The Barton County Fair ends this weekend. Hopefully everyone had the opportunity to enjoy this annual tradition and support our area 4-H youth. Recently we discussed wind erosion. Today let’s start examining water erosion. We may think of water erosion as more of a problem east of this area, however, water erosion is a potentially a significant problem from here to the Rocky Mountains. We think of wind erosion in our area, especially the area south of the Arkansas River, however, water erosion is a serious problem. Interestingly, because of our drier climate (less vegetation, less organic matter, and intense rainfall events) our soils can be more susceptible to severe soil loss if not properly managed. And while water erosion is typically associated with hillier areas, any slope that allows water to flow downhill can result in soil loss.
Water erosion is the detachment, movement, and deposition of soil particles from their original site. The smaller the particle, the further it can be moved and there are clay particles from Barton County deposited most years in the Gulf of Mexico. Clay from here makes it way to the Arkansas River to the Mississippi River and to the delta. Sand, being much heavier than silt and clay is deposited much closer to where it was eroded. The sandy soils south of the river in Barton and Stafford Counties are an example of this. The bend in the river that Great Bend was named for caused the water to slow down as it moved north and around this curve and deposited the sand.
Erosion is a natural process, think the Grand Canyon. The delta of the Mississippi River, the bayous of Louisiana, formed this way. Erosion becomes a problem when the rate of erosion is greater than the rate of soil formation and is termed accelerated erosion.
There are four types of water erosion: Sheet, rill, interrill, and gully.
• Sheet erosion is characterized by the removal of a fairly uniform layer of soil from the land surface by runoff water. It often goes unnoticed unless noticeable soil accumulation occurs downslope. However, sheet erosion typically results in the greatest soil loss. It removes finer particles, silt and clay, while leaving less fertile coarser sand particles that hold less water and are the result is poorer soil structure. It is this subtle loss that can allow for significant soil loss before it is noticeable.
• Rill erosion is the concentration of sheet flow into tiny channels, typically several inches wide. Rill erosion is most common on bare soil. These channels are small enough to smooth by normal tillage and present no special challenge. This results in the movement of silt, clay, and sand particles. Sheet and rill erosion account for most of the soil lost from water erosion.
• Interrill erosion is simply sheet erosion taking place primarily between irregularly spaced rills.
• Gully erosion is rill erosion further concentrated into deeper and deeper rills until an obstacle for equipment and cannot be fixed with ordinary tillage. While dramatic and noticeable, it accounts for the least amount of soil lost.
Next week – what determines the potential for soil water erosion.

Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207.