Responses of Rain Splash Erosion and Soil Crust Development to Particle Size

Soil particle size is one of the key parameters determining splash erosion and soil crust development. Based on simulated rainfalls with a high intensity of 1.2 mm min-1, the rain splash erosion and soil crust development of Loess soil separates with different diameters are studied and the key factors predicting soil crust formation are discussed. The results indicated that: (1) as the diameter of soil separates increases, the amount of detached particles increases from < 0.038 mm to a maximum amount of 0.15-0.22 mm, and subsequently decreases; (2) the smaller the soil separates, the easier the development of soil crust and the higher the degree of soil crust development; (3) the susceptibility of soil crust formation can be predicted by integrating three indices of soil texture, aggregate stability, and rainfall energy together.