Ocena erozji wodnej gleby lessowej na uprawach buraka cukrowego i pszenicy jarej na podstawie badań poletkowych

Water erosion under sugar beet and spring wheat was studied in runoff-plot experiment on loess slope. Canopy cover factor (C) of the USLE was used to evaluate a protective function of crops. The factor was determined directly as a ratio of soil loss from standard plots of length of 22.1 m, with crops and fallow. Results showed that C factor for sugar beet was 0.96, and for wheat - 0.04. Such high C value for sugar beet was the effect of heavy rainstorm at the plant emergence, when small canopy cover did not allow to limit the erosion. Studies carried with a system of plots of different length pointed that the effective distance of sediment transport ranged from 3.9 to 13.2 m for sugar beet, and from 2.6 to 4.5 m for spring wheat. Results of the studies showed that during processes of surface (interrill) erosion, transport of soil material prevails on short distances, whereas deposition took place inside the longer plots.