Comparison of three measures of resistance of soil surface seals to raindrop splash

The relationship between rainsplash and three measures of soil strength was investigated for surface soil seals using a laboratory rainfall simulator and erosion pans. A significantly high correlation was found between pocket penetrometer and torvane strengths ( R 2 = 0.49) , and a lower correlation between both pocket penetrometer ( R 2 = 0.24) and torvane ( R 2 = 0.24) strengths and the fall-cone strength was found. Rainsplash was highly correlated ( R 2 = 0.49) with rainfall kinetic energy (KE) divided by the fall-cone shear strength (FC) but was not related to penetrometer and torvane strengths. Addition of a silt content term to the KE/FC linear equation slightly decreased R2. Improvements in the prediction of rainsplash can be achieved by including terms defining the macro- and microtopography, such as slope steepness, surface roughness, and depressional storage.