Assessing Soil Surface Particle Movement Due to Erosion in Managed Grassland in the Cacapon Watershed WV.

Sources of sediment found in rivers and streams can be fields, ravines, bluffs, and streambanks. To understand the processes that produce sediments in the Chesapeake Bay, it is necessary to study the characteristics of transported sediments in fields located in the Cacapon and related watersheds in West Virginia. In this study, a geostatistical method to assess surface particle movement through the characterization of soil particle sizes was tested. The study hypothesis was that transect and geostatistical analysis, in addition to soil stratified sampling will aid in the determination of erosion from neighboring fields into the Cacapon River. Four 100m transects were placed in managed grasslands, three of them were draining in the direction of the Cacapon River, and one into an ephemeral stream that drained into the Cacapon River. In the transects, soil samples were taken at a 4-m interval, and stratified in depth 0-2.5cm, 2.5-5cm and 5-10cm. Textural analysis and sand fractionation was performed for each depth. Results showed textural differences between 0-2.5cm, 2.5-5cm and 5-10cm depth, which may be the consequence of surface processes such as erosion. Changes in fine sand and silt along the transects could be related to their movement towards the river. Variography supported the results obtained from the transect analysis for sand, silt, and clay particles. Deeper samples (5-10cm) which are mostly controlled by pedogenetical processes, showed a higher soil particle (sand, silt, clay) spatial continuity than surface 0-2.5cm samples. Transect and spatial analysis of soil stratified texture supported our hypothesis: surface particle movement occurred in low sloping alluvial grassland soils.  It would be possible to conclude that in time, surface particle movement under low sloping pasture landuses, will lead to increase in fine sediments into the river.