Erosion Potential Model Research Articles

Anthropogenic Impact on Erosion Intensity: Case Study of Rural Areas of Pirot and Dimitrovgrad Municipalities, Serbia

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.

Torrential flood prevention in the Kolubara river basin

One of the most vulnerable parts to natural hazards in Serbia is Kolubara river basin. In the past, during the period from 1929 to 2013, 121 torrential flood events in the Kolubara river basin were recorded which show that this territory is extremely vulnerable to the torrential floods. The extreme event which occurred in May 2014 causing the catastrophic material damages and casualties was the latest and historical flood. The analysis of natural conditions in the Kolubara basin uniformly showed that this area is predisposed to a greater number of torrential floods due to its geomorphological, hydrological and land use properties. Torrential floods are closely related to the intensity and spatial distribution of erosive processes in the upper part of the Kolubara basin. The estimation of soil erosion potential is generally achieved by Erosion Potential Model (EPM). For the purposes of determining the degree of torrential properties in various water streams in the Kolubara basin, the calculation of susceptibility to torrential floods was assessed by Flash Flood Potential Index (FFPI). More than half of the basin area (57.2%) is located within the category of very weak and weak erosion (Zsr = 0.35), but the category of medium erosion is geospatially very common. Such a distribution of medium erosion category provides conditions for generating, i.e. production of sediment which would boost torrential properties of water streams. After the classification of the obtained FFPI values it was determined that 25% of the Kolubara basin is very susceptible to torrents and this data should be seriously taken into consideration. Based on the analyses, the best and most successful manner of defence is prevention which consists of the integrated river basin management system (integrated torrent control system) so that technical works in hydrographic networks of torrents and biological and biotechnical works on the slope of the basin would be the best solution. Permanent control of erosive and torrential processes in the river basin will be not only important for flood control but it can also protect the existing and future water reservoirs and retentions from siltation with erosion sediment which is of great significance to the water management, agriculture, energy sector, and the entire society.

SOIL EROSION ESTIMATION USING THE EPM MODEL

The study aims to evaluate soil erosion and investigate its spatial distribution by applying the empirical EPM (i.e. Erosion Potential Model) at mountainous Mediterranean type catchments. Study area includes the catchments of Venetikos; Kalamas; Upper Acheloos and Arachthos Rivers (eight subcatchments in total), very important aquatic systems of NW Greece. The model was implemented both annually and inter-annually. A GIS-based approach was adopted, considering the spatial variation of its factors, as well as the erosion processes occurring in a catchment. The results were initially validated by being compared to the observed sediment yield values (based on the sediment discharge measurements conducted by the PPC). The model’s performance was poor, significantly underestimating the results at both time scales. The ambiguous reliability of the PPC measurements led to their replacement by simulated ones, estimated using the sediment discharge rating curves methodology. Regarding the latter, the model performed better, attributing more accurate results, yet anew underestimated. However, it managed to identify the most susceptible to erosion areas. The poor performance is mainly attributed to its inherent shortcomings along with the specific characteristics and sedimentary regime of the study area.

Assessment of soil susceptibility to erosion using the EPM and RUSLE models: the case of Venetikos river catchment

<div> <p>The study aims to evaluate soil erosion and investigate its spatial distribution by applying two empirical models, namely the Erosion Potential Model (EPM), also known as Gavrilovic method, and the RUSLE model at Venetikos River catchment, the largest and most important tributary of Aliakmonas River, located at Western Macedonia, Northern Greece. To that end, a GIS-based evaluation is adopted, leading to a more accurate result. The models were implemented both annually and inter-annually. The results were compared with the catchment’s “actual” mean annual sediment yield, computed by the sediment discharge measurements conducted on a monthly basis at its outlet, namely Grevena Bridge, by the Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC) during the time period from 1965 to 1982. The Gavrilovic model slightly underestimated the outcome in comparison to the RUSLE methodology which attributed relatively more accurate results, yet performed quite similarly at both time scales. The two approaches simulated the phenomenon quite satisfactory, showing acceptable precision and allowing identification of the most susceptible to erosion and degradation areas, constituting important predictive tools for soil and environmental management in this region.</p> </div> <p> </p>

Assessment of soil erosion and sediment yield changes using erosion potential model: case study of Sangcharak catchment in Fars, Iran

The sediments resulting from the erosion of basins lead to the squandering of the soil, reduction of its infertility and decreasing of the quality of the water, and that is why the lifespan of the dams would be endangered because of the accumulation of the sediments. The goal of this research is to estimate erosion and sediment yield in Sangcharak basin by Erosion Potential Method (EPM), using GIS. For the purposes of quantifying the erosion intensity change has been done with the soil erosion maps from 2005 and recent state of erosion in 2014. Result of this paper showed that specific annual gross erosion on the Sangcharak territory was 775.34 (m³.km−2.y−1) in 2005 while in 2014 it was 914.24 (m³.km−2.y−1). Therefore, due to changes in intensity of erosion processes the specific annual gross erosion in catchment areas was increased by 138.89 (m³.km−2.y−1). Specific sediment yield in this area was 300.18 (m³.km−2.y−1) in 2005, while in 2014 was 349.01 (m³.km−2.y−1).

