Splash distance and size distributions for various soils

Soils fragments were splashed across the whole splash device up to 45 cm from the source, and the quantity of splashed fragments decreased exponentially with the distance. For the four tested soils, the splash parameters were significantly correlated to the results of aggregate stability measurements with r=−0.96 and r=0.95, respectively, for the total splashed mass and the mean weight diameter (MWD) of the whole splashed fragments. The measurement of the splashed fragment size distributions showed that fragments up to 2000 μm were transported by raindrop impacts. The mass percentage of the coarsest fractions of splashed soil fragments exponentially decreased with the distance from the source. The extent of this decrease depends on the soil type. The size distributions of splashed soil fragments were compared with those of soil fragments produced by breakdown. Comparison of splash data to aggregate breakdown data showed an enrichment of the 200-1000 μm size fraction in the splashed fragments.