ESTIMATING ANNUAL SOIL LOSS BY WATER EROSION IN THE MIDDLE PRUT PLAIN, REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
TUDOR CASTRAVEŢ1
1Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chişinău
Abstract: Estimating annual soil loss by water erosion in the middle Prut Plain,
Republic of Moldova. Modern technology has provided efficient tools such as
advanced models and Geographic Information Systems to facilitate decision making
for environmental management. Studies at this subject are available in
literature, ranging from those that use a simple model such as USLE to others of
a more sophisticated nature. In this study the model selected (modified
Universal Soil Loss Equation – USLE) and the case itself is kept simple due to
significant limitations in data on land processes. An effective investigation of
soil loss by using GIS – USLE integration requires spatially distributed data on
several parameters describing the terrain surface. Such parameters include
topography, rainfall characteristics, soil types, vegetation, land use, and the
similar. In Republic of Moldova data on most of these parameters are collected
often on a local or individual basis, and therefore, a well-organized regional
or basin-wide database is not available. In the Republic of Moldova soil erosion
is often as high as 30 tons/ha/year and more than 1.4*106 ha run a potential
risk of erosion (Summer & Diernhof, 2003). The model estimated an annual
quantity of soil eroded ranging over the Prut River tributaries watersheds
between the mean values of 6.2 and 20.4 t/ha/yr. Much of the areas are within
the range 10-20 t/ha/yr. The highest values of the quantity of eroded soil is
carried out on strong inclined slopes corresponding to areas with agricultural
lands and herbaceous vegetation. The results have shown that GIS can be
effectively used to investigate critical regions within a basin with respect to
erosion.
Key words: GIS, soil loss, soil erosion modeling, USLE, RUSLE, Middle
Prut Plane, Republic of Moldova.
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