Abstract
AbstractWhile it needs yet to be assessed whether or not wind erosion in Western Saxony is a major point of concern regarding land degradation and fertility, it has already been recognized that considerable off‐site effects of wind erosion in the adjacent regions of Saxony‐Anhalt and Brandenburg are connected to the spread of herbicides, pesticides and dust. So far, no wind erosion assessment for Western Saxony, Germany, exists. The wind erosion model previously applied for Germany (DIN standard 19706) is considering neither changes in wind direction over time nor influences of field size. This study aims to provide a first assessment of wind erosion for Western Saxony by extending the existing DIN model to a multidirectional model on soil loss by wind (SoLoWind) with new controlling factors (changing wind directions, soil cover, mean field length and mean protection zone) combined by fuzzy logic. SoLoWind is used for a local off‐site effect evaluation in combination with high‐resolution wind speed and wind direction data at a section of the highway A72. The model attributes 3·6% of the arable fields in Western Saxony to the very‐high‐wind erosion risk class. A relationship between larger fields (greater than 116 ha) and higher proportions (51·7%) of very‐high‐wind erosion risk can be observed. Sections of the highway A72 might be under high risk according to the modelled off‐site effects of wind erosion. The presented applications showed the potential of SoLoWind to support and consult management for protection measures on a regional scale. © 2016 The Authors. Land Degradation and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Highlights
Land degradation results in a reduction of the productive capacity of land (van Lynden et al, 2004)
Soil loss by wind indicates that 22·8% of the arable fields in Western Saxony have very low or low and 30·5% fields have a high or very high risk of wind erosion
Our revised wind erosion screening model SoLoWind includes the consideration of the multidirectionality of the wind, the soil erodibility, the state of soil cover, the field length and windbreaks
Summary
Land degradation results in a reduction of the productive capacity of land (van Lynden et al, 2004). Processes that are in the focus of discussion to cause land degradation are soil erosion by water, loss of organic matter, deforestation or changes in climate (Lee et al, 1996; Montanarella, 2007; Cerdà et al, 2010; Pérez-Cabello et al, 2010; Bruun et al, 2015; Kairis et al, 2015; Prosdocimi et al, 2016). Recent evaluations on the European scale have shown that wind erosion cannot merely be neglected when discussing soil degradation status and soil fertility (Borrelli et al, 2016a, 2016b). In Europe, approximately 12% of the agricultural land is susceptible to soil erosion by wind (Borrelli et al, 2015). The average annual soil loss by wind erosion on the European Union’s arable land is predicted to be
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