Integrated methods and a complex solution for flood protection and erosion control – A case study of the village of Vrbovce, Slovakia

Author(s):  
Roman Výleta ◽  
Viera Rattayová ◽  
Kamila Hlavčová ◽  
Michaela Danáčová ◽  
Andrej Škrinár ◽  
...  

<p>The aim of the study was an integrated application of methods for the identification and complex assessment of ecosystem responses to abiotic stress factors as extreme runoff, muddy floods and soil erosion processes.  The protection of land with flysch geological structures with regard to and the problems caused by extreme runoff are a very important task in water management. The unsuitable management of land and irresponsible land use causes the formation of flash floods on watersheds and results in accelerated soil erosion. The decreasing soil quality and excessive sedimentation of eroded material in the water structures, which are components of flood protection structures, are a consequence of accelerated soil erosion. Research on and the design of measures were realized on five small watersheds in the cadastral area of the village of Vrbovce, which is situated in western Slovakia, on the edge of the flysch zone of the White Carpathians. Flash floods regularly recur in the village of Vrbovce, and extreme runoff causes the formation of rill erosion on the arable land. The soil erosion was modelled by the Universal Soil Loss Equation and the topographic factor was calculated by the Usle2D program. The results of the calculations show that 96.19 % of the agricultural land is endangered by accelerated soil erosion, with the values of the average annual soil loss greater than the limit for the tolerance of soil erosion. We calculated the direct runoff for five selected watersheds of the Teplica river tributaries with the CN-SCS method. The flooded areas in the village were modelled by the 2D hydrodynamic model MIKE21. A set of measures, i.e., polders, an infiltration trench and agrotechnical measures on the arable land, was designed outside the built-up areas of the village of Vrbovce for the reduction of the extreme runoff and accelerated soil erosion. Measures for the Teplica river revitalisation in the village were proposed. From the estimation of effectiveness of the measures proposed follows that we were able to reduce the amount of the soil erosion to values permissible for the norm by the proposed measures.</p><p>Key words: soil erosion, flash floods, flood protection, erosion control and river revitalisation practices</p>

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safwan Mohammed ◽  
Hazem G. Abdo ◽  
Szilard Szabo ◽  
Quoc Bao Pham ◽  
Imre J. Holb ◽  
...  

Soils in the coastal region of Syria (CRoS) are one of the most fragile components of natural ecosystems. However, they are adversely affected by water erosion processes after extreme land cover modifications such as wildfires or intensive agricultural activities. The main goal of this research was to clarify the dynamic interaction between erosion processes and different ecosystem components (inclination, land cover/land use, and rainy storms) along with the vulnerable territory of the CRoS. Experiments were carried out in five different locations using a total of 15 erosion plots. Soil loss and runoff were quantified in each experimental plot, considering different inclinations and land uses (agricultural land (AG), burnt forest (BF), forest/control plot (F)). Observed runoff and soil loss varied greatly according to both inclination and land cover after 750 mm of rainfall (26 events). In the cultivated areas, the average soil water erosion ranged between 0.14 ± 0.07 and 0.74 ± 0.33 kg/m2; in the BF plots, mean soil erosion ranged between 0.03 ± 0.01 and 0.24 ± 0.10 kg/m2. The lowest amount of erosion was recorded in the F plots where the erosion ranged between 0.1 ± 0.001 and 0.07 ± 0.03 kg/m2. Interestingly, the General Linear Model revealed that all factors (i.e., inclination, rainfall and land use) had a significant (p < 0.001) effect on the soil loss. We concluded that human activities greatly influenced soil erosion rates, being higher in the AG lands, followed by BF and F. Therefore, the current study could be very useful to policymakers and planners for proposing immediate conservation or restoration plans in a less studied area which has been shown to be vulnerable to soil erosion processes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 116-124
Author(s):  
Petra Bíla ◽  
Bořivoj Šarapatka ◽  
Ondřej Horňák ◽  
Jaroslava Novotná ◽  
Martin Brtnický

Soil erosion, especially water erosion, is one of the most widespread types of soil degradation, not only worldwide, but also within the Czech Republic, where it endangers more than a half of the agricultural land. In addition to farming, the landscape structure has a significant impact on soil erosion in the conditions under study, where, especially in the post-war period, the collectivisation of large-scale arable land was accompanied by the abolition of the associated landscape elements. The agricultural production area of South Moravia is one of the most endangered areas in the Czech Republic, therefore, it was selected for our research, whose main objective was to verify the sensitivity of the selected physical, chemical and biochemical characteristics to identify the changes in the soil properties in the erosion processes at the identified erosion areas. The testing was carried out within a period of 5 years in 60 locations with Chernozems with cultivated corn. To assess the quality of the soil properties, indicators of soil quality from the physical, chemical and biological – biochemical groups were selected. The results of the analyses and the subsequent statistical evaluation showed that the chemical characteristics, especially those related to the quantity and quality of the organic matter, were the most sensitive to the changes in the soil properties. From the biochemical indicators, some enzymes, particularly dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase, reacted sensitively. The physical characteristics were not significantly affected by the erosion processes.


