Torrential flood prevention in the Kolubara river basin

Effects of Erosion Control Works: Case Study—Grdelica Gorge, the South Morava River (Serbia)

“…Therefore, it has been widely considered as the most effective biotechnical measure [9,63]. The results point to a significant correlation coefficient r (Pearson) between the soil erosion intensity (erosion coefficient) and the erosion control works (biotechnical works, mainly afforestation and grassing) performed in Grdelica Gorge.…”

“…The prevention consists of permanent control of erosion and torrential processes in the basin which is achieved by an integral river basin management system [9,68,69]. The changes in the intensity of erosion in the function of the performed erosion control works, the experience, the scope and the type of the works, the choice of technology, and the species for afforestation of the eroded land have a wider practical and theoretical significance for the improvement of methods for controlling water erosion and torrential floods because this is one of the most representative torrential areas in the Republic of Serbia and Southeast Europe.…”

“…Taking into account 11 methods and models, De Vente and Poesen [40], concluded that the EPM model was most quantitative of all the regional methods and models they analysed. Studies of different authors in the alpine basins [43][44][45], on the territory of the former Yugoslavia [46][47][48][49][50][51][52], and lately in Serbia [9,28,38] and Greece [53][54][55] have shown that the results obtained by this model are very reliable and acceptable in professional and scientific practice.…”

“…A large number of previous studies show that intensive rainfalls [5][6][7][8][9][10], topography [11][12][13][14][15][16], vegetation type [17][18][19][20], land use [21][22][23][24][25], and land management [26][27][28][29][30][31] are the main factors that determinate the rates of soil erosion. The studies of natural conditions in the South Morava River Basin (Grdelica Gorge) uniformly show that this area is predisposed to intensive soil erosion [2,32].…”

“…The first erosion control works in Serbia started in Grdelica Gorge before the end of the 19th century, with the organized erosion control works being performed at the beginning of the 20th century and large-scale erosion control works (ECW) after the Second World War. By the end of the 1980s, numerous erosion control works had been performed in Serbia including the South Morava River Basin, which resulted in evident reduction of soil erosion intensity and stabilization of the flow regime in the river basins [9,17,27,28,35]. In this research, the performed ECW and their effects on the state of erosion were studied through a comparative analysis of the circumstances in 1953 and 2016 with the aim of upgrading the methods of soil erosion and torrential flood control.…”