Duration and intensity of rainfall events with the same erosivity change sediment yield and runoff rates

Summary

The effect of different rainfall patterns on surface runoff, infiltration and thus soil losses and sediment concentrations are still in the focus of current research. In most simulated rainfall experiments, precipitation is applied at a fixed intensity for a fixed time. However, the impact of rainfall patterns on soil erosion processes may be different varying the rainfall duration and intensity that produces an event with similar rainfall erosivity values. Twenty-five rainfall events were applied on micro-scale runoff plots in a soil covered with corn straw to evaluate the sediment yield and runoff rates. The different rainfall types were composed by association of duration (Dur) and intensity (IP) with the same erosivity value. The Dur varied from 38 to 106 min and the IP varied from 75.