Changes in land use and soil erosion in South African and Ciskeian portions of the Yellowwoods drainage basin between 1975 and 1984

Abstract

The determination of rates of land degradation in Southern Africa by sequential mapping and classification of soil erosion is a neglected area of research. In this paper the changes in erosion and land-use patterns in the Yellowwoods catchment are determined and compared for 1975 and 1984. Changes are compared for the South African and Ciskeian portions of the catchment. The study shows an overall increase in erosion in the catchment for the study period but little change in land-use patterns. Although the South African portion of the catchment shows a greater decrease in uneroded land than the Ciskei portion of the catchment, the latter portion shows a relatively greater increase in severely eroded land.