Which Type of Mulch Is Most Effective in Controlling Erosion on Recently Disturbed Hillside Soil?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The project was conducted to determine which type of mulch would be most effective in preventing soil erosion from raindrop impact on hillside vineyards. The mulches used were a mixture of yard trimmings and wood waste that had been diverted from the county landfill. Methods/Materials We made five 1 sq. ft. soil sample trays and placed them on a 3:1 grade. We obtained mulches from a commercial composting facility. The mulch was 60% wood waste and 40% yard trimmings that had been mixed, chopped and passed over a 3 inch screen, the material that fell through the screen was used on two trays, the material that did not go through was used on the other 2 trays. The trays were exposed to the environment for 14 days; there was a total 3.75 inches of rain. The sediment from each tray was collected, dried, and weighted. The results from each test group was compared. Results There was no significant difference in the effectiveness of the two types of mulches in the prevention of soil erosion. Conclusions/Discussion Farmers growing grapes on hillsides should consider using mulch that has been prepared using wood waste and yard trimmings. The use of the less valuable much, the material that did not fall through the 3 inch screen would be preferable, as it has no commerical value. The use of this mulch would prevent erosion and divert waste from landfills.

Competition history

• CSEF 2003 Environmental Engineering · Entry J0801

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

• All Environmental Engineering projects
• CSEF Environmental Engineering projects
• Every CSEF 2003 project