Characteristics of Erosion Control Measures and Their Impact on Erosion

This report presents the results of a field study on the performance of erosion control products under artificial rainfall conditions, bed shear partitioning using a hydraulic flume, and regression analysis of previously published data. Ninety-six runs of different plot lengths, erosion control treatments, vegetative cover, and initial moisture contents were gathered and analyzed. Above-ground biomass varied substantially within the growing season, runoff was most strongly influenced by initial moisture content, and sediment load was substantially reduced using erosion control products and mulches. In the hydraulic flume experiments, the percentage of the total shear acting on soil particles was less than 13.2% for all tests. Failure to obtain a large data base of product characteristics greatly limited the use of regression analysis to explain the performance of erosion control blankets.