In general, the mechanism of sheet erosion is explained that soil partcles are dispersed and carried down by runoff water. This study was done to clear the effect of the impact of raindrops upon the dispersion of soil particles. The soil (Kanto loam) was placed in two tanks, 2 feet by 2 feet and a foot deep. A tank was laid under storms with no protection, and the other was covered with double sheets of wire-gauge (45 meshes) cutting the velocity of raindrops but the same quantity of rainfall as the tank not protected.
The result shaws that the dispersion of soil particles is chiefly caused by the impact of raindrops. If soil is protected from beating by drops, soil loss by runoff water is extremly little.
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