TY - JOUR T1 - Vegetative filter strip effects on sediment concentration in cropland runoff JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 227 LP - 230 VL - 51 IS - 3 AU - C. A. Robinson AU - M. Ghaffarzadeh AU - R. M. Cruse Y1 - 1996/05/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/51/3/227.abstract N2 - Little has been done to evaluate the effectiveness of vegetative filter strips (VFS) in controlling sediment loading of surface waters from cropland soil erosion. We established study areas on 7% and 12% grades to evaluate VFS effects on sediment concentration, runoff volume, and soil loss from an 18.3-m continuous fallow strip. We designed a collector-sample splitter to collect representative runoff subsamples. We placed collectors at six intervals within the bromegrass filter strip and recorded data from 13 rainfall events. The initial 3.0 m of the VFS removed more than 70% of the sediment from runoff, while 9.1 m of the VFS removed 85%. Little decrease in sediment concentration was observed with greater VFS widths. The 12% grade had greater runoff and soil losses at all VFS widths than the 7% grade. The VFS promoted infiltration, reduced runoff volumes, and decreased runoff sediment concentration. ER -