Landscape Changes in the Bavarian Foothills since the 1960s and the Effects on Predicted Erosion Processes and Control

Abstract

Socio-economic changes, technical progress, and a variety of funding and planning interventions have significantly changed land use in Central Europe since World War II. The aim of this study was to illustrate these changes in the Alpine foothills in Bavaria and to calculate the effects of these changes on soil erosion. This was performed in a two-step procedure: a GIS-based orthophoto evaluation and a cause–effect model using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). Key findings were that field sizes (+370%) and lengths (+35%) have changed significantly since the 1960s. Moreover, the uninterrupted runoff paths on arable land have increased in length by about 70% on average, with corresponding effects on soil erosion. The discussion shows that the possibilities for erosion control measures in the field are already severely limited due to the effects of the climate crisis and structural changes in agriculture. Furthermore, the often-assumed rule, according to which only a small part of the arable land causes a large share of the eroded material, was largely confirmed. The findings underline the overlapping impacts of land use change and climate crisis on agriculture erosions rates with the need for integrative and adaptive management.