Land use change in all river basins leads to changes in hydrologic response, soil erosion, and sediment dynamics characteristics. Those changes are often viewed as the main cause of accelerated erosion rates. We studied the impact of land use changes on soil erosion processes in one of the watersheds in Montenegro: the Miocki Potok, using this watershed as a pilot river basin for this area. We simulated responses of soil erosion processes by using a process-oriented soil erosion Intensity of Erosion and Outflow (IntErO) model, with different settings of land use for the years 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. The model provides fast, effective, and affordable insight into the effects of land use change on soil erosion processes. Testing of the applied procedures was important for the further establishment of watershed management methodologies at the national level, for the other 300 river basins of Montenegro. For the current state of land use, calculated peak discharge for the Miocki Potok was 364 m3 s−1 (2020)–372 m3 s−1 (1970) for the incidence of 100 years, and there is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied basin. Real soil losses, Gyear, were calculated at 13680 m3 year−1 (2020) and specific 333 m3 km−2 year−1 (2020). A Z coefficient value of 0.439 (2020) indicated that the river basin belongs to destruction category III. The strength of the erosion process was medium, and according to the erosion type, it was mixed erosion. According to our analysis, the land use changes in the last 50 years influenced a decrease in the soil erosion intensity for 14% in the Miocki Potok River Basin. Further studies should be focused on the detailed analysis of the land use changes trends with the other river basins at the national level, closely following responses of soil erosion to the changed land use structure, and effects of plant-and-soil interaction on soil erosion and sediment dynamics.
This paper presents an Ecological-Economic (Eco-Eco) modelling using the Intensity of Erosion and Outflow (IntErO) model for calculation of sediment yield and runoff assessing the impacts of different land covers on soil erosion intensity. Calculations have been made for the Velicka River basin, which is one of 57 sub-basins of the Lim River in the Northeast Montenegro. Several different land use scenarios were then simulated in the model in order to find the optimal scenario of land use for intensive seed potato production. The results of Ecological (Eco-) analysis shown that the real soil loss under current conditions is 18148 m³yr -1 . If seed potato production is introduced, the model calculated a soil loss of 20834 m³yr -1 as sediment yield. In order to balance the damage caused by the introduction of seed potato production we considered also the ecological measure of afforestation to reduce soil loss caused by seed potato production. The model calculated that afforestation would result in a decrease of sediment yield to 17886 m³yr -1 . The results of Economic (-Eco) analysis revealed that the investment of €3,385 per ha for the establishment of the seed potato production will provide the income for the farmers of €15,000 per hectare annually. In parallel, we proposed the investment for the protection of the area (258 ha) with afforestation that amounts to €330,608 (€1,281 per ha), for the period of two years, with no other costs in the next decade. The research results demonstrate that the application of the Eco-Eco modelling, by using the IntErO model for studying the effect of soil erosion and possible land use for intensive seed potato production in the Velicka River Basin provides cost effective solutions for the benefit of the local population.
Use of models in the research of soil erosion processes is at the moment a standard practice and models are necessary tool for better understanding of sediment production and runoff, although their interpretation is limited by large uncertainties, including model parameter uncertainties. In this research we studied the main ecological factors and anthropogenic influences in sediment yield on the Provala basin of Montenegro analyzing the relationships between the physical-geographical, geological, soil, land use, climate characteristics and soil erosion intensity. Real soil losses, G yr , were calculated on 7541 m 3 yr -1 , specific on 597 m 3 km -2 yr -1 . The value of Z coefficient was calculated on 0.482 what indicates that the river basin belongs to the 3 rd destruction category; erosion process is medium. There is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied basin. The results presented in this paper can provide decision support for watershed managers about where the best conservation measures can be implemented effectively and at low cost in the studied area. The methods we used in this study can also be of interest in sediment modeling for other basins in the Region.
In terms of climate related security risks, the region of South-Eastern Europe (SEE) can be identified as one of the world’s hot spots. As weather-related hazards continue to increase in numbers and spatial distribution, risk perception in the tourism industry becomes even more important. Additionally, people’s perception of natural hazards is one of the key elements in their decision-making process when choosing a travel destination. Although a vast number of studies have examined aspects of risk perception, an integrated approach which considers both objective and subjective factors related to the tourism industry and hydro-meteorological hazards remains relatively scarce. This pioneering study inspects the causality between objective perceived risks, as well as subjective risk factors. A methodological approach and the obtained results present a certain novelty since the previous conceptualized Psychological Preparedness for Disaster Threat Scale (PPDTS) was applied for the first time in the tourism industry. The obtained results reveal the presence of a statistically significant relationship between objective risks and certain subjective risk factors (gender, age, education, prior experience, anticipation, and awareness). Therefore, this study may offer a conceptual platform for both theoretical and practical implications for enhanced approaches oriented toward more qualitative risk management at a given travel destination, in regions prone to hydro-meteorological hazards.
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