Evaluation of soil erosion rates in the southern half of the Russian Plain: methodology and initial results
The Russian Plain (RP) is divided into two principally different parts. The northern half of the RP is a predominantly forested area with a low proportion of arable fields. In contrast, the southern half of the RP has a very high proportion of arable land. During the last 30 years, this agricult...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-03-01
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| Series: | Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.proc-iahs.net/375/23/2017/piahs-375-23-2017.pdf |
| Summary: | The Russian Plain (RP) is divided into two principally
different parts. The northern half of the RP is a predominantly forested
area with a low proportion of arable fields. In contrast, the southern half
of the RP has a very high proportion of arable land. During the last 30 years,
this agricultural region of the RP has experienced considerable land
use transformation and changes in precipitation due to climate change have
altered soil erosion rates. This paper describes the use of erosion model
calculations and GIS spatial analytical methods for the evaluation of trends
in erosion rates in the RP. Climate change (RIHMI World Data Center, 2016), land use transformation and crop
rotation modification (Rosstat, 2016; R Core Team, 2016) are the main factors governing erosion rates in the
region during recent decades. It was determined that mean annual erosion
rates have decreased from 7.3 to 4.1 t ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>
in the forest zone mostly because of the serious reduction in the
surface runoff coefficient for periods of snowmelt. At the same time, the
erosion rates have increased from 3.9 to 4.6 t ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>
in the steppe zone due to the increasing frequency of
heavy rain-storms. |
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| ISSN: | 2199-8981 2199-899X |