scholarly journals Human and climate global-scale imprint on sediment transfer during the Holocene

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (46) ◽  
pp. 22972-22976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Jenny ◽  
Sujan Koirala ◽  
Irene Gregory-Eaves ◽  
Pierre Francus ◽  
Christoph Niemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rate ◽  
Arboreal Pollen ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Climate Time Series

Accelerated soil erosion has become a pervasive feature on landscapes around the world and is recognized to have substantial implications for land productivity, downstream water quality, and biogeochemical cycles. However, the scarcity of global syntheses that consider long-term processes has limited our understanding of the timing, the amplitude, and the extent of soil erosion over millennial time scales. As such, we lack the ability to make predictions about the responses of soil erosion to long-term climate and land cover changes. Here, we reconstruct sedimentation rates for 632 lakes based on chronologies constrained by 3,980 calibrated 14C ages to assess the relative changes in lake-watershed erosion rates over the last 12,000 y. Estimated soil erosion dynamics were then complemented with land cover reconstructions inferred from 43,669 pollen samples and with climate time series from the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model. Our results show that a significant portion of the Earth surface shifted to human-driven soil erosion rate already 4,000 y ago. In particular, inferred soil erosion rates increased in 35% of the watersheds, and most of these sites showed a decrease in the proportion of arboreal pollen, which would be expected with land clearance. Further analysis revealed that land cover change was the main driver of inferred soil erosion in 70% of all studied watersheds. This study suggests that soil erosion has been altering terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for millennia, leading to carbon (C) losses that could have ultimately induced feedbacks on the climate system.

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.

Spatial variability of 137Cs-drived total soil erosion rate and its driving factors at regional scale: a meta-analysis in China’s Loess Plateau

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Hu ◽  
Yihe Lü ◽  
Bojie Fu ◽  
Alexis J Comber ◽  
Lianhai Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Profile ◽  
Erosion Rate ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rate ◽  
Profile Distribution ◽  
Tracing Method

&lt;p&gt;Soil erosion, contributing to land degradation, was identified as an essential driving factor for the evolution of Earth&amp;#8217;s critical zone. Although runoff plots along the slope and weirs on river valleys are often used to monitor short-term soil and water loss, it is usually difficult to evaluate the long-term soil loss rates across spatial scales. The &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs tracer can effectively measure the long-term soil erosion rates but its capability to quantify regional soil erosion characteristics and the driving mechanisms remains a big challenge. To deal with this gap, we integrated and synthesized 61 peer-reviewed articles of soil erosion research by using &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs tracer methods in the Loess Plateau of China to reveal the regional variability of soil erosion and the effects of land uses on (a) reference &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs inventory, (b) &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs soil profile distribution and (c) &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs-derived total measured erosion rate. The results showed that reference &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs inventory range from 900 to 1750 Bq/m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; with a mean value of 1351 Bq/m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;. The reference &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs inventory decreased significantly with the increase of latitude and longitude (p&lt;0.001), while it didn&amp;#8217;t change obviously with the mean annual precipitation and temperature. The assumption of &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs tracing method was supported by &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs soil profile distribution under tillage and un-disturbed land. Tillage land was considered to have uniform distribution in soil profile and a similar exponential distribution of &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs content can be found in terrace and no-tillage land. Furthermore, &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs loss percent had a significant positive relationship with soil erosion rate (p&lt;0.001). Average long-term soil erosion rate of cropland was more than 15000 t/(km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#183;a) and significantly higher than no-tillage land (5462.52 t/(km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#183;a) including that of grassland (3890.86 t/(km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#183;a)), forest (&gt;6000 t/(km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#183;a)), and terrace (&lt;5000 t/(km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#183;a)) (p&lt;0.001). The average long-term soil erosion rate of cropland presented high spatial variability and loess hill and gully region had significantly higher average long-term soil erosion rate on cropland due to the coupling effects between heavy rainfall and steep slope. Appropriate reference sites and soil erosion conversion models were important factors for accurately quantifying the long-term soil erosion while the variation of climate, land uses, and geomorphic types had significant impacts on the spatial distribution of erosion rates. Our study can facilitate the understanding of the &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs tracing method for long-term soil erosion rate and its spatial pattern, which can be supportive for soil and water conservation planning and relevant policy-making.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Assessment of land cover on soil erosion in Lam Phra Phloeng watershed by USLE model

2018 ◽  
Vol 192 ◽  
pp. 02017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatuwat Wattanasetpong ◽  
Uma Seeboonruang ◽  
Uba Sirikaew ◽  
Walter Chen
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Surface Erosion ◽  
Agricultural Field ◽  
Land Cover Data

Soil loss due to surface erosion has been a global problem not just for developing countries but also for developed countries. One of the factors that have greatest impact on soil erosion is land cover. The purpose of this study is to estimate the long-term average annual soil erosion in the Lam Phra Phloeng watershed, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand with different source of land cover by using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and GIS (30 m grid cells) to calculate the six erosion factors (R, K, L, S, C, and P) of USLE. Land use data are from Land Development Department (LDD) and ESA Climate Change Initiative (ESA/CCI) in 2015. The result of this study show that mean soil erosion by using land cover from ESA/CCI is less than LDD (29.16 and 64.29 ton/ha/year respectively) because soil erosion mostly occurred in the agricultural field and LDD is a local department that survey land use in Thailand thus land cover data from this department have more details than ESA/CCI.

