The article extracted from the doctoral dissertation of Leila Gholami, a PhD graduate of watershed management engineering department, faculty of natural resources and marine sciences, entitled « Straw Mulching Effect on Splash Erosion, Runoff, and Sediment Yield from Eroded Plots» with the guidance of Dr. Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi (academic member of natural resources faculty) that advised by Dr. Mehdi Homayee (academic member of agriculture faculty), was introduced as the year top article of Soil Science Society of America.

Land surface cover affects runoff generation and soil loss processes. Splash erosion occurs by the impact of raindrops on the soil surface. As a result of this process, raindrops detach soil particles, destroy soil structure, and finally, increase runoff and erosion. Amendments improve and reinforce soil aggregates and some physical barriers against raindrop impacts and runoff. The present research was an attempt to determine the efficiency of straw mulch applied at a rate of ۰.۵ g m؟ ۲ in changing the runoff commencement time, runoff amount, splash erosion, and sediment yield from eroded mid?sized plots at different rainfall intensities under laboratory conditions. The research was conducted on a sandy loam soil taken from summer rangeland in the Alborz Mountains, northern Iran, with simulated rainfall intensities of ۳۰.۵۰، ۷۰، and ۹۰ mm h؟ ۱ and a slope of ۳۰٪ in three replicates. The collected data from ۳۶ splash cups showed that the straw mulch played an effective role in reducing the splash erosion in both up and down directions, with the maximum reduction occurring at a rainfall intensity of ۷۰ mm h؟ ۱. The results of the research also showed that the straw mulch had a significant effect in changing runoff and soil erosion characteristics at a confidence level of ۹۹٪. The maximum increase in runoff commencement time (۱۱۰.۱۰٪) was observed for the rainfall intensity of ۹۰ mm h؟ ۱. The runoff coefficient had a maximum reduction at rainfall intensities of ۳۰ and ۹۰ mm h؟ ۱. The maximum decrease in sediment yield (۶۳.۲۴٪) also occurred at the rainfall intensity of ۹۰ mm h؟ ۱.
Dr. Gholami is currently an assistant professor at Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University.
Soil Science Society of America Journal, the flagship journal of the SSSA, publishes basic and applied soil research in soil chemistry, soil physics, soil pedology, and hydrology in agricultural, forest, wetlands, and urban settings. SSSAJ supports a comprehensive venue for interdisciplinary soil scientists, biogeochemists, and agronomists.