Environmental degradation risk by water erosion in a water producer Colombian Andes basin

Abstract

Globally, soil degradation by water erosion has become one of the major environmental problems in tropical regions, especially under the severe environmental conditions of the Andes. This study aims to detail the soil risk to degradation by water erosion in a water producer basin located in the Tropical Colombian Andes (Combeima River basin), applying the RUSLE model, discussing how to minimize the erosion processes under its environmental conditions (steep slope, climatic variability, soil classes and properties diversity, and alternative land uses). RUSLE was applied with the support of GIS to estimate current and potential risk to soil erosion in the basin, allowing the identification of areas more prone to degradation. It was found that currently, 50.5% of the basin’s area presents, on average, annual soil losses greater than 25 Mg ha-1 yr-1, meaning a very high risk to water erosion, with 30.4% showing a severe risk (> 100 Mg ha-1 yr-1). It was possible to conclude that the current land uses and soil management systems have not been effective in mitigating soil erosion, mainly when situated in steep topography. Therefore, it is necessary sustainable planning for the conservation of soil, water, organic carbon, plant nutrients, and other elements (not-nutrients) in this tropical Andes region.

Estimation of soil losses due to water erosion in the Dagua River Basin, Colombia

“…This behavior can be attributed to the fact that the R factor decreases as the altitude changes from the mountainous areas to the lowlands. This coincides with that indicated by Guauque et al (2021), who found the lowest values of the R factor in the highest areas of the Combeima basin (Colombian Andes), due to the low amount of rainfall.…”

Evaluation of Soil Loss With Different Alternatives of the C and P Factors Using the Rusle in High Andean Basins

“…For the estimation of soil loss generated by water erosion, several studies around the world evaluated the negative effects of erosive phenomena [9][10][11][12]. Methods such as the famous Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) proposed by [13], a pioneer model to predict soil erosion, were applied [14,15].…”