LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION RISK IN DOBROGEA REGION

Abstract

It's well known the degradation of many Romanian (including Dobrogea) soils, both in hill and in plain environments, due to the increasing anthropic pressure on natural resources. Soil erosion and organic matter loss are recognized as the main processes responsible of such degradation and of the rising risk of desertification, to which land use changes and politics for agriculture not suitable for land specificities often contribute. The knowledge of land use impact on soil quality is, thus, essential to preserve environmental integrity and to obtain sustainable agricultural productions. The paper aims to present original studies regarding soil characterization from northern, southern and central area, located in Dobrogea in 2008. The most representative soils in Dobrogea are kastanozems, chernozems and regosols. In order to evaluate the desertification degree, investigations about humus (organic carbon) contents, physical (pH) and chemical parameters have been performed. Total carbonates, phosphates and humus have been analyzed in soil samples by titrimetric and spectrometric methods. The obtained results are presented comparatively with the previous reported studies in 1957.The determinations results carried out on the samples places in 2008 showed a notable diminishing of humus content and the other nutritive elements due to the degradation process which took place during time.