Abstract
In many Eastern European countries, the standard of living increased as a result of the process of industrialization in the second half of the 20th Century. Consequently, the population in rural areas with small-scale farming decreased due to the availability of employment elsewhere. This directly impacted soil erosion (and thereby sustainability of the land), but the degree and direction are not well known. This study investigates two municipalities within Serbia, their change in population and its impact on land use changes and soil erosion. The standard of living increased after the industrialization process in the 1960s within these municipalities. The erosion potential model is used to calculate gross annual erosion. The changes related to population and arable land in rural settlements are analyzed according to proportional spatial changes. The results show an overall decrease of erosion intensity in the study area. In addition, two basic findings are derived: first, the highest level of human impact on soil is in rural settlements at the lowest elevation zones, where erosion intensity shows the least amount of decrease; and, second, the most intensive depopulation process, recorded in higher elevation zones, indicates a rapid decrease of erosion intensity.
Highlights
Sustainability of soil resources is one of the important questions of modern times
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Since this research aims to determine the factors controlling soil erosion from the perspective of anthropogenic influence on land use change, two criteria were used: determination of changes in erosion intensity according to the criterion of classification of settlements caused by changes in population development and arable land, and according to the criterion of elevation differentiation
Summary
Soil erosion is recognized as one of the most significant threats to soils around the world. Soil erosion is geographically determinate [2] as direct results of complex interactions among natural processes, as well as changes in population and economics. Those changes, along with various agrarian policies, have led to differentiated pressure on the soil and intensification of erosion processes in regions around the world during recent decades [3,4,5]. That is why it is essential to recognize that improving soil quality by adopting sustainable agricultural and land management practices can be a way to mitigate soil degradation trends [1]
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