Hillslope runoff

Measure Equation Explanations References

Contour Contour bunds designing is based on calculating elements hb – height of bank; P- Ramser, 1927; NRCS, 1982;
bunding like (1) the space between bunds and (2) bunds cross- precipitation; d – width of Murthy, 1994; Garcia et al., 2002;
section. bank; 𝜎 – runoff coefficient; VI Oweis et al., 2012; Jat et al., 2016;
The oldest equation for calculating the space between – vertical interval (m); S – slope Mesfin, 2016
terraces was developed by Ramser (1927): (%); a and b are constants
ℎ𝑏 𝑑 ℎ𝑏 specific to particular regions; X
𝐻𝐼 = ( + )
2𝜎𝑃 2 𝑆 – rainfall factor; Y – infiltration
VI (the elevation difference between two succeeding and crop cover factor; Wb –
terraces) can be calculated through a simple equation. width of bench; U – slope of
However, several equations were developed worldwide. riser; HI – horizontal interval;
𝑠
𝑉𝐼 = ( + 𝑏) ∙ 0.305 (eq. 1) (Indian equation) Qv – runoff volume; Re – excess
𝑎
𝑉𝐼 = (𝑋𝑠 + 𝑌) ∙ 0.305 (eq. 2) (Indian equation) rainfall (24h rainfall excess
𝑉𝐼 = 𝑋𝑆 + 𝑌 (Israeli equation) (mm) for 10 years recurrence
𝑠 interval; Qc – storage capacity
𝑉𝐼 = ( + 𝑏) (South Africa equation) of the contour bund (m3) one
𝑎
0.3(𝑆+2)
𝑉𝐼 = (Kenyan equation) meter long; Ws – water spread
4
𝑊𝑏∙𝑆 length behind bund (m); h –
𝑉𝐼 = (Taiwan formula)
100−𝑆𝑈 depth of impounding behind
For HI several equations were also developed: the bund (m); ω – cross section
𝑉𝐼
𝐻𝐼 = 𝑆 ∙ 100 (eq. 3) of bund; b – bottom width (m);
𝑅𝑒 ∙𝐻𝐼 t – top width (m); h – height of
𝑄𝑣 = (𝑚3 ) (eq. 4)
100 bund (m).
𝑊 ∙ℎ
𝑄𝑐 = 𝑠 (eq. 5)
2
𝑏+𝑡
𝜔 = 2 ℎ (eq. 6)
Bench Design of bench terrace involved following several steps: W – width of terrace; d – depth NRCS, 1982; Schwab et al., 1996;
terraces - calculating the width of terrace: of cut; S - slope; HI – horizontal Suresh, 2009; Oweis et al., 2012;
100𝑑 interval; C – constant; I – Jat et al., 2016;
𝑊= (eq. 7)
𝑆
hydraulic gradient; A – drained
- calculating the vertical interval:
𝑊𝑆 area; R – hydraulic radius; P –
𝑉𝐼 = 100−𝑆 (eq. 8) drained perimeter; v – water
 - calculating the horizontal interval: velocity (m/s); n – Manning’s
𝐻𝐼 = 𝑊 + ℎ ∙ 𝑉𝐼 (eq. 9) roughness coefficient
- determining the terrace gradient using the
following sequence of equations:
𝐶𝐼𝐴
𝑄 = 360 (m3) (eq. 10)
𝑄
𝐴= 𝑣
(eq. 11)
𝐿𝑊
𝐴= (eq. 12)
100
𝐴
𝑅 = (eq. 13)
𝑃
1 2 1
𝑣 = 𝑛 𝑅 3 𝑆 3 (eq. 14)

References:

Garcia J.N.M., Gerrits R.V., Cramb R.A. (2002). Adoption and maintenance of contour bunds and hedgerows in a dynamic environment
- Experience in the Philippine uplands. Mountain Research and Development, 22 1: 10-13.
Murthy V.V.N. (1994). Land and Water Management Engineering, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi.
Suresh R. (2009). Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Standard Publishers, New Delhi.
Oweis T.Y., Prinz D., Hachum A.Y. (2012) Rainwater harvesting for agriculture in the dry areas, CRC Press, 266 pg.
Jat M.L., Bhakar S.R., Sharma S.K., Kothari A.K. (2016) Dryland Technology 2nd edition, Scientific Publishers, India
Mesfin A. (2016) A field guideline on bench terrace design and construction, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Natural
Resource Management Directorate, Ethiopia (source: https://nrmdblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/bench-terrace-
manual.pdf accessed on May 21st, 2019)
Ramser C. E. (1927) Runoff from small agricultural areas, Agr. Research Jour. 34(9): 797–823.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (1982) Conservation Practice Standard 1982, Terrace code 600, 5–25.
Schwab G. O., Fangmeier D. D., Elliot W. I. E. (1996) Soil and water management systems. 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc. 20–70.