Erosión y desertificación.-Assessment of the effectiveness of soil and water conservation measures in reducing runoff and soil loss: establishment of a European database

Abstract

ABSTRACT Soil erosion by water is recognised as a major soil degradation process that requires a global approach. Large regions all over the world are in need of integrated conservation strategies that sustainably prevent and remediate soil erosion. Therefore, quantitative and globally interpretable data are needed in support of models and decision making. The effects of various soil and water conservation techniques (SWCT) on runoff and soil loss in Europe have been extensively studied over the last 60 years. Runoff plots are the most widely used measurement technique to study the effects of SWCT on runoff and soil loss by water erosion. Hence, many data are available. However, the insights gained hereby remain mostly local and often qualitative whereas the full potential of the available data is not exploited yet. This is mainly due to the fragmentation of knowledge and extrapolation difficulties inherently linked with this type of data.

This study addresses the issue of the availability of quantitative runoff and soil loss data from plot measurements in Europe and the quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of various SWCT in reducing runoff and soil loss. In the framework of the EU-DESIRE project, a database is currently compiled. The database currently contains 3175 plot-year data on runoff and soil loss measurements from 108 study sites in Europe and the Mediterranean. The SWCT documented herein include crop rotations, conservation tillage, cover cropping, mulching, vegetated buffer strips and terraces. From this dataset, an evaluation can be made of the effectiveness of various SWCT in reducing runoff and soil loss by water for a range of environmental conditions in Europe. A first example, regarding the effectiveness of SWCT in olive orchards, is discussed in this paper.