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Claypan soils cover approximately 40,469 km2 in the United States and are characterized by a highly impermeable layer within 0.5 m from the ground surface. This impermeable layer acts as a barrier for infiltrating water, which may increase erosion rates and sediment transport. Two of the main problems associated with these processes are abutment scour and reservoir sedimentation. This study focuses on the undermining of surficial soils due to an impermeable claypan layer in Southeastern Kansas. The potential areas of critical soil loss and hydrologic flow patterns were determined using LiDAR-derived digital elevation maps across two 0.45 km2 sites. These sites were located in areas of both high and low elevation. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was used in areas identified with LiDAR to measure the depth to claypan, which was originally believed to be uniform across the region. The results indicated that the claypan layer was located from 0.5 to 0.75 m and dissipated moving across the site from an area of high elevation to an area of low elevation. Undisturbed soil samples were collected based on the ERT analysis, in areas with and without the claypan. An erosion function apparatus (EFA) was used to directly measure erosion due to sheet flow and to identify the controlling mechanism causing surficial soil loss. The knowledge gained on claypan erosion mechanisms will improve the prediction of near surface soil erodibility to support aging infrastructure. 

Erosion of productive topsoil leads to declining crop yields in claypan regions of the United States, and contributes to nonpoint source water contamination globally. Crop rooting structures may help prevent topsoil erosion, and different rooting structures may vary in their effectiveness for mitigating erosion. In this study the impact of different crop rooting structures on soil erodability of claypan soils was evaluated for two different cover crops (sorghum and pearl millet) and one cash crop (corn) 

Claypan soils cover approximately 10 million acres across several states in the central United States. The soils are characterized by a highly impermeable clay layer within the profile that impedes water flow and root growth. While some claypan soils can be productive, they must be carefully managed to avoid reductions to crop productivity due to root restrictions, water, and nutrient limitations. Clay soils are usually resistant to erosion but may exacerbate erosion of the silt-loam topsoil. Soil production potential is the capacity of soil to produce at a given level (yield per acre). The productive capacity is tied to soil characteristics, which can be highly variable within a field. In this project, we have used imagery analysis to study the aerial images and terrain of fields during different productive times of the year to identify where soil samples should be collected for more discrete analysis. Soil samples provide valuable information; however, the amount of data obtained from a relatively small area within a field does not provide sufficient information to delineate the subsurface characteristics. To address the limitations of sampling, we have also employed the use of yield maps collected from commercial yield monitors on production-scale combines and surface electrical conductivity measurements (Sassenrath and Kulesza, 2017). Soil conductivity is a measurement of how well a representative volume of soil conducts electricity. Soil conductivity is a function of the soil clay content, moisture content, and other measurable soil properties (Kitchen et al., 2003); as such, it has become a valuable tool for mapping in-field variability. The main advantage of a soil conductivity measurement is that the entire surface of a field can be imaged. The disadvantage of a soil conductivity measurement is that data are only collected near the surface (10 – 30 inches) and the measurements are relative measurements. This means that the conductivity mappers can identify changes in soil properties, but they cannot directly tell researchers what caused these changes. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a popular near-surface geophysical measurement for geophysical and engineering applications. The term “near-surface” generally means down to around 30 feet in the subsurface. Electrical resistivity is the reciprocal measurement of electrical conductivity; therefore, both systems measure differences in the same soil properties. ERT measurements are different than surface electrical conductivity measurements because ERT collects a “slice” of data into the subsurface, as opposed to only changes at the surface area. Relative measurements, similar to those collected in an electrical conductivity survey, are collected; however, in ERT studies the data are mathematically inverted to yield the true electrical resistivity of the soil with depth. This allows an interpretation of the changing soil properties with depth to reduce the required amount of sampling. A disadvantage of an ERT survey is that the data acquisition is stationary so mapping an entire field is not feasible. We have used a coupled process of imagery and terrain analysis, yield maps, and electrical conductivity measurements to guide the locations of ERT surveys in this project (Tucker-Kulesza et al. 2017). 

The objective of this research is to determine the fundamental mechanisms that cause loss of topsoil. Claypan soils cover approximately 10 million acres in the United States and are characterized by a highly impermeable layer below the topsoil. This impermeable layer acts as a barrier for infiltrating water which may be increasing the erosion rate and sediment transport of upper soil layers. This increasing topsoil depletion ultimately limits the productive capacity of agronomic fields. This study focuses on the undermining of the topsoil due to the impermeable claypan layer in Southeastern Kansas where the topsoil depth is limited and, in places, the claypan layer is exposed at the surface. Using LiDAR-derived digital elevation maps, the potential areas of critical soil loss and hydrologic flow patterns is determined. Surface soil apparent electrical conductivity (EC) measurements highlight the soil variability throughout the field. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) surveys is also performed to determine the depth to the claypan layer in low and high crop yield areas. The results indicate that the areas of high EC correlated with high clay content and low crop yield, while areas of low EC correlated with high crop yield. The results also indicate that the claypan layer in the low crop yield area is 1.0 m thick and significantly thins once reaching the high crop yield area. The next phase of this ongoing research is to measure the soil properties between the low and high crop yield areas, measure the movement of water at the claypan interface, and measure sediment transport at the claypan interface.