Author(s):  
Marie Palíková ◽  
Aleš Kučera

Soil erosion is still an issue in forestry and in human water-resources activities connected with landscape management and the protection of surface waters. The methods recently assessing the water erosion include: monitoring of suspended sediments in water, monitoring of dynamics of soil pro­per­ties, assessing the inclination of soil towards soil erosion, monitoring of effectiveness of erosion control measures, erosion processes modeling etc. (Buzek, 1981; Buzek, 1983; Holý, 1994; Jařabáč, Belský, 2008).The river basin of the water tank Šance is very important as a source of potable water and this importance is advanced, when water tank is clogged up by suspended sediments.Erosion was assessed by two methods in ArcMap 9.3 working with original data: the first method is Universal equation calculating an average annual soil loss from surface (USLE) (Wischmeier, Smith, cit. in Janeček, 2002); the second method assesses the potential erosion (MPE), using specific soil properties as factors, evaluating the rate of the intensity of erosion (Kučera, Palíková; 2009).Each method uses different ways for the description of the erodibility: USLE describes a long-term average annual soil loss as a consequence of surface erosion. It gives exact values of sediments in t . ha−1 . year−1, but from the other point of view, this method is primarily created for an agricultural land. Compared with USLE, MPE solves potential erosion and gives relative values of the erosion tendency of an environment. PME could give a new point of view on the assessing of the erosion.The river basin Ostravice above water tank Šance was used to compare these two methods. As a control measure, dates of the assessment of the water sediments regime (Buzek, 2001) were used. This observation was pursued in waters of the gagin station ČHMÚ Ostrava in Staré Hamry in according Stehlík (1969). This 25-year process of measuring shows the value of 2.47 t . ha−1 . year−1 in water tank upper Ostravice (with surface 72.96 km2). USLE shows much lower values of suspended sediments (0.41 t . ha−1 . year−1 using a continuous longitude of slopes or 0.11 t . ha−1 . year−1, with regards to the interruption of slopes by the forest roads). This difference is caused by the construction of USLE, which doesn’t respect increased values of sediments after the crossing of fords by the forestry mechanization, rill erosion or inputs of sediments from watercourse and near ravines. Therefore, the high values of suspended sediments are mainly caused by forest management (Buzek, 2001).


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Alexandra Pagáč Mokrá ◽  
Jakub Pagáč ◽  
Zlatica Muchová ◽  
František Petrovič

Water erosion is a phenomenon that significantly damages agricultural land. The current land fragmentation in Slovakia and the complete ambiguity of who owns it leads to a lack of responsibility to care for the land in its current condition, which could affect its sustainability in the future. The reason so much soil has eroded is obvious when looking at current land management, with large fields, a lack of windbreaks between them, and no barriers to prevent soil runoff. Land consolidation might be the solution. This paper seeks to evaluate redistributed land and, based on modeling by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) method, to assess the degree of soil erosion risk. Ownership data provided information on how many owners and what amount of area to consider, while taking into account new conditions regarding water erosion. The results indicate that 2488 plots of 1607 owners which represent 12% of the model area are still endangered by water erosion, even after the completion of the land consolidation project. The results also presented a way of evaluating the territory and aims to trigger a discussion regarding an unambiguous definition of responsibility in the relationship between owner and user.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6763
Author(s):  
Mongi Ben Zaied ◽  
Seifeddine Jomaa ◽  
Mohamed Ouessar

Soil erosion remains one of the principal environmental problems in arid regions. This study aims to assess and quantify the variability of soil erosion in the Koutine catchment using the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) model. The Koutine catchment is located in an arid area in southeastern Tunisia and is characterized by an annual mean precipitation of less than 200 mm. The model was used to examine the influence of topography, extreme rainstorm intensity and soil texture on soil loss. The data used for model validation were obtained from field measurements by monitoring deposited sediment in settlement basins of 25 cisterns (a traditional water harvesting and storage technique) over 4 years, from 2015 to 2018. Results showed that slope is the most controlling factor of soil loss. The average annual soil loss in monitoring sites varies between 0.01 and 12.5 t/ha/y. The storm events inducing the largest soil losses occurred in the upstream part of the Koutine catchment with a maximum value of 7.3 t/ha per event. Soil erosion is highly affected by initial and preceding soil conditions. The RUSLE model reasonably reproduced (R2 = 0.81) the spatiotemporal variability of measured soil losses in the study catchment during the observation period. This study revealed the importance of using the cisterns in the data-scarce dry areas as a substitute for the classic soil erosion monitoring fields. Besides, combining modeling of outputs and field measurements could improve our physical understanding of soil erosion processes and their controlling factors in an arid catchment. The study results are beneficial for decision-makers to evaluate the existing soil conservation and water management plans, which can be further adjusted using appropriate soil erosion mitigation options based on scientific evidence.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Dugan ◽  
Leon Josip Telak ◽  
Iva Hrelja ◽  
Ivica Kisić ◽  
Igor Bogunović

