Land Degradation and Soil Conservation Measures in the Moldavian Plateau, Eastern Romania: A Case Study from the Racova Catchment
| Autor: | Georgel Grigoras, Lilian Niacsu, Ion Ionita, Claudia Samoila, Ana Maria Blebea-Apostu |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Geography
Planning and Development Drainage basin Contour plowing Aquatic Science Biochemistry gully erosion TD201-500 Water Science and Technology landslides geography Plateau geography.geographical_feature_category soil erosion Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes business.industry reservoir sedimentation Water storage Sediment Hydraulic engineering conservation practices Agriculture Land degradation Environmental science business Water resource management Soil conservation TC1-978 |
| Zdroj: | Water, Vol 13, Iss 2877, p 2877 (2021) Water Volume 13 Issue 20 |
| ISSN: | 2073-4441 |
| Popis: | Land degradation by soil erosion, gullying and landslides and reservoir sedimentation is a major environmental threat in the Moldavian Plateau of eastern Romania. The widespread development of these processes in the last two centuries was favored mainly by traditional agriculture focused on ‘up-and-down slope’ farming on small plots. However, soil conservation measures were actively undertaken between 1970 and 1989. More recent legislation (No. 18/1991 Agricultural Real Estate Act) includes two provisions that discourage maintaining and extending soil conservation practices. Hence, the former contour farming system has been abandoned in favor of the traditional, inadequate farming methods. Thus, this paper reviews the impact of land degradation and soil conservation measures in a representative 32,908 ha catchment located in the Central Moldavian Plateau. Based on field measurements, the results show that the estimated mean long-term (1973–2017) sedimentation rate reaches 4.7 cm y−1 in the Puscasi Reservoir at the catchment outlet, resulting in an associated sediment delivery ratio of 0.28. The initial area of the Puscasi Reservoir at normal retention level has decreased by 32% and the water storage capacity has decreased by 39%. Consequently, land degradation remains a serious problem in the study area and effective soil conservation is urgently needed. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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