Soil erosion is a key challenge for agriculture. Soil erosion is the phenomenon of removing particles from the upper soil horizon through washing due to runoff water, wind or through farming activities. Soil erosion has three distinct stages – soil detachment, movement and deposition. Topsoil, which is rich in organic matter, with a high rate of fertility, is relocated elsewhere, inside or outside the river catchment; where it is deposited in time or is transported outside the catchment, being able to clog the drainage channels. The most important negative effects of soil erosion are the reduction of cropland productivity and the pollution of adjacent watercourses, wetlands and lakes. Serious soil degradation conditions, like soil compaction, low organic matter, loss of soil structure, poor internal drainage, and salinization and soil acidity problems contributes to the acceleration of the production intensity of the soil erosion phenomenon. This paper presents the evaluation of soil losses volume in a small river catchment, for one year, considering the influence of soil characteristics, length of catchment slopes, the rainfall intensity, vegetation cover factors, conservation practice factors, the catchment area, soil erodibility factor and slope in percent. For calculus is using the SURFER software, for simulate the topography of catchment and calculate the soil losses volume.

estimation, soil erosion, soil loss, hydric erosion

environmental engineering

Presentation: poster