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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Erosion and Sediment Transport".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 5335

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Vito Ferro

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Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: hydrology; hydraulics; soil erosion; sedimentology; soil; rivers; soil and water conservation; environmental science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Francesco Gentile

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Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
Interests: soil erosion modeling; hydrological modeling; suspended sediment transport; check dams for torrent control; soil bioengineering techniques; flash floods in small watersheds; debris flows; slope stability

Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Pampalone

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Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Vergni

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Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
Interests: soil erosion; agro-hydrological models; agricultural drought; irrigation planning; irrigation management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent communications of the European Union identify land degradation as a priority that the European and national environmental programs have to address. Soil erosion and sedimentation by water are often the main threats concerning land degradation. The former causes thinning of arable soil layer and loss of organic matter and nutrients, and the latter causes pollution and reduction in reservoir storage volume and channels’ aggradations that increase flood risk. As ongoing climate change promotes erosion processes, soil conservation measures are becoming more and more necessary. Monitoring and modeling soil loss and sediment yield is fundamental for identifying effective and sustainable soil conservation measures.

The Special Issue collects papers focusing on different aspects of the erosive phenomenon that range from the erosive agents (rainfall, runoff) to erosion control. Specifically, contributions are expected to focus on, but are not limited to, advanced methods for measuring rainfall energy characteristics, sheet, channelized (rill and gully) erosion, bed and suspended sediment load, modeling of runoff, soil loss, and sediment yield. Moreover, papers dealing with water erosion risk mapping and soil conservation measures, including nature-based solutions, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Vito Ferro
Prof. Dr. Francesco Gentile
Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Pampalone
Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Vergni
Guest Editors

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Keywords

soil erosion
sediment yield
soil conservation
erosion plot
basin
sheet erosion
channelized erosion
erosion risk mapping

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 8550 KB

Open AccessArticle

Relationship Between Runoff and Sediment Transfer in a Slope–Gully Cascade System During Extreme Hydrological Events in the Lublin Upland, East Poland

by Grzegorz Janicki, Jan Rodzik and Waldemar Kociuba

Water 2025, 17(19), 2875; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192875 - 2 Oct 2025

Viewed by 529

Abstract

Erosion monitoring was carried out between 2003 and 2022 using a hydrological station with a Thomson overflow, a water gauge, and a limnigraph installed at the outlet of the Kolonia Celejów gully system. The study area is located in the north-western part of the Lublin Upland in the Nałęczów Plateau mesoregion (SE Poland). The total amount and intensity of precipitation were measured using an automatic station and water runoff and suspended sediment yield (SST) were also continuously measured. High variability in water runoff was observed during this period (max. of about 76,000 m³ and mean > 26,000 m³), and as a result of numerous heavy rains, a significant increase in SST (max. of about 95 Mg to about 1200 Mg and mean of 24 Mg to about 215 Mg) was noted in the second half of the measurement period. Most of the material removed at that time came from the cutting of the gully bottom and from the redeposition of material transported from the catchment used for agricultural purposes. In order to determine the volume of material delivered to the slope–gully cascade system in November 2012, a second station was installed at the gully head, which only operated until June 2013. However, the measurements covered all snowmelts and summer runoffs, as well as the June downpours. At the same time, these measurements represent the first unique attempt to quantify the delivery of material from the slope subcatchment to the gully system. The year 2013 was also important in terms of water runoff from the loess gully catchment area (about 40,000 m³) and was a record year (SST > 1197 Mg) for the total amount of suspended material runoff (7.6% and 33.5% of the 20-year total, respectively). During the cool half of the year, 16,490 m³ of water (i.e., 42% of the annual total) flowed out of the gully catchment area, and during the warm half of the year, 23,742 m³ of water (59% of the annual total) flowed out. In contrast, 24,076.7 m³ of water flowed out of the slope subcatchment area during the year, with slightly more flowing out in the cool half of the year (12,395.9 m³ or 51.5% of the annual total). In the slope and gully subcatchment areas, the suspended sediment discharge clearly dominated in the warm half of the year (98% and 97%). The record-breaking SST amount in June was over 1100 Mg of suspended sediment, which accounted for 93% of the annual SST from the gully catchment area and over 94% in the case of the slope subcatchment area. The relationships in the slope–gully cascade system in 2013 were considered representative of the entire measurement series, which were used to determine the degree of connectivity between the slope and gully subsystems. During summer downpours, the delivery of slope material from agricultural fields accounted for approx. 15% of the material removed from the catchment area, which confirms the predominance of transverse transport in the slope catchment area and longitudinal transport in the gully. The opposite situation occurs during thaws, with as much as 90% of the material removed coming from the slope catchment area. At that time, longitudinal transport dominates on the slope and transverse transport dominates in the gully. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Erosion and Sedimentation by Water)

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24 pages, 2126 KB

Open AccessArticle

Contaminant Assessment and Potential Ecological Risk Evaluation of Lake Shore Surface Sediments

by Audrey Maria Noemi Martellotta and Daniel Levacher

Water 2025, 17(14), 2042; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17142042 - 8 Jul 2025

