Changes in Soil Erosion Intensity Caused by Land Use and Demographic Changes in the Jablanica River Basin, Serbia

Milena Gocić, Slavoljub Dragićević, Aleksandar Radivojević, Nataša Martić Bursać, Ljiljana Stričević and Milan Đorđević
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Milena Gocić: Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
Slavoljub Dragićević: Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Aleksandar Radivojević: Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
Nataša Martić Bursać: Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
Ljiljana Stričević: Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia
Milan Đorđević: Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of this research is to determine the change in the spatial distribution of erosion intensity in the territory of the Jablanica River Basin in the period 1971–2016 caused by land use and demographic changes. The Erosion Potential Method (EPM) was used to quantify changes in erosion intensity and to estimate the total annual sediment yield. The research results show that the value of the erosion coefficient decreased from 0.432 in 1971 to 0.360 in 2016. Specific annual gross erosion in the Jablanica River Basin was 654.41 m 3 /km 2 /year in 1971, while in 2016 it was 472.03 m 3 /km 2 /year. The analysis of proportional changes was used to determine demographic changes and land use patterns in the basin area. In terms of the scale and intensity of the erosion process, three types and one sub-type of population dynamics of settlements and land use changes were distinguished, respectively: progressive, stagnant, regressive and dominant regressive. It was concluded that the results show the significance of demographic and land use changes in the control of the intensity of erosion. The Soil Erosion Map may be useful to planners and land use managers to take appropriate decisions for soil conservation in the basin.

Keywords: soil erosion; EPM; demographic and land use changes; Jablanica River; Serbia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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