EROSION CONTROL ON AIR FORCE BASES

A state-of-the-art review of the soil erosion field as it relates to the erosion control needs of the US Air Force was conducted. The review will serve as a guide for preparation of a Base Civil Engineer erosion control handbook. Typical military construction activities which have exposed large areas of unprotected soil and subsequently have led to serious erosion problems are presented. Factors involved in the wind and erosion processes are discussed and soil-loss equations and soil erodibility indices are reviewed. The erodibility K-factor in the ARS soil-loss equation is evaluated for land management planning techniques. Guidelines for effective erosion control practices to protect exposed land surfaces against soil particle detachment and transport by either water or wind are presented. Further efforts to establish a more reliable erodibility index which can be used to define areas of highly erodible soils, especially for subsurface soils that are exposed during construction are indicated. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Div. A-2, Tucson, AZ, 24-28 Aug 1970.