Effect of Soil Erosion on Soil and Plant Properties with a Consequence on Related Ecosystem Services

Radoslava Kanianska, Miriam Kizeková (), Ľubica Jančová, Jozef Čunderlík and Zuzana Dugátová
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Radoslava Kanianska: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Miriam Kizeková: Grassland and Mountain Agriculture Institute, National Agricultural and Food Centre, Mládežnícka 36, 974 21 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Ľubica Jančová: Grassland and Mountain Agriculture Institute, National Agricultural and Food Centre, Mládežnícka 36, 974 21 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Jozef Čunderlík: Grassland and Mountain Agriculture Institute, National Agricultural and Food Centre, Mládežnícka 36, 974 21 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Zuzana Dugátová: Grassland and Mountain Agriculture Institute, National Agricultural and Food Centre, Mládežnícka 36, 974 21 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-18

Abstract: Erosion is a process often driven by land management deteriorating or changing soil properties along the slopes, with consequences on ecosystem services. In a model area with Stagnic Cambisol, with two different types of land use (grassland—GL and arable land—AL), on an erosion transect in three different hillslope positions (upper, middle, and lower), in two different depths (0–10 and 35–45 cm), we observed the impact of soil erosion on soil and plant properties and ecosystem services by use of direct measurements and models. In GL, soil available potassium (SK), soil available phosphorus (SP) and pH increased both downward along the slope and in soil depth. A significantly ( p < 0.01) higher content of plant nutrients (PN, PP, and PK) and shoot biomass was recorded in the lower part of the hillslope. In AL, soil parameters (pH, SOC, SN, and SOC/SN) reached the lowest values at the middle hillslope position at the shallowest depth. A relatively negligible annual average soil loss was recorded for GL (0.76 t/ha/yr). To the contrary, a very high rate of soil erosion was found for AL with maize silage. The actual soil moisture was 50% higher in GL compared to AL, which was reflected also in the soil water deficit index (SWDI) being more favorable for GL.

Keywords: soil erosion; grassland; arable land; hillslope position; soil ecosystem service (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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