Abstract. To expand the knowledge base on natural infrastructure for erosion
mitigation in the Andes, it is necessary to move beyond case by case empirical
studies to comprehensive assessments. This study reviews the state of
evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to mitigate soil erosion by
water and is based on Andean case studies published in gray and
peer-reviewed literature. Based on a systematic review of 118 case studies
from the Andes, this study addressed the following research questions. (1) Which erosion indicators allow us to assess the effectiveness of natural
infrastructure? (2) What is the overall impact of working with natural
infrastructure on on-site and off-site erosion mitigation? (3) Which
locations and types of studies are needed to fill critical gaps in knowledge
and research? Three major categories of natural infrastructure were considered:
restoration and protection of natural vegetation, such as forest or native
grasslands, forestation with native or exotic species and implementation of
soil and water conservation measures for erosion mitigation. From the suite
of physical, chemical and biological indicators commonly used in soil
erosion research, two indicators were particularly relevant: soil organic
carbon of topsoil and soil loss rates at plot scale. The protection and
conservation of natural vegetation has the strongest effect on soil quality,
with 3.01±0.893 times higher soil organic carbon content in the
topsoil compared to control sites. Soil quality improvements are significant
but lower for forestation and soil and water conservation measures. Soil and
water conservation measures reduce soil erosion to 62.1 % ± 9.2 %,
even though erosion mitigation is highest when natural vegetation is
maintained. Further research is needed to evaluate whether the reported
effectiveness holds during extreme events related to, for example, El
Niño–Southern Oscillation.
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