Erosion Control on a Steeply Sloped Pipeline Right-of-Way in Southwestern Pennsylvania: Final Report, June 1984-April 1988.

摘要

Soil erosion by precipitation on steeply sloped pipeline rights-of-way (ROWs) in the period between ROW rehabilitation and development of a dense, self-sustaining vegetative ground cover can cause locally severe soil losses, elevated sediments loads in receiving streams, and increase difficulty and cost of ROW maintenance. This field study, funded by the Gas Research Institute and conducted by Argonne National Laboratory, compared the environmental effectiveness of nine treatments (six methods and three controls) on a 23% ROW slope in southwestern Pennsylvania. Replicated plots were established, immediately after ROW cleanup, over the pipeline and on the working side of the ROW. The six prevegetation methods represented a wide range of material and installation costs. Precipitation, runoff volumes, and sediment yields were measured at each of 51 plots for 45 precipitation events during the 18-month study. Vegetation data were collected by the point-intercept method four times during the study to determine the amount of plant cover and species composition. Differences in sediment yield were observed among methods and between ROW locations, but plant cover development was not influenced by method or location. The relationship between environmental and cost data indicated that, of the six erosion control methods tested, straw mulch applied at the rate of 3.35 metric tons per hectare (1.5 tons/acre) was the most effective. 38 refs., 6 figs., 14 tabs. (ERA citation 14:021727)