Rainfall Simulation

To evaluate how the erosion and runoff process’ work, one would conduct a Rainfall Simulation. Doing a simulation, one comes to comprehend various types of land management and the infiltration that occurs according to how the land is used. The land used in this lab consists of thick cover and low cover. The plots are mainly covered in grass and were dry before the simulation took place. At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon on a very windy day at the Texas A&M field the simulation began. The soil was dry when beginning the lab and samples were taken to find out its infiltration rate. The area of the plot was 3 meters squared and the infiltration rate was taken from there. This rain simulation lab is specifically conducted to gain experience in learning about the infiltration process and sediment yield. Knowing these specific types of objectives one can then fee off of results of this lab to make their land healthy.

The information for the Rainfall Simulation lab can be found on pages 11-1 through 12-2 of the Spring 2002 Range and Forest Watershed Management Lab Manual.

The rainfall simulation lab began with two groups of students who each had a plot and

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The soil could also be used for the soil moisture measurements because when the soil moisture increases, infiltration decreases.

Results and Discussion

The lab concludes with information that can be used at any type of land. The pins then form to the ground and tell the measurements of the slope difference within the plot. From this lab one concludes that depending on the management practices of the landowner, then the infiltration can vary.

Dense Cover-

Can #1 - Wet Weight 192. These measurements were taken 3 times in 3 different sections of the plot. From the amount of rain that fell in each plot, one then sees that the densely covered plot did not allow for much infiltration. One is considered the low cover plot and the other is the dense cover plot. a simulator, the only difference was the amount of bare ground, forbs, grass, and litter. The soil was taken as a sample and was weighed when it was dry and when it was wet.

Not only must this lab work with observing and recording, but many calculations must be done to tell the Bulk Density, Soil Moisture, Weight of Vegetation, and Sediment Production. 2g

The soil samples are a major part of the infiltration process because the soil is the absorbency factor.

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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