Erosion and sedimentation on the Russian Plain, part 1: contemporary processes

Abstract

Abstract:During the 1970s and 1980s the techniques of tillage and the area of cultivation on the Russian Plain remained virtually unchanged. Therefore, it is possible to assess both the rate and forms of erosion and sedimentation over almost all of the plain for this period of several decades. Using the SHI model and USLE, with coefficients derived for Russian conditions, observed gully density, area and volume, and a morphogenetic classification of streams, it has been possible to produce an assessment of the current state of erosion and sedimentation. The geographic patterns of both the rates and types of erosion and sedimentation are presented and partially explained. This assessment will be of considerable value as a 'baseline' against which to assess future changes as the area of cultivation and the methods of farming change, as well as to assess historical erosion and deposition.

Principal denudation processes and their contribution to fluvial suspended sediment yields in the Upper Yangtze River Basin and Volga River Basin

“…Model calculations were verified using field measurements of sediment storage in small field ponds, and showed good results (Litvin et al 2003). All parameters included in USLE were calculated based on Russian Meteorological Survey data (for erosion index of precipitation), Russian Soil Map (soil erodibility), and results of measurements of LS factor on topographical maps with scale 1: 25,000.…”

European Russia and Byelorus

“…The spatial distribution of soil loss in an area with such diverse climate, soil and relief as European Russia and Byelorus is extremely complicated (Litvin et al, 2003). Substantial changes in the climatic parameters of the area, such as precipitation and the proportion of rain in relation to snow, produce various zonal combinations of fundamentally different forms of erosion: melt-water erosion and rainfall erosion (Figure 1.8.1).…”

“…Soil loss during snowmelt was calculated using the model of the Russian State Hydrological Institute (Anon., 1979). The models were modified for European Russia conditions (Larionov, 1993), verified with measurements and showed good results (Litvin et al, 2003). A schematic map (Figure 1.8.1a, Table 1.8.1, column 6) shows the average calculated severity of sheet and rill erosion, specified for administrative districts.…”

“…Field studies and map analysis make it possible to pinpoint typical forms of sedimentation in small rivers (Litvin et al, 2003). Their spatial distribution allows the classification of European Russia and Byelorus on the basis of combinations of natural and human-induced conditions.…”

“…The territory of European Russia and Byelorus was divided (Litvin et al, 2003) into the following five belts according to the genesis and the density of gullies (Figure 1.8.2a):…”