Assessment of soil erosion and sediment yield changes using erosion potential model: case study of Sangcharak catchment in Fars, Iran

Assessment of soil erosion and sediment yield changes using erosion potential model: case study of Sangcharak catchment in Fars, Iran

Soil erosion risk mapping using RUSLE model on jhargram sub-division at West Bengal in India

An appraisal of spatial and quantitative information on soil erosion is a major challenge for human sustainability. The present study demonstrates the prognostic modeling capabilities of geo-spatial technology based on soil erosion potential model to assess the effects of implementing land use changes within sub-tropical region in India. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) integrated with geo-spatial technology was used to produce predictive soil erosion map. Rainfall pattern, soil type, topography, crop system and management practices and geo-spatial data were used to predict the soil erosion model. Results shows 74.77 % of the study area is marked as low potential zone for soil erosion, whereas 5.58 % (>10 t h−1 year−1) is very high erosion risk zone. The present information may help recognizing areas that are vulnerable to soil loss and the proposed method will be used for generalized planning and assessment purposes for supervision and preserve the soil erosion.

Evaluation of yield sediment in the Sfalassà Fiumara (south-western, Calabria) by using Gavrilović method in GIS enviroment

The Gavrilovic models is an empirical EPM (erosion potential model) created for the analytical determination of erosion coefficients, quantification of gross erosion and average annual sediment yield. This semi-quantitative model is a result of experimental research on a station that was located in Serbia but was also applied elsewhere such as Switzerland and Italy (Bazzoffi, 1985).In this note have been developed preliminary relationship between weathering grade (Borrelli et al., 2014), rock mass rating (RMR) (Bieniawski, 1989) and the values of the coefficient of rock and soil resistance (Y) (Zemljic,1971). Moreover Gavrilovic EPM model is applied by the use of spatially distributed input data on geology, soils, and land use in a geographic information systems environment (Emmanouloudis et al., 2003; Globevnik et al., 2003; Vacca et al., 2014). The aim of this note is to focus on the difference between simple evalutation of EPM, based on the bibliographic values of the coefficient of rock and soil resistance (Y) and by specific characterization of the weathering grade and fracturing of the crystalline rocks occurring in the Sfalassa Fiumara (Aspromonte Massif, Calabria, Italy) and the consequence on to evaluation of the coastal sediment budget.

Estimate of Erosion and Sedimentation in Semi-arid Basin using Empirical Models of Erosion Potential within a Geographic Information System

This research is aimed at predicting erosion and sedimentation in the Ghareh Aghach Basin in the central part of Iran using Erosion Potential Model (EPM) models incorporated into Geographic Information System (GIS) software. This basin has an area of about 8955 hectares. The region has a range of vegetation, geological, soil texture and land use types. The basin was subdivided into 5 sub-basins. Data required for this study were collected in part through published reports, whilst the remaining was derived by field surveys. Necessary maps in EPM models were prepared in Autocad-2006 medium and were transported to IILWIS, after some revision. After constructing topologies for all polygons, we entered weightings for all layers within the Arc-View software. Combinations of all layers were managed thereafter. Coefficient of each factor was determined, and erosion intensity coefficient (Z) was calculated. Four layers for EPM model were combined to develop the final layer of erosion and sedimentation. The results of the EPM model for homogenous and uniform sampling units showed that 0.19% (16.7 ha) of the total watershed area were classified as class I of erosion category with very low sedimentation and 15.1% (1352 ha) were classified as class II of erosion category with low sedimentation and 41.3% (3699 ha) were classified as class III of erosion category with medium sedimentation and 13.2% (1175 ha) were classified as class IV of erosion category with high sedimentation and finally 30.2% (2711 ha) were classified at class V of erosion category with very high sedimentation, respectively. The result of comparing erosion and sediment values using an EPM model with measured values showed that no significant difference was observed between the estimated and measured values ( P < 0.05).

Conservation strategies for effective land management of protected areas using an erosion prediction information system (EPIS)

This research demonstrates the predictive modeling capabilities of a geographic information system (GIS)-based soil erosion potential model to assess the effects of implementing land use change within a tropical watershed. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was integrated with a GIS to produce an Erosion Prediction Information System (EPIS) and modified to reflect conditions found in the mountainous tropics. Research was conducted in the Zenzontla subcatchment of the Rı́o Ayuquı́la, located within the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), México. Expanding agricultural activities within this area will accentuate the already high rate of soil erosion and resultant sediment loading occurring in the Rı́o Ayuquı́la. Two land-use change scenarios are modeled with the EPIS: (1) implementation of soil conservation practices in erosion prone locations; and (2) selection of sites for agricultural expansion which minimize potential soil loss. Confronted with limited financial resources and the necessity for expedient action, managers of the SMBR can draw upon the predictive capacity of the EPIS to facilitate rapid and informed land-use planning decisions.