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Soil erodibility in Europe: a high-resolution dataset based on LUCAS
Panos Panagos1, Katrin Meusburger2, Cristiano Ballabio1
1European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, VA, Italy.
The Science of the Total Environment
|February 25, 2014
Summary
This study generated a high-resolution European soil erodibility map using LUCAS data. Accounting for surface stones reduced the K-factor, suggesting current models may overestimate soil erosion.
Area of Science:
- Soil Science
- Environmental Modelling
- Geospatial Analysis
Background:
- Soil erosion modelling at large scales is hindered by a lack of soil characteristic data.
- Soil erodibility, quantified by the K-factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and RUSLE, is crucial for erosion prediction.
- The K-factor depends on soil properties like organic matter, texture, structure, and permeability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a harmonized, high-resolution (500 m grid) soil erodibility map for 25 EU Member States.
- To utilize the 2009 Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey (LUCAS) pan-European soil dataset.
- To assess the impact of surface stone cover on soil erodibility calculations.
Main Methods:
- Calculated soil erodibility (K-factor) for LUCAS survey points using the Wischmeier and Smith (1978) nomograph.
- Employed a Cubist regression model to correlate K-factor with spatial data (latitude, longitude, remote sensing, terrain features).
- Developed a high-resolution soil erodibility map for Europe.
Main Results:
- Estimated mean K-factor for Europe as 0.032 thahha(-1)MJ(-1)mm(-1) (SD 0.009).
- The generated dataset showed good agreement with existing local and regional soil erodibility data.
- Incorporating surface stone cover reduced the K-factor by an average of 15%.
Conclusions:
- The high-resolution soil erodibility map provides valuable data for large-scale erosion modelling in Europe.
- Excluding the protective effect of surface stones likely leads to an overestimation of soil erosion potential.
- Mediterranean regions, with high stone cover, may be particularly affected by this overestimation in current models.
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