Assessment of long-term Holocene soil erosion rates in Polish loess areas using sedimentary archives from closed depressions

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 978-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Kołodyńska-Gawrysiak ◽  
Jean Poesen ◽  
Leszek Gawrysiak
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

scholarly journals Applying the RUSLE and ISUM in the Tierra de Barros Vineyards (Extremadura, Spain) to Estimate Soil Mobilisation Rates

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Barrena-González ◽  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
Yeboah Gyasi-Agyei ◽  
Manuel Pulido Fernández ◽  
Artemi Cerdà
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
La Mancha ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Depletion ◽  
Mapping Techniques

Spain is one of the largest wine producers in the world, with Extremadura (south-west Spain) being its second-largest producing region after Castilla La Mancha. Within Extremadura, the most traditional and productive viticulture region is the Tierra de Barros, which boasts an annual production of 3×106 litres. However, no soil erosion assessment has been undertaken in any vineyard in the region to ascertain environmental sustainability. Therefore, the Improved Stock Unearthing Method (ISUM) and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) were applied to assess the long-term soil erosion rates. Both methods were applied using an experimental plot (2.8 m × 148.5 m) encompassing 99 paired vines in a 20-year-old vineyard under a tillage management system and on bare soils throughout the year. The ISUM and RUSLE found total soil mobilization values of 45.7 Mg ha−1 yr−1 and 17.4 Mg ha−1 yr−1, respectively, a difference of about 5 times. Mapping techniques showed that soil surface declined to an average of −6.2 cm, with maximum values of −28 cm. The highest values of soil depletion were mainly observed in the upper part and the form of linear features following the hillslope direction. On the other hand, under the vines, the soil surface level showed accumulations of up to +2.37 cm due to tillage practices. Our study demonstrated the potential of high soil erosion rates occurring in conventional vineyards managed with tillage in the inter-row areas and herbicides under the vines within the Tierra de Barros. Also, we demonstrated the elevated differences in soil mobilisation rates using the ISUM and RUSLE. Therefore, further research must be conducted in other vineyards to determine the suitability of the models for assessing soil erosion rates. Undoubtedly, soil conservation measures must be designed and applied immediately due to high erosion rates.

Early cultivation and bioturbation cause high long-term soil erosion rates in tropical forests: OSL based evidence from Ghana

CATENA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 130-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Breuning-Madsen ◽  
Jeppe Ågård Kristensen ◽  
Theodore W. Awadzi ◽  
Andrew S. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

scholarly journals Tracing erosion rates in loess landscape of the Trzebnica Hills (Poland) over time using fallout and cosmogenic nuclides

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Loba ◽  
Jarosław Waroszewski ◽  
Dmitry Tikhomirov ◽  
Fancesca Calitri ◽  
Marcus Christl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Undisturbed Soil ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Fallout Radionuclides ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

Abstract Purpose Loess landscapes are highly susceptible to soil erosion, which affects soil stability and productivity. Erosion is non-linear in time and space and determines whether soils form or degrade. While the spatial variability of erosion is often assessed by either modelling or on-site measurements, temporal trends over decades to millennia are very often lacking. In this study, we determined long- and short-term erosion rates to trace the dynamics of loess deposits in south-western Poland. Materials and methods We quantified long-term (millennial) erosion rates using cosmogenic (in situ 10Be) and short-term (decadal) rates with fallout radionuclides (239+240Pu). Erosion processes were studied in two slope-soil transects (12 soil pits) with variable erosion features. As a reference site, an undisturbed soil profile under natural forest was sampled. Results and discussion The long-term erosion rates ranged between 0.44 and 0.85 t ha−1 year−1, whereas the short-term erosion rates varied from 1.2 to 10.9 t ha−1 year−1 and seem to be reliable. The short-term erosion rates are up to 10 times higher than the long-term rates. The soil erosion rates are quite consistent with the terrain relief, with erosion increasing in the steeper slope sections and decreasing in the lower parts of the slope, while still maintaining high values. Conclusions Soil erosion rates have increased during the last few decades owing to agriculture intensification and probably climate change. The measured values lie far above tolerable erosion rates, and the soils were found to be strongly imbalanced and exhibit a drastic shallowing of the productive soils horizons.

scholarly journals Soil erosion by snow gliding – a first quantification attempt in a subalpine area in Switzerland

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 3763-3775 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Meusburger ◽  
G. Leitinger ◽  
L. Mabit ◽  
M. H. Mueller ◽  
A. Walter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Water Erosion ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Snow Gliding