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Straw mulch impact on soil properties and initial soil erosion processes in the maize field&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ivan Dugan*, Leon Josip Telak, Iva Hrelja, Ivica Kisic, Igor Bogunovic&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of General Agronomy, Zagreb, Croatia&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(*correspondence to Ivan Dugan: [email protected])&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Soil erosion by water is the most important cause of land degradation. Previous studies reveal high soil loss in conventionally managed croplands, with recorded soil losses high as 30 t ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; under wide row cover crop like maize (Kisic et al., 2017; Bogunovic et al., 2018). Therefore, it is necessary to test environmentally-friendly soil conservation practices to mitigate soil erosion. This research aims to define the impacts of mulch and bare soil on soil water erosion in the maize (Zea mays&amp;#160;L.) field in Blagorodovac, Croatia (45&amp;#176;33&amp;#8217;N; 17&amp;#176;01&amp;#8217;E; 132 m a.s.l.). For this research, two treatments on conventionally tilled silty clay loam Stagnosols were established, one was straw mulch (2 t ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;), while other was bare soil. For purpose of research, ten rainfall simulations and ten sampling points were conducted per each treatment. Simulations were carried out with a rainfall simulator, simulating a rainfall at an intensity of 58 mm h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, for 30 min, over 0.785 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; plots, to determine runoff and sediment loss. Soil core samples and undisturbed samples were taken in the close vicinity of each plot. The results showed that straw mulch mitigated water runoff (by 192%), sediment loss (by 288%), and sediment concentration (by 560%) in addition to bare treatment. The bare treatment showed a 55% lower infiltration rate. Ponding time was higher (p &lt; 0.05) on mulched plots (102 sec), compared to bare (35 sec), despite the fact that bulk density, water-stable aggregates, water holding capacity, and mean weight diameter did not show any difference (p &gt; 0.05) between treatments. The study results indicate that straw mulch mitigates soil water erosion, because it immediately reduces runoff, and enhances infiltration. On the other side, soil water erosion on bare soil under simulated rainstorms could be high as 5.07 t ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, when extrapolated, reached as high as 5.07 t ha&lt;sup&gt;-1 &lt;/sup&gt;in this study. The conventional tillage, without residue cover, was proven as unsustainable agro-technical practice in the study area.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Key words: straw mulch, &lt;/strong&gt;rainfall simulation, soil water erosion&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Acknowledgment&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This work was supported by Croatian Science Foundation through the project &quot;Soil erosion and degradation in Croatia&quot; (UIP-2017-05-7834) (SEDCRO).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Literature&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bogunovic, I., Pereira, P., Kisic, I., Sajko, K., Sraka, M. (2018). Tillage management impacts on soil compaction, erosion and crop yield in Stagnosols (Croatia). Catena, 160, 376-384.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kisic, I., Bogunovic, I., Birk&amp;#225;s, M., Jurisic, A., Spalevic, V. (2017). The role of tillage and crops on a soil loss of an arable Stagnic Luvisol. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 63(3), 403-413.&lt;/p&gt;


2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Sparovek ◽  
Isabella Clerici De Maria

Erosion tolerance is the most multidisciplinary field of soil erosion research. Scientists have shown lack in ability to adequately analyze the huge list of variables that influence soil loss tolerance definitions. For these the perspectives of erosion made by farmers, environmentalists, society and politicians have to be considered simultaneously. Partial and biased definitions of erosion tolerance may explain not only the polemic nature of the currently suggested values but also, in part, the nonadoption of the desired levels of erosion control. To move towards a solution, considerable changes would have to occur on how this topic is investigated, especially among scientists, who would have to change methods and strategies and extend the perspective of research out of the boundaries of the physical processes and the frontiers of the academy. A more effective integration and communication with the society and farmers, to learn about their perspective of erosion and a multidisciplinary approach, integrating soil, social, economic and environmental sciences are essential for improved erosion tolerance definitions. In the opinion of the authors, soil erosion research is not moving in this direction and a better understanding of erosion tolerance is not to be expected in the near future.


