Effectiveness of Bermuda Grass as Vegetative Cover in Grassed Waterway: A Simulated Study
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 3
Abstract
An investigation to study the effects of slope and vegetative cover on outflow, sediment concentration, and deep percolation in channels covered with Bermuda grass in an alfisol was conducted using a hydraulic tilting flume, at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India. Vegetative covers of 25, 50, 75, and 100% were chosen for the experiment with bare-soil condition as control for 1–5.0% bed slope. It was seen that in bare soil conditions the mean sediment concentration in the outflow increased by 5 times at 5% slope compared to 1% bed slope. Introduction of vegetative covers reduced the sediment concentration and increased the water infiltration considerably compared to the control. The study indicates that 25% vegetative cover may be acceptable for 1.0% land slope and at higher slopes higher percentages of vegetative cover may be recommended. When the interaction between the slope and vegetative cover was taken into account it was preferred to go to 25% vegetative cover at the beginning and allow the vegetation to develop to 100% cover in due course. This technique will simplify and economize the process of constructing grassed waterways.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the help and cooperation of Dr. H. P. Singh, Director, CRIDA and Dr. S. A. Patel, Vice-Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharward, India, for institutionalizing this project.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 3 • June 2006
Pages: 288 - 292
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 6, 2004
Accepted: Jul 6, 2005
Published online: Jun 1, 2006
Published in print: Jun 2006
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