Magnitude of Annual Soil Loss from a Hilly Cultivated Slope in Northern Vietnam and Evaluation of Factors Controlling Water Erosion

Abstract

A soil erosion experiment was conducted in northern Vietnam over three rainy seasons to clarify the magnitude of soil loss and factors controlling water erosion. The plot had a low (8%) or medium (14.5%) slope with land-cover of cassava or morning glory or being bare. Annual soil loss (177 to 2,361 g/ m2 ) was a tolerable level in all low-slope plots but was not in some medium-slope plots. The effects of slope gradient and seasonal rainfall on the mean daily soil loss of the season were confirmed, but the effect of land-cover was not, owing to the small canopy cover ratio or leaf area index during the season. The very high annual soil loss ( > 2,200 g/ m2 ) observed in the first year of some medium-slope plots was the site-specific effect from initial land preparation. Since the site-specific effect was large, the preparation must be done carefully on the slope.