Purpose. To characterize the methodological approaches that we develop in the formation of a system of information support for the creation and maintenance of the functioning of modern sustainable agricultural landscapes and to show the results of their implementation on the example of the territory of some agricultural enterprises of the Kharkiv region. Methods. Cartographic, geoinformation analysis, calculation, statistical and mathematical. Results. Some results of the work of the collective on the issues of information support for the creation and maintenance of the functioning of modern sustainable agricultural landscapes. Namely, verification of erosion models, studies of the functionality of shelter belts, the formation of an agroeconet (an extensive network of natural and quasi-natural landscapes) on agricultural land massifs, which ensures the maintenance of stable functioning of meso and macrolevel agrolandscapes, as well as the experience of using magnetic prospecting methods to verify the results of mathematical modeling of erosion processes. Conclusions. A number of methodological approaches to information support of the formation of sustainable agricultural landscapes in the natural and socio-economic conditions of Ukraine have been developed. They relate to the functioning of anti-erosion measures of permanent action, the processes of modern transformation of agro-landscapes, the ecological impact of erosion processes on the environment. The connection between the length of forest belts per unit of arable land and soil erosion is shown. A methodical approach has been developed to estimate the amount of soil washed away from arable land and to calculate the measures necessary to eliminate its harmful effects on the environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-348
Author(s):  
Vladimir TATARINTSEV ◽  
◽  
Leonid TATARINTSEV ◽  
Alex MATSYURA ◽  
Andrei BONDAROVICH ◽  
...  

The aim of the work was the landscape analysis of agricultural geographical landscapes in the Altai Territory and elaboration of measures aimed at the rational use of agricultural lands. Environmental and landscape (landscape) approach became the main method of scientific research used in the analysis of modern agricultural landscapes. The cartographic method, using GIS-technologies, made it possible to digitize the obtained materials. Synthesized maps of agro-ecological, natural and other zoning of territories are based on topographic, soil, geobotanical and other thematic maps made during land surveying during the field survey. Retrospective analysis, induction and deduction methods,analysis and synthesis, as well as the abstract-logic method were also used in the work. Our main result was the analysis of land use territory for agricultural enterprise in municipal district of Altai Krai. Exploration of lands indicates a pronounced plant-growing specialization of JSC “Pobeda” with a developed animal breeding direction. Limiting factors affecting the rational use of land are natural and climatic conditions, terrain,unsystematic anthropogenic activity and, as a result, the development of erosion processes. The degree of eroded and deflated arable land is more than 50%, hay and pasture lands are also very unstable. Landscapes have been typified, based on which eleven types of land have been identified and their geomorphological description has been carried out. The first five types of land can be used for agricultural production with limitations compensated by crop technology and erosion control measures, the sixth and seventh types require grassing and, in some cases,conservation, the eighth and ninth types can be partially used for pasture and area valorization; the remaining two are not suitable for agricultural use but should be potentially used for planting and forest management. As a result of the presented transformation of agricultural lands, the structure of cultivated areas has changed. The area of arable land decreased by 877 ha, and of pastures by 365 ha,while the area under hayfields, fallow lands, and forest lands increased by 295, 191, and 875 ha respectively. Low-productive lands were withdrawn from agriculture. We suggested that the sustainability of agricultural land use was mainly caused by the reduction of anthropogenic load and increase in ecological equilibrium of the territory.


Author(s):  
Myroslav Voloshchuk

Based on generalization of literary sources, normative legal, stock materials and experimental data, the complex situation of soil degradation is highlighted. Different types and intensity of the manifestation of soil degradation, their distribution and characteristics are described. The threatening situation of manifestation of degradation processes in some regions of Ukraine is shown, among which soil erosion occupies the leading place. More than 4.5 million hectares are occupied by medium and strongly ground soils, including 68 thousand hectares completely lost their humus horizon. Particularly large areas of eroded soils are distributed on arable land in the Vinnytsia, Luhansk, Donetsk, Odesa, Chernivtsi and Ternopil regions, where the average annual ground wash is 24.5–27.8 t/ha with a tolerance of 2.5–3.7 t/ha. As a result of erosion processes from the total area of agricultural land, about 500 million tons of fertile soil layer is washed out on average annually, which contains about 24 million tons of humus, 0.96 million tons of nitrogen, 0.68 million tons of phosphorus and 9.4 million tons of potassium equivalent to 320–333 million tons of organic fertilizers, and ecological and economic losses due to erosion exceed 9 billion UAH. Flat soil was associated with linear erosion. The main indicators characterizing the degree of damage to land by linear erosion are the density of ravines, the distance and area between them, the slope, the properties of soils and rocks, the morphometric parameters of the ravines and their catchment areas. According to various estimates, the area of land affected by linear erosion in the country increases by 5–10 thousand ha annually. The effect of the ravines on the complete destruction of the land, deformation of the soil cover is highlighted. Information on various types of soil pollution by poison chemicals, industrial waste is given. According to the prediction of scientists in such a situation, 120–150 years on the planet can destroy the fertile soil layer. Key words: erosion, dehumidification, pollution, waterlogging, acidity, degraded land.


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