Soil erosion in relation to rain characteristics in submontane Punjab

The information on rainfall, runoff and soil loss was collected in Saleran catchments of submontane Punjab to analyse rainstorm characteristics in relation to soil erosion. The percentage of rainfall received during monsoon period to annual rainfall was as low as 67.4 to as high as 90. Rainfall aggressiveness varied from 55.9 to 502.4 and was significantly and positively related (R²=0.77) to annual sediment yield in the area. Rain amount of individual storms varied from 13.9 to 138.7 mm with a duration of 0.6 to 8.4 h and average intensity of 27 to 55.5 mm h⁻¹. Maximum 15-minute intensity varied from 30 to 140 mm h⁻¹, whereas maximum 30-minute intensity was always less than 15-minute intensity. Kinetic energy of individual rainstorms varied from 159.3 to 3594.9 m tons ha⁻¹ cm⁻¹. Maximum I15 and I30 proved to be better indicators of runoff production than average intensity in the area.