Investigation of Soil-Water Erosion in Surface Irrigation System of a Forest Plantation in Libya

Abstract

A investigation of the nature of soil water erosion was carried out on a four-year old forest plantation in the Bir Ayad Project Libya characterized by its sandy loam soil and surface irrigation system. The data obtained form infiltration tests reveals that the soil is suitable for surface irrigation. The inflow rate into the cannals lies below the erosive velocity. Regarding the degree of slope only 28 out of 118 investigated canals could be accepted. On the other hand, upon the application of an equation which was derived for the calculation of the expected soil loss, only 7 canals were below the permissible limit. It is recommended to construct sills in order to minimize the negative effect of the slope and length of the canals.