ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Soil Processes
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1526066
This article is part of the Research TopicSoil and Water Loss and Environmental EffectsView all 11 articles
Response of soil erosion to rainfall at different dry periods following drip irrigation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- 2College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
- 3PowerChina Guiyang Engineering Corporation limited, Guiyang, China
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Drip irrigation, a widely adopted water-saving technique, has received limited attention regarding its indirect effects on soil erosion. This study investigates soil erosion characteristics at varying intervals following drip irrigation using simulated rainfall experiments, and an unirrigated control (S0) subjected to identical rainfall simulation procedures. The results showed significant hydrological differences between drip irrigated and unirrigated treatments. Irrigated soils exhibited reduced runoff (mean reduction = 23.19%, P < 0.05) and sediment yield (mean reduction = 24.33%, P < 0.05) compared to S0, except for runoff in S24. Erosion mitigation was attributed to enhanced rainwater retention via surface irrigated-formed crusts and desiccation cracks generated during extended drying periods. These results highlight a previously under characterized interaction between water-saving irrigation practices and soil erosion processes. The temporal evolution of soil surface characteristics following drip irrigation appears to influence hydrological responses during subsequent precipitation events, providing new insights for optimizing irrigation strategies in erosion-prone situations.
Keywords: drip irrigation, Soil crusting, Desiccation cracks, runoff, sediment
Received: 11 Nov 2024; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Fang, Zhang, Zhang and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jinxin Zhang, Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China
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