Researchers in UB's Geology Department love getting dirty. They spend their days doing literally groundbreaking research. Their latest project studies the impact erosion has on the environment and agriculture.
While erosion isn't a major concern in Western New York, it is a serious problem in some areas around the U.S. In the Mississippi River Basin, one of the most cultivated regions in the U.S., communities rise and fall with agriculture. For agriculture to flourish, farmers depend on fertile land, which is slowly being degraded by the erosion process.
UB's research, led by Sean Bennett, professor of geology, is trying to find out exactly how water functions in the erosion process and how it can be slowed down. Through funding by the National Science Foundation, Bennett has been creating small-scale environments and subjecting them to water and erosion.
'Dispersive soil without much strength, combined with intense rainfall, create these high rates that hurt farming and the community,' Bennett said.
Erosion disperses the arable soil and takes away nutrients that are necessary for plants to grow.
'Erosion is both an on-site and off-site problem. Water involved in erosion not only changes the soil, but the surrounding environment as well,' Bennett said.
Water from rain or irrigation transports soil, nutrients and agrochemicals to aquatic habitats. This can make water murky, which blocks light from reaching plants. In some areas, there are algae that thrive on the nutrients and chemicals, which lead to increased population and more dissolved oxygen usage.
While the sandboxes, umbrellas and raingear that are used in his workplace may make it resemble a kindergarten playroom, Bennett's research is quite high tech. With the rain simulator and camera perched over the large box packed with soil, it is possible to track where and how the water travels.
'The water first formed rills in the soil. When more water was added, the rills became deeper gullies. If you can locate any changes early on in the soil, you can use a number of methods to slow down erosion,' Bennett said.
Erosion is inevitable, but there are ways to slow down the process, such as planting trees, grass and hedges or installing retention pools to slow down water flow, Bennett said.
'There is no single ‘band-aid' for preventing erosion, but there are many measures that can be made to slow it down,' Bennett said.
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
