Soil erosion in the hilly and mountainous uplands in the Daekwanryong area, Kangwon-Do, were investigated through a field plot experiment. The plot size was 15m long and 2.5m wide with the average slope of 12.5 percents. Soil erodibility factor (K), s...
Soil erosion in the hilly and mountainous uplands in the Daekwanryong area, Kangwon-Do, were investigated through a field plot experiment. The plot size was 15m long and 2.5m wide with the average slope of 12.5 percents. Soil erodibility factor (K), surface coverage (SC), soil aggregate percentage and wind erodibility (I) were evaluated in the mountainous soils under different management practices for corn and potato cultivations. Soil erodibility factor (K) was greater in upper part than in lower part of the plots. Surface coverage (SC) values ranged from 0.01 to 0.84 depending on the amounts of crop residues. Soils having a greater crop residue in surface were less subjected to soil erosion. SC values after corn harvest were 0.4 to 0.8, while those after potato harvest were 0.4 to 0.5, indicating potato might be better than corn for erosion control. Soil aggregate percentages of the experimental plots ranged from 49.7 to 79.8%. Those were higher in potato-cultivated plots with higher surface coverage, organic fertilizer treatment and contour tillage. Soil aggregate percentage of potato-cultivated plots was significantly correlated to crop residue coverage after harvest. The dried soil aggregate percentage, showing the ranges of 26.4 to 56.4%, were higher in the plots with the increased crop residue incorporation. Wind erodibility (I) of the soil was decreased with increasing surface coverage. When soil had 26.4% of the dried aggregate percentage, wind erodibility was estimated to be $183Mgha^{-1}$ which was equivalent to soil loss of $0.5Mg\ha^{-1}day^{-1}$.