N. P. Woodruff. 1968. Wind e ros ion f o r c e s i n the United S t a t e s and t h e i r u s e i n p r e d i c t i n g s o i l l o s s . of Agr i cu l tu re , A g r i c u l t u r a l Handbook Number 346.

United S t a t e s Department 42 pages.

Svobida, Lawrence. 1940. A n empire of d u s t , Caxton P r i n t e r s , Limited, Caldwell, Idaho. 203 pages.

Unger, Paul W., Ronald R. Allen, and Allen F. Wiese. 1971. T i l l a g e and he rb ic ides for s u r f a c e r e s i d u e maintenance, weed c o n t r o l , and water conserva t ion , Journal of S o i l and Water Conservation 26:147-150.

Woodruff, N. P., and W. S a Chepil. 1958. Inf luence of one-way d i s k and subsurface-sweep t i l l a g e on f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g wind eros ion . of t h e ASAE 1:81-85,

Transact ions

Woodruff, N. P., and F. H. Siddoway. 1965. A wind e ros ion equation. S o i l Science S o c i e t y o f America Proceedings 29:602-608.

Woodruff, N. P., C. Re Fens ter , W. S. Chepil , and F. H. Siddoway. Performance of t i l l a g e implements i n a s tubb le mulch system: conservat ion. Agronomy Journa l 57:45-49.

1965a. I. Residue

Woodruff, N. P., C. R. Fens ter , W. So Chepil , and F. H. Siddoway. Performance of t i l l a g e implements i n a s tubb le mulch system: on soil cloddiness,

1965b. 11. Ef fec t s

Agronomy Journa l 57 : 49-51.

t t ,

Woodruff, N. P., C. R. Fenster , W. W. Harris, and Marvin Lundquist . 1966. Stubble-mulch t i l l a g e and p l an t ing i n crop r e s i d u e i n t h e Great P la ins . Transac t ions o f the ASAE 9:849-853.

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t

woodruff, N. P., Leon Lyles, F.H. Siddoway, and D. W. Fryrear. 1972. How t o control wind erosion. United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Information Bullet in Number 354. 22 pages.

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