Assessment and mapping of land erosion potential in mountainous recreational areas

Abstract

The prediction of land erosion rates under different types of land use is difficult because of the large number of variables involved. This paper attempts to isolate the most important characteristics of land contributing to its crodibility, and then describes the geomorphological approach used to assess and map land erosion potential in the Kamberg area of the Drakensberg mountains, South Africa. Emphasis is placed on the fact that land erosion potential varies with land use type, and recreational land use only is considered. The terrain at Kamberg could be divided into four sections, each displaying a degree of internal homogeneity in land erosion potential, yet distinguishable from its neighbours through geomorphological and topographic characteristics. Inherent subjectivity in terrain evaluation techniques, and lack of threshold values for variables concerned constitute the main weaknesses of the method used, and because of this, such work should be undertaken only by an experienced field geomorphologist.