Viewed by 545

Abstract

The interruption of solid transport causes sediment deposition, compromising the useful storage capacity. Therefore, it is essential to remove these materials, currently labelled as waste and disposed of in landfills, by identifying alternatives for recovery and valorization, after assessing their compatibility for reuse through characterization, in a circular economy view. This study analyses the potential contamination of shore surface sediments collected at the Camastra and the San Giuliano lakes, located in the Basilicata region. It defines their potential ecological risk, assesses the contamination level status of the sediments, and verifies whether they are polluted and, consequently, suitable for reuse. Analyses carried out using several pollution indices show a slight Arsenic pollution (with values above the regulatory threshold between 55% and 175%) for the San Giuliano sediments and slight Cobalt pollution (with exceedances between 30% and 58.5%) for the Camastra sediments. Subsequently, through statistical analysis, it was possible to make hypotheses on the possible pollutant sources, depending on the geological characteristics of the sampling area and the type of land use, and to identify the potential ecological risk linked to the exceedance of As and Co in San Giuliano and Camastra reservoirs, respectively. In conclusion, this study ascertained the low pollution content in the sampled sediments, so they could be reused in various application fields, from construction to agriculture, significantly reducing landfill disposal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Erosion and Sedimentation by Water)

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21 pages, 2034 KB

Open AccessArticle

Stabilization of Sandy Soil Against Internal Erosion Using Fly Ash with Alkali-Activated Binder

by Mohammad Almasaeid, Mousa Attom, Magdi El-Emam and Mohamad G. Arab

Water 2025, 17(10), 1552; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17101552 - 21 May 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2580

Abstract

Seepage forces due to the flow of water inside embankment hydraulic structures, such as dams or levees, result in internal erosion or piping. This will result in a reduction in soil strength, causing the failure of hydraulic structures. Stabilization of the soil is one of the most effective approaches to avoid such catastrophic failure and prevent significant loss of life and property. The objective of this research is to stabilize sandy soil against internal erosion using fly ash (FA) alone and fly ash mixed with alkali-activated binder (NaOH). Although fly ash is commonly used for clay soil, its reactivity with alkali activators like NaOH makes it a potential candidate for stabilizing non-cohesive sandy soils when combined with alkaline solutions. A well-graded sandy soil was selected and mixed with fly ash alone and fly ash with sodium hydroxide at different percentages. Compaction curves were determined for each percentage, and specimens from the mix were remolded at 98% relative compaction and optimum moisture content corresponding to the compaction curve value. The hole erosion test (HET) was employed to evaluate internal erosion parameters. During the hole erosion test, seepage conditions were simulated by applying a controlled water flow through remolded specimens to replicate erosion caused by internal seepage forces. Additionally, the internal erosion parameters were evaluated at different curing times (2 days, 7 days, and 28 days were selected to capture short-term, intermediate, and long-term effects of chemical reactions on soil stabilization). Parameters such as the friction factor, coefficient of soil erosion, and critical shear stress were obtained, and the erosion rate index (I_HET) was determined. It was found that using FA–NaOH significantly reduced internal erosion and increased the erosion rate index and the critical shear of the soil. The addition of 10% fly ash mixed with activated-alkali binder at 7 days curing time stabilized the soil against erosion. At this percentage, the erosion rate index equal to 5.3 and soil was categorized as: “very slow erosion”. However, mixing the sand with fly ash alone has a small or insignificant effect on the internal erosion of the soil, especially at higher percentages of fly ash. The optimum percentage of fly ash alone to improve the soil resistance to internal erosion was found to be 5% at 28 days of curing time where the soil rated as “moderately slow”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Erosion and Sedimentation by Water)

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18 pages, 2409 KB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of Stream Water Quality on Draining of Planted Coniferous and Natural Deciduous Forest Catchments in South Korea

by Sooyoun Nam, Qiwen Li, Byoungki Choi, Hyung Tae Choi and Honggeun Lim

Water 2025, 17(10), 1535; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17101535 - 20 May 2025

Viewed by 858

Abstract

The quality characteristics of runoff water during selected precipitation events in planted coniferous (C_P) and natural deciduous (D_N) forest stands in Pocheon-si, 27.0 km north of Seoul, were assessed via the mean event concentrations and discharge loads. The relationship between stream water quality and the runoff time differential (dQ/dt) indicated that the characteristics of the latter differed during the rising and falling stages of the two catchments. Pearson’s product moment correlation analysis revealed that chemical oxygen demand was significantly correlated with total organic carbon in the rising and falling limbs of the two catchments. When discharge loads were transported with actual precipitation events, the event load at the two sites increased with increasing discharge load. In particular, the total organic carbon and total nitrogen were higher in the C_P catchment than in the D_N catchment, whereas biological oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were higher in the D_N catchment than in the C_P catchment. Sequences of high and intense precipitation elevated discharge loads, with differences in loads related to the vegetation conditions in headwater areas (≤100 ha) with steep slopes (>20°) and narrow valleys. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Erosion and Sedimentation by Water)

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