Soil erosion and gullying within the Stavnic catchment

Abstract

The Stavnic catchment located in the Central Moldavian Plateau is 21,341 ha in size. The typical hilly landforms, the interaction between the natural factors, namely the alternation of permeable and impermeable rocks (clays, sands, loess-like deposits), the markedly fragmentation of the topography and the influence of the anthropogenic factor as well have triggered the acceleration of the land degradation processes from the study area. Among these, the most important include soil erosion, gully erosion, landslides and sedimentation of floodplains. Soil erosion represents the geomorphic process with the highest distribution extending on about 41% from the entire catchment. This process occurs particularly on slopes exceeding 5% and the average annual soil loss on the agricultural land was estimated at 22.15 t ha-1 yr-1. The area under gullies is 823 ha (4% of the total area), and gullying seems to have a secondary role within the Stavnic catchment. Apparently, the weight of gullies is a reduced one, but their number and density are high, which favors triggering of mass movements on large areas.

DOI: 10.15551/lsgdc.v40i0.03