Splash erosion effects of tillage practices on soil surface roughness under different rainfall conditions

Soil surface roughness is one of the main factors which affect soi1 erosion in slope farmland. To further determine the splash erosion effects of tillage practices on soil surface roughness, the effects of tillage practices on splash erosion and changes of soil surface roughness were obtained under the conditions of the single and combined rainfall intensity based on the artificial rainfall simulation experiments. The results showed that the slope erosion effects of tillage practices on soil surface roughness were different from contrast slope, raking cropland, artificial hoe, artificial dig to contour slope. Under the condition of rainfall intensity of 0.62 mm/min, splash erosion of upward slope increased firstly, and then decreased, while increased firstly, and then decreased, and increased finally for splash erosion of downward slope and total splash erosion with the change of tillage practices. Soil surface roughness declined for other tillage practices except for raking cropland. Under the rainfall intensity of 1.53 mm/min, splash erosion of each aspect of slopes increased firstly, and then decreased, and increased finally with the change of tillage practices, while soil surface roughness increased, opposite to the changes of contrast slope. Under the combined rainfall intensity, total splash erosion and soil surface roughness of raking cropland were consistent with the changes of contrast slope with the increasing of rainfall intensity. While total splash erosion of slope increased firstly and then decreased for other tillage practices, reverse to the changes of soil surface roughness. The results provide theory basis for revealing the erosion characteristics of soil surface roughness, and at the same time, it can serve for governing soil and water loss of the slope farmland in Loess Plateau.