Abstract
An extended dry period commencing in 1934 and culminating in the most severe drought on record in the 1940s also coincided with extensive sheet erosion on agricultural land that had already experienced one and perhaps two prior erosional episodes. By 1949 about a quarter of the 4.7 km2 study catchment consisted of bare land in which saprolitic subsoil material was exposed at the surface. Recovery commenced in with the onset of a wet period in the early 1950s which has continued to the present day. During this time the bare areas decreased to a third of the 1949 level. The establishment of a grass cover over these formerly bare areas is associated with the build-up of topsoil. This was examined by comparing characteristics of three sites representing 0, 25 and 45 years of recovery. During this time topsoil thickened and became lighter in texture and darker in colour. These changes correspond to a decrease in bulk density and an increase in organic matter. The build-up in topsoil depth conforms to a single logarithmic function which indicates that it may take about 1500 years to achieve 33 cm thick topsoil as found at a control site. Trends in soil chemical data are variable with less than half of the properties showing a significantly consistent trend. Of these, organic matter and base saturation at a depth of 10–20 cm, and available Na and K at 0–10 cm indicated full recovery to the control-site level within 100 years. In contrast, organic matter at 0–10 cm and total N are predicted to take >800 years.
Recovery proceeds when soil is trapped behind grass shoots at the upslope boundary between bare and vegetated areas. The sediment is supplied from beneath the armoured surface by ants and also from micro-rills that incise into the exposed soil. This material is washed downslope creating micro-alluvial fans. Hence recovery proceeds by further erosion and sediment transport. It is this lateral component to soil recovery that might explain the high rates of topsoil build-up identified in this study.
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Humphreys, G.S., Groth, B. (2001). Land Recovery Following Extensive Sheet Erosion at Menangle, NSW. In: Conacher, A.J. (eds) Land Degradation. The GeoJournal Library, vol 58. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2033-5_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2033-5_16
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