In collaboration with Iranian Watershed Management Association

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

2 MSc, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

3 Assistan Professor, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran

Abstract

In this study, marls ofsouth of Hassan Abad and Varamin in Tehran Province, including the marls of Upper Red Formation unit M3 and Pliocene marls of unit Plm in slopes of five5, 20 and 40 percents were evaluated in terms of shape and intensity of erosion, physical, chemical, engineering and dispersion features. Accordingly, 20 samples were taken from mentioned marl formations. To achieve predetermined goals, granulometry, Atterberg limits, chemical analysis such as cations and anions, SAR, TDS, EC and double hydrometery and pinhole were tested. Results of double hydrometery tests on 18 samples indicated that only three have low dispersion degree Which are related to marls of unit M3 in undisturbed samples of station 1 with the form of gully erosion, station 2 with 40% slope and surface erosion and station 5 with 5% slope and channel erosion. According to the pinhole test, from 17 samples, 12 samples were classified as non dispersive and five samples as low to moderate dispersive classes. In this test, the majority of the samples with channel erosion and some samples with gully erosion showed low to moderate dispersion rate. Other erosion forms such as surface and rill erosion showed non-dispersive behavior. Based on chemical properties of the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Sodium Percentage (PS), in Casagrande chemical graph, the majority of samples are clssified as dispersive soil, one sample with surface erosion in the boundary of dispersion and one sample with rill erosion as dispersive with the probability of 50%. In modified Sherard chemical method, all samples are classified as non dispersive soils. These results have no conformity with other physical and chemical methods so this classification is not acceptable. African chemical method showed better results compared to other chemical methods. In this method, half of the samples were classified as dispersive and the other half as non-dispersive. According to chemical and physicalstandards, dispersion phenomenon has been seen in all forms of surface, rill, gully and channel erosion. It has been concluded that marl soils are potentially dispersive under the influence of chemical and physical factors, even if they show surface and rill erosion forms, at the time of sampling. In other words, if the necessary conditions such as slope sleepness and runoff concentration occure in these soils, surface and rill erosion forms can be developed to dispersive forms such as channel and gully erosion types.

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