The Importance Of Water Evaporation

641 Words2 Pages

In this day of conservation and effort to reign in waste there is no more important topic than life sustaining water. Water waste can be attributed to many factors. This paper focuses on water retention in residential landscapes, specifically decreased evaporation and the use of gravel mulch and to evaluate experiments that concentrate on the conservation of soil moisture though the use of rock mulch . As water resources continue to dwindle, conserving water is crucial to sustaining life. Rock mulch is an efficient and easy way to cut down on water usage in residential landscapes. Rock mulch is also more sustainable than organic mulches because it doesn’t rot away.
Mulch refers to any material extended over topsoil to act as a cover layer . (Ianotti, 2014). Gravel mulch can include many different types of grave. It could be made out of crushed gravel or small gravel rocks.. (Sullivan, 2014)
Soil evaporation is a mechanism of water climbing up to the topsoil and evaporating into the atmosphere, which is a small part of the hydrological cycle, or water cycle. This study was done to measure the effect of various gravel sizes on evaporation of the water from soil. (Yuan,2009) Gravel mulches were found to slow the hydrological cycle significantly in the experiments referred to Yuan et al. Water content was found to be established more securely with the use of gravel. (Yuan,2009)
Yuan’s experiment was done by measuring evaporation from bare soil versus soil covered with gravel mulch. Yuan goes into depth of how the experiment was arranged so both bare soil and various thickness of gravel-covered soil was exposed to exact environmental conditions. A constant air speed, humidity, and three differing temperature conditions were all ...

... middle of paper ...

...r transfer” (Yuan,2009)
Water table is refers to the upper level of which all the openings of rock are saturated with water, also called “the zone of saturation ” (http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/hydr/concepts/gwater/wattable.htm) As the water table diminished, the “upward water transport” also diminished. (Yuan,2009).
How gravel is laid effects the evaporation of soil. When gravel is imbedded at an angle within the soil may potentiate evaporation by creating a direct contact with the environmental elements. (Yakamana,2004)

Conclusion:
Climate change is happening now; we can’t keep waiting for change. Doing things on a micro level in the community now will help society as a whole move to a greener future. Using gravel mulch as a top layer in residential landscapes is a great way to adapt in arid climates as lake water continues to deplete. Gravel mulch

Open Document