Biodegradable Erosion Mat Performance Study

ISEF Category: Environmental Engineering

Subcategory: Land Reclamation  ·  Difficulty: Beginner  ·  Setup: Home Setup  ·  Time: 1 to 2 Months

The Hook

A hillside can lose its skin in one storm. That thin layer of soil holds water, nutrients, and roots in place. If your erosion mat fails, the ground can wash away fast. You can test which low-cost mat protects the best.

What Is It?

This project studies erosion mats, which are materials placed on bare soil to slow runoff and keep sediment from moving. Think of them like a seat belt for dirt. They do not stop rain. They reduce the force of flowing water so the soil has a better chance to stay put.

You will compare biodegradable jute, coir, and cardboard under controlled rain and slope conditions. Jute and coir come from plant fibers. Cardboard is a common household material that may act differently because it softens and breaks down faster. Your job is to measure how much soil each mat saves when the rain hits from above and the slope gets steeper.

This topic sits in land reclamation because engineers use erosion control after construction, mining, fires, and trail damage. Your project turns a real field problem into a simple lab model. You can test one variable at a time, then compare the results with clear numbers.

Why This Is a Good Topic

This makes a strong science fair topic because you can measure a real physical outcome, sediment loss, with simple tools and a clear setup. You can change slope, rainfall intensity, or mat type, then compare which condition protects the soil best. That gives you a testable question, useful controls, and data that can support graphs, statistics, and design choices. The topic also connects to roadsides, construction sites, farms, and reclaimed land, so your results matter outside the classroom.

Research Questions

• How does mat type affect sediment loss at a fixed slope and rainfall intensity?
• How does slope angle change sediment loss for each erosion mat type?
• What is the effect of rainfall intensity on sediment loss for jute, coir, and cardboard mats?
• To what extent does each mat reduce runoff compared with bare soil on the same slope?
• Which mat keeps the most soil in place after repeated wetting and drying cycles?
• How does mat thickness or weave density relate to sediment loss under the same rainfall setup?

Basic Materials

• Tilt-adjustable tray or sandbox frame
• Fine sand or soil with similar particle size
• Jute erosion mat or burlap
• Coir mat or coir fiber sheet
• Cardboard sheets from clean packaging
• Watering can with a rose or shower head
• Protractor or phone angle app
• Measuring cup or graduated container
• Digital kitchen scale with 0.1 g accuracy
• White collection trays or baking pans
• Mesh sieve or coffee filter
• Ruler or tape measure
• Smartphone camera
• Notebook and pen.

Advanced Materials

• Soil moisture probe
• Rain gauge or calibrated droplet collector
• Particle size sieve set
• Load cells or runoff collection tank
• Drying oven or food dehydrator for soil samples
• Balance with 0.01 g accuracy
• Cone penetrometer or soil strength tester
• High-speed or overhead camera
• Data logger
• Laser level or digital inclinometer
• Image analysis setup for surface cover measurement
• Environmental chamber for repeatable drying cycles.

Software & Tools

• Google Sheets: Organizes measurements, calculates averages, and builds graphs for slope and rainfall comparisons.
• ImageJ: Measures exposed soil area and helps compare how much surface each mat still covers after testing.
• GeoGebra: Lets you model slope angle and plan a consistent tray setup before you start.
• Python: Helps you run statistics, make plots, and check whether differences between mats are real.
• R: Supports stronger analysis if you want ANOVA, effect sizes, or cleaner publication-style graphs.

Experiment Steps

1. Define one main outcome, such as sediment mass lost, and decide which variable you will change first.
2. Standardize the soil bed so each trial starts with the same packing, surface level, and moisture state.
3. Set a repeatable slope and rainfall setup, then confirm that your water delivery is consistent across trials.
4. Plan control treatments, including bare soil and at least one no-rain or no-slope check if your design allows it.
5. Build a measurement method for runoff and sediment capture, then decide how you will convert messy material into one number.
6. Set your analysis plan before testing, including how you will compare materials, slopes, and rainfall levels.

Common Pitfalls

• Letting soil packing vary between trials, which changes infiltration and makes one mat look better for the wrong reason.
• Using cardboard that warps or breaks apart before testing, which hides whether the material itself or the setup caused the erosion.
• Changing the watering-can height or pour pattern, which creates uneven rainfall intensity across samples.
• Measuring wet sediment directly without a drying step, which inflates mass results with extra water.
• Mixing slope changes with mat changes in the same trial order, which makes it hard to tell which factor caused the sediment loss.

What Makes This Competitive

A stronger version of this project goes past a simple winner-takes-all comparison. You can test multiple slopes, multiple rain intensities, and repeated wet-dry cycles, then use statistics to see when each material starts to fail. You can also measure more than one outcome, such as runoff volume, sediment mass, and remaining surface cover. That gives you a more complete engineering story, not just a single chart.

Project Variations

• Compare erosion mats on real topsoil instead of sandbox material to see whether soil texture changes the ranking.
• Test how reused cardboard layers perform after soaking and drying, compared with fresh cardboard and fiber mats.
• Add a native grass seed layer under each mat to study both erosion control and early plant protection.

Learn More

• USGS Water Science School: Learn how runoff, infiltration, and erosion work, and find background pages through the USGS site.
• NOAA Climate.gov: Find plain-language resources on rainfall intensity and storm patterns through the NOAA education and climate sections.
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Look for conservation practice guides and erosion control information on the NRCS site.
• NASA Earthdata: Search for remote-sensing and land-surface resources that explain how erosion affects landscapes.
• Soil and Water Conservation Society journal: Search PubMed or the journal site for review articles on erosion control and biodegradable mats.
• MIT OpenCourseWare: Search for civil and environmental engineering course materials on soil behavior, drainage, and surface runoff.