Effect of stone barrier on runoff and soil loss under different discharge rate and slopes in black soils of Karnataka – A laboratory study

An investigation to study the effect of stone barrier under different slopes on runoff and soil loss in vertisols channel was conducted under the simulated conditions using tilting hydraulic flume. The fabricated flume can be tilted through screw jacks in the range between 0.0 to 5.0 per cent slopes and is having perforated bed for collection of deep drainage besides arrangement for measurement of runoff and soil loss. Flume was kept at four slopes of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 per cent for a simulated flow of 5.0, 7.5 and 10.00 lps (liter per second) for 15 minutes duration over 30 cm soil depth. Results of this study show that runoff in the bare soil condition was in the range of 64.10 to 82.00 per cent and under the stone barrier condition 57.30 to 77.92 per cent of total flow under three discharge rates and four slopes. The stone barrier reduced runoff in the range of 4.97 to 10.60 per cent and soil loss in the rage of 37.15 to 62.50 per cent under three discharge rate and four slopes in comparison to bare soil condition. The results can be useful for planning and design stone barrier in fields waterways in black soils of semi arid region in Karnataka to check sediment transportation from field to river system.