Rill erosion

After a heavy rain shower you can see shivers in numerous places along the path and at the edges of the fields. These are fairly shallow gullies that are caused by the run-off rainwater. Rills usually show vertical to overhanging edges that collapse and flatten after a while. If this erosion continues, it is called gully erosion. There are a number of parameters that determine whether you get the phenomenon of rill erosion . First and foremost, of course, you need to have enough intensive rainfall. Secondly, you must have a virtually vegatation-free soil. Thirdly, you need to have enough slope and slope length so that the water gets enough energy. Fourthly, the soil must be saturated so that the water can no longer seep through and so that the soil particles come off. And fifth, your granules shouldn't be glued together too much. That is why this occurs earlier in sand and sandy loam, rather than in the clay layers. The rills can deepen to deeper gullies to the extent that it itself becomes a problem for agricultural vehicles. But the biggest problem, of course, is the loss of the sandy, fertile top layer that you have here and that washes it off the fields. Below it is a tertiary layer that usually consists of poorer sand or clay. And on which agricultural crops grow much more difficult.

Pascal Brackman