Can polymers reduce soil erosion?

Polymers as a soil amendment is one of the effective measurements to reduce soil erosion. In this study, two polymers, polyacrylamide (PAM) and polysaccharide (Jag C 162), were applied to erosion plots filled with loess soil (tilted at 20°). For each polymer, four concentration levels—0, 10, 30, and 50 kg·ha −1 —were applied.

Do polyacrylamide applications affect infiltration and runoff under simulated rainfall?

Tümsavas, Z.; Kara, A. The effect of polyacrylamide (PAM) applications on infiltration, runoff and soil losses under simulated rainfall conditions. Afr.

Do polymer amendments reduce sheet erosion?

Conclusions Two polymer amendments were sprayed over a loess soil and subjected to simulated rainfall events to investigate their effectiveness and durability in terms of sheet erosion control. Our results show that both polymers could reduce runoff, control sheet erosion, and promote soil aggregates.

Is polysaccharide a degradable natural polymer?

In addition, as a degradable natural polymer, polysaccharide can be potentially applicable in an agricultural field. However, conflicting evidence regarding the effectiveness of polysaccharide to retard runoff and soil erosion has been found.

Does soil erosion affect the durability of Pam-treated plots?

Different durability can also be reflected by the increased soil erosional responses on the Jag C 162-treated plots during the wet run, whereas the sediment concentration in PAM-treated plots stabilized below 15 kg·m −3 during both rainfall events ( Figure 2 ).