Abstract. Snow processes might be one important driver of soil erosion in Alpine grasslands and thus the unknown variable when erosion modelling is attempted. The aim of this study is to assess the importance of snow gliding as a soil erosion agent for four different land use/land cover types in a subalpine area in Switzerland. We used three different approaches to estimate soil erosion rates: sediment yield measurements in snow glide depositions, the fallout radionuclide 137Cs and modelling with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). RUSLE permits the evaluation of soil loss by water erosion, the 137Cs method integrates soil loss due to all erosion agents involved, and the measurement of snow glide deposition sediment yield can be directly related to snow-glide-induced erosion. Further, cumulative snow glide distance was measured for the sites in the winter of 2009/2010 and modelled for the surrounding area and long-term average winter precipitation (1959–2010) with the spatial snow glide model (SSGM). Measured snow glide distance confirmed the presence of snow gliding and ranged from 2 to 189 cm, with lower values on the north-facing slopes. We observed a reduction of snow glide distance with increasing surface roughness of the vegetation, which is an important information with respect to conservation planning and expected and ongoing land use changes in the Alps. Snow glide erosion estimated from the snow glide depositions was highly variable with values ranging from 0.03 to 22.9 t ha−1 yr−1 in the winter of 2012/2013. For sites affected by snow glide deposition, a mean erosion rate of 8.4 t ha−1 yr−1 was found. The difference in long-term erosion rates determined with RUSLE and 137Cs confirms the constant influence of snow-glide-induced erosion, since a large difference (lower proportion of water erosion compared to total net erosion) was observed for sites with high snow glide rates and vice versa. Moreover, the difference between RUSLE and 137Cs erosion rates was related to the measured snow glide distance (R2 = 0.64; p < 0.005) and to the snow deposition sediment yields (R2 = 0.39; p = 0.13). The SSGM reproduced the relative difference of the measured snow glide values under different land uses and land cover types. The resulting map highlighted the relevance of snow gliding for large parts of the investigated area. Based on these results, we conclude that snow gliding appears to be a crucial and non-negligible process impacting soil erosion patterns and magnitude in subalpine areas with similar topographic and climatic conditions.

scholarly journals The application of137Cs and210Pbexmethods in soil erosion research of Titel loess plateau, Vojvodina, Northern Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Kristina S. Kalkan ◽  
Sofija Forkapić ◽  
Slobodan B. Marković ◽  
Kristina Bikit ◽  
Milivoj B. Gavrilov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Undisturbed Soil ◽  
Migration Model ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates ◽  
Profile Distribution ◽  
And Migration

AbstractSoil erosion is one of the largest global problems of environmental protection and sustainable development, causing serious land degradation and environmental deterioration. The need for fast and accurate soil rate assessment of erosion and deposition favors the application of alternative methods based on the radionuclide measurement technique contrary to long-term conventional methods. In this paper, we used gamma spectrometry measurements of 137Cs and unsupported 210Pbex in order to quantify the erosion on the Titel Loess Plateau near the Tisa (Tisza) River in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. Along the slope of the study area and in the immediate vicinity eight representative soil depth profiles were taken and the radioactivity content in 1 cm thick soil layers was analyzed. Soil erosion rates were estimated according to the profile distribution model and the diffusion and migration model for undisturbed soil. The net soil erosion rates, estimated by 137Cs method range from −2.3 t ha−1 yr−1 to −2.7 t ha−1 yr−1, related to the used conversion model which is comparable to published results of similar studies of soil erosion in the region. Vertical distribution of natural radionuclides in soil profiles was also discussed and compared with the profile distribution of unsupported 210Pbex measurements. The use of diffusion and migration model to convert the results of 210Pbex activities to soil redistribution rates indicates a slightly higher net erosion of −3.7 t ha−1 yr−1 with 98% of the sediment delivery ratio.

scholarly journals Assessing Changes in Soil Erosion Rates: A Markov Chain Analysis

1999 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda Skaggs ◽  
Soumen Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Markov Chain ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Markov Chain Analysis ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
National Resources Inventory ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Chain Analysis ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

AbstractMarkov chain analysis (one-step and long-run) is applied to the National Resources Inventory (NRI) database to evaluate changes in wind-based soil erosion rates over time. The research compares changes in soil erosion rates between NRI sample sites with and without applied conservation practices for a random sample of Great Plains counties. No significant differences between sites are found for half of the counties evaluated. The effectiveness and efficiency of conservation policies are thus questioned in light of these research results.

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