Search results for "soil erosion"

Evaluating the effects of man-induced topographic changes in landscape structure on soil erosion by water: a case study in Sicily

2012

Water erosion assessment and modeling in two calanchi areas in Sicily, Italy

I badlands sono forme di erosione localizzate principalmente nelle regioni aride e semi-aride e sono formati da una complessa combinazione di processi morfogenetici. La loro origine coinvolge processi di erosione idrica ma anche tunnel erosion e movimenti di massa. Inoltre, tali forme possono anche essere correlate a fenomeni di erosione accelerata che hanno luogo laddove le azioni antropiche disturbano l'equilibrio naturale tra processi morfogenetici e suolo. I badlands, con i loro versanti ripidi, sono spesso inseriti all’interno di paesaggi più dolci, in mezzo a colture o bosco, localizzati in aree dove i processi responsabili del loro modellamento sono di solito piuttosto attivi determi…

Quantifying interrill and ephemeral gully erosion in a small Sicilian basin

2012

The contribution of mulches to control high soil erosion rates in vineyards in Eastern Spain

2014

Soil erosion take place in degraded ecosystem where the lack of vegetation, drought, erodible parent material and deforestation take place (Borelli et al., 2013; Haregeweyn et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2013). Agriculture management developed new landscapes (Ore and Bruins, 2012) and use to trigger non-sustainable soil erosion rates (Zema et al., 2012). High erosion rates were measured in agriculture land (Cerdà et al., 2009), but it is also possible to develop managements that will control the soil and water losses, such as organic amendments (Marqués et al., 2005), plant cover (Marqués et al., 2007) and geotextiles (Giménez Morera et al., 2010). The most successful management to restore the …

Establishing soil loss tolerance: an overview

2016

Soil loss tolerance is a criterion for establishing if a soil is potentially subjected to erosion risk, productivity loss and if a river presents downstream over-sedimentation or other off-site effects are present at basin scale. At first this paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil loss and summarises the available definitions and the knowledge on the recommended values and evaluating criteria. Then a threshold soil loss value, at the annual temporal scale, established for limiting riling was used for defining the classical soil loss tolerance. Finally, some research needs on tolerable soil loss are listed.

Modelling soil carbon fate under erosion process in vineyard

2017

Soil erosion processes in vineyards beyond water runoff and sediment transport have a strong effect on soil organic carbon loss (SOC) and redistribution along the slope. The variation of SOC across the landscape determines a difference in soil fertility and vine productivity. The aim of this research was to study erosion of a Mediterranean vineyard, develop an approach to estimate the SOC loss, correlate the vines vigor with sediment and carbon erosion. The study was carried out in a Sicilian (Italy) vineyard, planted in 2011. Along the slope, six pedons were studied by digging 6 pits up to 60cm depth. Soil was sampled in each pedon every 10cm and SOC was analyzed. Soil erosion, detachment …

Rethinking vineyard ground management to counter soil tillage erosion

2022

Tillage erosion is a relevant process of soil redistribution in sloping arable land, but little research has analysed the effect of shallow tillage on soil erosion in vineyards. The goal of this study was to quantify the soil tillage effect on soil translocation and erosion at the territorial level in a large vineyard area in Sicily. The soil loss and soil erosion tolerance limits were compared to identify the vineyards with a high risk of soil degradation. An alternative management scenario to traditional tillage was proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the best management practices on soil conservation. The experimental trials were conducted in 14 vineyards with different slopes and …

Checking generalization of the USLE-MM in central and South Italy

2018

The USLE-MM estimates event normalized plot soil loss, Ae,N, by an erosivity term given by the runoff coefficient, QR, times the single-storm erosion index, EI30, raised to an exponent b1 > 1. In this investigation, carried out at the three experi-mental sites of Bagnara, Masse and Sparacia, in Italy, the soundness of the USLE-MM scheme with a single exponent for the three sites was tested. The model was parameterized both locally and considering all sites simultaneously. The performances of the fitted models were established by considering all erosive events and also by distinguishing between events of different severity. The b1 exponent varied widely among the three sites (1.05 - 1.44) bu…

Testing the “physical model concept” by soil loss data measured in Sicily

2012

The best possible model to predict the erosion from an area of land has been suggested to be a physical model of the area that has similar soil type, land use, size, shape, slope and erosive inputs. Therefore, a replicated plot has to be considered the best possible, unbiased, real world model. In this paper the physical model concept was tested by using soil loss data collected on plots of different length at the experimental station of Sparacia, in Sicily (South Italy). This investigation supported the conclusions that i) a coefficient of determination between measured and predicted soil loss values of 0.77 has to be considered as the best-case prediction scenario and ii) an uncalibrated …

Long-term effects of soil management on ecosystem services and soil loss estimation in olive grove top soils

2016

Soil management has important effects on soil properties, runoff, soil losses and soil quality. Traditional olive grove (OG) management is based on reduced tree density, canopy size shaped by pruning and weed control by ploughing. In addition, over the last several decades, herbicide use has been introduced into conventional OG management. These management strategies cause the soil surface to be almost bare and subsequently high erosion rates take place. To avoid these high erosion rates several soil management strategies can be applied. In this study, three strategies were assessed in OG with conventional tillage in three plots of 1. ha each. Soil properties were measured and soil erosion …