Long‐term impact of land use changes on soil erosion in an agricultural catchment (in the Western Polish Carpathians)

Abstract

The change in land use and land cover (LULC) from natural vegetation to agricultural in mountain areas usually dramatically accelerates soil erosion rates if the land is used for crop production. The aim of research was to calculate soil erosion magnitude basing on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) in response to long‐term changes in LULC in an agricultural Homerka catchment (19.3 km2) of the Polish Carpathians. The changes in LULC were derived from cadastral maps for 1846 and orthophotomaps for 2009. Three variants with different factors, rainfall–run‐off erosivity (R), practice support (P), and LULC, were analysed to investigate which has had the greatest impact on soil erosion changes over the last 160 years. An increase in forest area (by 67.81%) and decrease in cultivated land (by 91.94%) were observed, primarily due to the collapse of the communist system. The estimated soil erosion using the RUSLE model in the analysed catchment decreased by 77% (from 18.13 t ha−1 yr−1 in 1846 to 4.11 t ha−1 yr−1 in 2009). The long‐term changes in soil erosion rates and their spatial distribution are mainly associated with transformation from cultivated land to forest or grassland. The P factor was responsible for reduction of soil erosion rates by 8%, a minor impact. Over the last 160 years, the average and maximum annual precipitation changes were also statistically insignificant. Results reveal a dominant role of human impact, particularly with respect to LULC on soil erosion changes in mid‐mountain areas.

Land cover transitions and changing climate conditions in the Polish Carpathians: Assessment and management implications

“…Present‐day changes in LC are a continuing process affected strongly by human impact. In the Carpathians, abandonment of agricultural land and gradual expansion of natural vegetation including forests have occurred since the 19th century and continue to occur (Björnsen Gurung et al, ; Kijowska‐Strugała, ; Kijowska‐Strugała, Bucała‐Hrabia, & Demczuk, ; Kozak, ). The results of this study concern transitions in LC since 1990, that is, for the most recent period of human activity, and changes are examined for catchment and regional scales.…”

Estimation of Soil Erosion in the Chaohu Lake Basin through Modified Soil Erodibility Combined with Gravel Content in the RUSLE Model

“…At present, many empirical models have been developed for estimating soil erosion [1]. Among them, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) has become the most commonly used in different environmental conditions and on varying scales [21][22][23][24][25]. The parameter factors in the RUSLE model include rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover fraction, and support practice [26], as soil erosion is the result of a combination of natural and human factors [27].…”

Long-term landscape dynamics in the depopulated Carpathian Foothills: A Wiar River basin case study

“…Many studies documented the scale and directions of these changes (Fer anec, Soukup, Taff, Stych, & Bičík, 2017;Palang et al, 2006;Peterson & Aunap, 1998), mainly through wide access to satellite images. However, as recent studies demonstrated, to better understand the current processes and patterns of change, it is crucial to conduct research over longer time horizons to be able to take account of past land-use legacies (Kijowska-Strugała, Bucała-Hrabia, & Demczuk, 2018;Munteanu et al, 2017Munteanu et al, , 2015. Studies showing landscape dynamics in the spatially explicit way that are based on multi-temporal large-scale cartographic sources are of particular importance here (Buc ała-Hrabia, 2017; Eremiášová & Skokanová, 2009;Haase, Walz, Neubert, & Rosenberg, 2007;Oláh, Boltižiar, & Gallay, 2009;Riberio, Burnet, & Torkar, 2013;Schneeberger, Bürgi, & Kienast, 2007;Skaloš et al, 2011;Valent, Rončák, Maliariková, & Behan, 2016).…”