scholarly journals Assessment of Soil Erosion Vulnerability in the Heavily Populated and Ecologically Fragile Communities in Motozintla De Mendoza, Chiapas, Mexico

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selene B. González-Morales ◽  
Alex Mayer ◽  
Neptalí Ramírez-Marcial
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Erosion Rate ◽  
Negative Response ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rate ◽  
Kap Survey ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Steep Slopes ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Abstract. The physical aspects and knowledge of soil erosion in six communities in rural Chiapas, Mexico were assessed. Average erosion rates estimated with the RUSLE model ranged from 200 to 1,200 ha−1 yr−1. Most erosion rates are relatively high due to steep slopes, sandy soils and bare land cover. The lowest rates occur where corn is cultivated for much of the year and slopes are relatively low. The results of a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey showed that two-thirds of respondents believed that the major cause of soil erosion was hurricanes or rainfall and only 14 % of respondents identified human activities as causes of erosion. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that the responsibility for solving soil erosion problems lies with government, as opposed to 26 % indicating that the community is responsible. More than half of respondents believed that reforestation is a viable option for reducing soil erosion, but only a third of respondents were currently applying reforestation practices and another one-third indicated that they were not following any conservation practices. The KAP results were used to assess the overall level of knowledge and interest in soil erosion problems and their solutions by compiling negative responses. The community of Barrio Vicente Guerrero may be most vulnerable to soil erosion, since it had the highest average negative response and the second highest soil erosion rate. However, Poblado Cambil had the highest estimated soil erosion rate and a relatively low average negative response rate, suggesting that soil conservation efforts should be prioritized for this community. We conclude that as long as the economic and productive needs of the communities are not solved simultaneously, the risk of soil erosion will increase in the future, which threatens the survival of these communities.

scholarly journals Estimation of soil loss using remote sensing and GIS-based universal soil loss equation in northern catchment of Lake Tana Sub-basin, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Northwest Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veera Narayana Balabathina ◽  
R. P. Raju ◽  
Wuletaw Mulualem ◽  
Gedefaw Tadele
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Erosion Rate ◽  
Soil Erodibility ◽  
Lake Tana ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rate ◽  
Soil Loss Equation

Abstract Background Soil erosion is one of the major environmental challenges and has a significant impact on potential land productivity and food security in many highland regions of Ethiopia. Quantifying and identifying the spatial patterns of soil erosion is important for management. The present study aims to estimate soil erosion by water in the Northern catchment of Lake Tana basin in the NW highlands of Ethiopia. The estimations are based on available data through the application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation integrated with Geographic Information System and remote sensing technologies. The study further explored the effects of land use and land cover, topography, soil erodibility, and drainage density on soil erosion rate in the catchment. Results The total estimated soil loss in the catchment was 1,705,370 tons per year and the mean erosion rate was 37.89 t ha−1 year−1, with a standard deviation of 59.2 t ha−1 year−1. The average annual soil erosion rare for the sub-catchments Derma, Megech, Gumara, Garno, and Gabi Kura were estimated at 46.8, 40.9, 30.9, 30.0, and 29.7 t ha−1 year−1, respectively. Based on estimated erosion rates in the catchment, the grid cells were divided into five different erosion severity classes: very low, low, moderate, high and extreme. The soil erosion severity map showed about 58.9% of the area was in very low erosion potential (0–1 t ha−1 year−1) that contributes only 1.1% of the total soil loss, while 12.4% of the areas (36,617 ha) were in high and extreme erosion potential with erosion rates of 10 t ha−1 year−1 or more that contributed about 82.1% of the total soil loss in the catchment which should be a high priority. Areas with high to extreme erosion severity classes were mostly found in Megech, Gumero and Garno sub-catchments. Results of Multiple linear regression analysis showed a relationship between soil erosion rate (A) and USLE factors that soil erosion rate was most sensitive to the topographic factor (LS) followed by the support practice (P), soil erodibility (K), crop management (C) and rainfall erosivity factor (R). Barenland showed the most severe erosion, followed by croplands and plantation forests in the catchment. Conclusions Use of the erosion severity classes coupled with various individual factors can help to understand the primary processes affecting erosion and spatial patterns in the catchment. This could be used for the site-specific implementation of effective soil conservation practices and land use plans targeted in erosion-prone locations to control soil erosion.

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.

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

Evaluation of changes in soil erosion rates in Andalucia between 1990 and 2018

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Milazzo ◽  
Tom Vanwalleghem ◽  
Pilar Fernández, Rebollo ◽  
Jesus Fernández-Habas
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rate ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates ◽  
Management Changes ◽  
Soil Erosion By Water

&lt;p&gt;Land use and land management changes impact significantly on soil erosion rates. The Mediterranean, and in particular Southern Spain, has been affected by important shifts in the last decades. This area is currently identified as a hotspot for soil erosion by water. In the effort to achieve the SDG Target 15, we aim to show the effect of land management change, assessing soil erosion rate based on historical data. We analyzed the evolution of land use from historical aerial photographs between 1990 and 2018. We then calculated soil erosion with RUSLE. For this, we first determined the distribution frequency of cover-management factors for each land use class, comparing current land use maps with the European Soil Erosion Map (Panagos et al., 2015). Past C factors where then assigned using a Monte Carlo approach, based on the obtained frequency distributions.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

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