Effects of land use on annual runoff and soil loss in Europe and the Mediterranean

Abstract

The largest currently compiled database of plot runoff and soil loss data in Europe and the Mediterranean was analysed to investigate effects of land use on annual soil loss (SL), annual runoff (R) and annual runoff coefficient (RC). This database comprises 227 plot-measuring sites in Europe and the Mediterranean, with SL for 1056 plots (PL) representing 7024 plot-years (PY) and R for 804 PL representing 5327 PY. Despite large data variability, continental-wide trends are observed. Construction sites have the highest mean annual RC (57%) and SL (325 Mg.ha -1 .yr -1 ). Bare soil, vineyards and tree crops have high mean annual RC (5-10%) and SL (10-20 Mg.ha -1 .yr -1 ). Cropland and fallow show similar mean annual RC (8.0 and 7.3%), but lower SL (6.5 and 5.8 Mg.ha -1 .yr -1 ). Plots with (semi-)natural vegetation cover show lowest mean annual RC (<5%) and SL (<1 Mg.ha -1 .yr -1 ). Plot length and slope gradient correlations with R and SL depend on land-use type and are not concurrent for R and SL. Most land-use types show positive correlations between annual R and SL. Plots in cold climates have higher annual RC than plots in temperate and pan-Mediterranean climates. Annual SL in the pan-Mediterranean is less than in temperate zones, due to stony or clayey soils having a low erodibility. Annual RC in the pan-Mediterranean was higher than in temperate zones. Annual R increases strongly with increasing annual precipitation (P) above 500 mm.yr -1 , while annual SL was found to stabilize at P > 500 mm.yr -1 . For shrubland, annual SL was found to decrease for P > 250-500 mm.yr -1 , which is attributed to

Soil and Water Conservation in Rainfed Vineyards with Common Sainfoin and Spontaneous Vegetation under Different Ground Conditions

“…The analysis of data collected from runoff plots across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin illustrated that runoff coefficients in vineyards (ca. 8%) were similar as those observed in cereal and fallow fields (8.0% and 7.3%), although soil loss was much higher in vineyards (10.8 Mg ha −1 y −1 ) than in arable and fallow land (6.5 and 5.8 Mg ha −1 y −1 ) [9]. However, the mean standard deviation (sd) of the soil erosion rates in vineyards from the Mediterranean zone (sd = 27.4 Mg ha −1 y −1 ) and the rest of Europe (sd = 26.0 Mg ha −1 y −1 ) is very high, and thus, the spatial variability of soil loss in this crop is also high [5].…”

Soil Erosion Risk Assessment in Uganda

“…Soil erosion rates are generally different for various land cover and land use types [25,26]. The 2014 land cover and land use map for Uganda (Figure 3) acquired from the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) Land Cover Viewer database [17] was used to separate erosion and non-erosion prone areas and to assess the rates of soil erosion risk for different land cover and land use types.…”

Soil erosion, sediment yield and sedimentation of reservoir: a review

“…Moreover, the seasonal variation of rainfall erosivity is not considered, which restricts using of the erosivity map for erosion prediction in many cases. Maetens et al (2012) conducted studies in Europe and Mediterranean by reviewing data from 227 stations and 1056 soil erosion plots to predict the effect of land use on annual soil erosion, annual runoff and annual runoff coefficient. They concluded that the soil loss does not correlate better with erosivity indices than with total rainfall.…”