Monitoring of water erosion processes influence on selected soil properties changes on the erosion transect near the village of Smolinské (Senica district)

Ján STYK, Boris PÁLKA

National Agricultural and Food Centre/ Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute Bratislava, Regional Station Banská Bystrica, Mládežnícka 36, SK-974 04 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

 

Abstract

The protection of agricultural soil from the negative impact of water erosion processes is currently not given enough attention because implementation of effective anti-erosion measures increases the financial costs of the land user. A long-term alibi attitude towards solving the problems of erosion in an erosion-sensitive country often leads to irreversible negative changes in the basic soil parameters affecting the productive capacity of the soil.

We can demonstrate the long-term impact of water erosion processes on the spatial variability and temporal dynamics of quantitative changes in important crop-producing soil parameters, especially the contents of accessible phosphorus and humus using the example of erosion transect near the village of Smolinské (Senica district). It is true that these parameters are relatively firmly fixed on the fine colloidal part of the soil mass. During its translocation due to water erosion, their displacement and subsequent accumulation also occur. The result is a decreasing in their contents in the eroded parts of the slopes and, on the contrary, an increasing (even in greater depths of the soil profile) in the accumulation parts and slope depressions.

Avoiding solving the problem of the impact of water erosion on the soil may result in a significant reduction in the productive capacity of the soil in the erosive parts of the slopes in the next future. In addition to using the soil protection effect of plants, it is important to implement the suitable land management by using appropriate anti-erosion measures in accordance with Act 220/2004 (Soil Protection and Agricultural Land Using).

Key words: agricultural soil protection, water erosion processes influence on soil, quantitative changes of soil parameters