A Microroughness Meter for Evaluating Rainwater Infiltration

Abstract

Described is a microroughness meter developed to obtain numerous and accurate measurements of rangeland surface microroughness and characteristics. The meter, which consists of four basic parts: (1) meter base and pin guide, (2) pin lifting support bar and lifting mechanism, (3) 100 vertically moving pins, and (4) stripchart support guide and winding mechanism, was designed to measure soil surface evaluations and characteristics of a 1m2 plot. Performance tests on multi-plot sprinkler infiltrometer studies conducted on the Santa Rita Experimental Range in southeastern Arizona indicated that the meter was accurate and relatively precise in repeating soil surface roughness measurements but was not precise in defining the theoretical characteristics of constructed surfaces. It was concluded, however, that these errors in precision were insignificant and due partly to surface geometry construction errors and that the meter is a convenient, quick, simple and accurate means of measuring surface roughness in studies requiring many plots and data points.