Laboratory and field evaluation of the parameters affecting winter trapping efficiency of vegetative filter strips

Laboratory and field experiments were developed to mathematically model the effects of vegetative filter strip (VFS) length and slope and, runoff sediment concentration and flowrate on the sediment trapping efficiency of VFS in winter conditions. The laboratory procedure was performed in a cold room facility in the Biological Engineering Department at DalTech, Dalhousie University. The field experiments were performed at the facilities at the Bio-Environmental Engineering Centre (BEEC) in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia.; The laboratory experiment was designed as a randomised partial factorial with a total number of twelve runs. Grass sod strips of 1, 2, and 3 m length were used in combination with four slopes, two flowrates and three sediment concentrations. One replication occurred within the twelve runs. Time was also considered a variable in the trapping efficiency of the VFS. The field results produced three separate mathematical models for the fraction of sediment deposited as a function of VFS length. The three events were combined to produce a consolidated model. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...