Testing compost as an anti wind erosion agent in a wind tunnel

Abstract

The potential of compost as an anti wind erosion agent was studied in a wind tunnel on a sandy soil susceptible to wind erosion. Soil treated with a compost-water mixture, which forms a crust on the soil surface after drying, was exposed to a series of increasing wind speeds. Two composts were compared (28 or 34% (w/w) organic matter) at two roughnesses of the soil surface (flat or with a regular pattern of ridges). Wind erosion at the untreated soil started at wind speeds of 6 m s⁻¹, both for the flat and rough surface. After application of 5.6 ton ha⁻¹ (on dry matter basis) compost, the wind speed had to be increased to 12–14 m s⁻¹ before wind erosion started. The differences in wind erosion between the two composts were small. The roughness of the soil surface hardly affected wind erosion.