Evaluation the efficiency of different mulches to combat wind erosion of sandy soil running title: Efficiency of different mulches to control wind erosion

This study was conducted to determine the most suitable mulch regard to environmental adaptation. It was carried out as a completely randomized design with treatments including cement mulch (50 g cement +100 g sand +1000 ml H2O), two rates of polymer (5 and 10 g polyvinyl acetate + 1000 ml H2O), two rates clay mulches (100 and 200 g zeolite + 1000 ml H2O, 100 and 200 g bentonite + 1000 ml H2O), and control (1000ml H2O). After applying the treatments, trays containing moving sands together with different mulches air dried and the rate of soil erosion was measured during 20, 40 and 60 minutes by wind tunnel at a speed of 85 km h-1. In addition, the penetration resistance, the abrasion resistance, crust thickness, and the impact strength were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The results of this study showed that the applied treatments increased the penetration resistance, crust thickness, impact strength, and abrasion resistance and reduced the wind erosion; so that 10g of polymer mulch and 200 g bentonite have the highest resistance against wind erosion and are recommended as suitable treatments for stabilization the moving sands in arid lands such as studied area.