SEMI-NATURAL HILLSLOPE

The MecHydroLab hosts an outdoor experimental facility located in a natural terrain parcel at the “Azienda Agraria” of the University of Tuscia. The facility includes a 7×7 m² experimental hillslope plot, which rests on a containment structure of wood boards and poles on three sides and is completely disconnected from the underlying terrain through a waterproof layer. A system of rainfall simulators is installed in the hillslope to uniformly irrigate the plot. Rainfall is provisioned and regulated through a water feeding system, including a tank, a hydraulic pump, a manometer, and a buried piping. The experimental plot features a real time monitoring system, which allows for acquiring information on input artificial and natural rainfall, output water discharged from the plot, turbidity, soil moisture conditions, and qualitative information on the infiltration rate. Acquired values are recorded and stored by a CR10X Campbell Scientific datalogger.