Ash Leachate Can Reduce Surface Erosion

Abstract

In laboratory analyses of the Larabee soil from north-western California, ash leachate flocculated the clay fractions. As a result, the soil quickly settled out of suspension. To test the hypothesis that field plots on disturbed areas treated with ash leachate would be more resistant to erosion than nontreated plots, a study was done in July and August 1978, on two skid trails on the Humboldt State University Forest near Freshwater, in northwestern California. A rainfall simulator was used to measure differential erosion rates. Ash-leachate treated plots had 36 percent less erosion than nontreated plots. Differences in total sediment yield were statistically significant at the 97.5 percent level of confidence, as shown by a paired t-test of seven plots.

Citation

Holcomb, George J.; Durgin, Philip B. 1979. Ash Leachate Can Reduce Surface Erosion. Res. Note PSW-RN-342. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 4 p