This book is the first to systematically explore experimental erosion by integrating theory, erosion observations, and conservation applications. Although numerous books have been published on soil erosion both in English and in Chinese, none has concentrated on experimental studies on the Loess Plateau of China, in an attempt to establish a new sub-discipline: experimental erosion.

One main objective of this book is to highlight monitoring and modeling methods for soil scientists who design and conduct experimental studies on soil loss. Another objective, and the most important one, is to make the results of these experiments more generally available. Accordingly, we have gathered and integrated a broad range of experimental results, both published and unpublished. In-depth discussions of the experimental data and new data processing methods are also included. The work covered here represents exemplary studies in the field of soil erosion and conservation, while the new methods and findings presented will provide practical guidance for controlling soil erosion. Hence the book offers a valuable resource for graduate students, soil erosion scientists and engineers, and soil and water conservationists.

Autorentext

Prof. Dr. Xiangzhou Xu is a full professor and PhD supervisor at Dalian University of Technology. His expertise includes resource sustainability, soil and water conservation, urban rainwater utilization, and topography measurement. Most of his work time is spent on the physical experiments in the laboratory as well as in field. The Topography Meter designed by him opened a new way for further development of landslide tracking and measuring. He is the principal investigator of 3 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 1 program for the Excellent Talents in the Universities of Liaoning Province. Xu has also gained two Ministerial and Provincial-Level Science and Technology Awards as the 1st or 3rd Place Winner. Presently Professor Xu is the first or second author of 50+ journal articles, of which 18 of them are published/accepted in the SCI international journals. Xu is also the first author of a monograph in English. Professor Xu is the first author of 13 invention patents of China. Presently he is supervising four PhD students, five master students, and a visiting scholar. He is also the reviewer of about 20 SCI journals.

Prof. Dr. Tongxin Zhu is a full Professor in the University of Minnesota Duluth (USA). His research interests focus on the hydrological and geomorphic processes at the small watershed scale by integrating field investigations into simulation modeling. He is internationally recognized for his prominent studies on tunnel erosion in semi-arid climatic conditions. He has published 20 SCI-indexed papers in a range of international journals.

Prof. Dr. Hongwu Zhang is a Distinguished Professor and PhD Supervisor in the Tsinghua University (China), and the associate editor-in-chief of the international SCI journal, Journal of Hydrodynamics. He is also a leading scientist in the areas of river management and hydraulics. Presently he has authored 9 books and over 200 journal articles. He is the principal investigator of a National Key R & D Project and a Key project of the National Natural Science Foundations of China, and he also won two second prizes for National Scientific and Technological Progress Award as the third author.

Miss Lu Gao is a PhD student supervised by Professor Xiangzhou Xu in the Dalian University of Technology (China).

Inhalt

Foreword.- Preface.- Author resumes.- Contents.- Introduction.- THEORIES AND METHODS FOR SOIL CONSERVATION EXPERIMENTS.- Similarity of model experiments.- A conventional experimental technique: rainfall simulation.- An innovative measurement instrument: topography meter.- How to conduct an experiment in the field: a portable laboratory.- SOIL CONSERVATION EXPERIMENTS: CASE STUDIES ON THE LOESS PLATEAU, CHINA.- A close look of the gravity erosion on the Loess Plateau of China.- Effects of conservation practices on soil, water, and nutrients.- Sediment-storage effects of check-dam system in the small watershed.- Gravity erosions on the loess gully bank: avalanche, landslide, or mudslide.- A sensitivity analysis on the gravity erosion on the steep loess slope.- Detecting fingerprints of gravity erosion drivers: a laboratory experiment.- Effects of gravity erosion on particle size distribution of suspended sediment.- Tunnel flow and erosion processes in an experimental catchment.- Additional material.