Effects of plant residue management on soil properties, surface runoff, and soil loss under rainfall simulation in a semi-arid region in Iran

AbstractA 5-year field study was conducted on the effect of plant residue management on soil erosion, runoff, bulk density, penetration resistance, and organic carbon. There were three treatments: burning residues on field (BR), returning residues unto the soil surface after harvesting (TR), and removing residues from soil surface (RR) (control treatment). At the end of the 5-year treatment, a rainfall simulation at 90 mm h−1 was applied to each plot. After rainfall simulation started, the runoff volume and soil loss amount in samples were collected at four sampling times. The results showed that the runoff volume for BR (from 145.5 ± 12.2 to 190.0 ± 11.8 mL) differed significantly (p ≤ 0.01) from that of RR (from 32.3 ± 5.5 to 67.5 ± 11.1 mL) and TR (from 10.0 ± 0.7 to 16.7 ± 3.3 mL). A significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) was also observed between RR and TR regarding runoff volume and soil loss amount in different sampling times, except for the first sampling time (2–4 min). The runoff volume in BR and TR ...