Estimation of Soil Erosion in Rodnei Mountains National Park Using G.I.S. Technique

Abstract

Abstract Erosion is one of the biggest and most widely spread forms of soil degradation, having an impact on both the surrounding environment and the economical one as well. According to a recent study from 2014-2015 by the Common Research Center an estimate of approximately 11.4% of the EU’s territory has been affected by the erosion process in moderate to high levels, the soil’s erosion rate being higher than 5t/ha/year. A significant part of Romania’s surface feels the negative effects of the soils degradation, erosion being the most widely spread long-term complex phenomena. Identifying as exactly as possible the areas with erosion risk is recommended in order to intervene with measures of consolidation, leveling, terrain modeling and other hydro-improving constructions. For this reason, for the studied area, Rodnei Mountains National Park (Maramureș County, Bistrita-Nasaud County), having a surface of 47.177 ha, the soil’s erosion has been modeled via the USLE model, developed by Motoc in 1979, taking into consideration all the climate conditions specific to Romania. Following the implementation of the G.I.S environment model, the soil’s erosion estimate values have been obtained, subsequently being divided in 8 classes of erosion, losses of soil less than 0.5t/ha/year representing 89.3% out of the park’s total surface. Researching the model’s obtained results and comparing them to existing values of soil erosion, locally and nationally, we can draw the conclusion that the results of the USLE model are truthful, and that the model can be successfully used in the studied area. Thereby, the study has targeted the determination of vulnerabilities at the erosional processes and vulnerabilities to erosion, the risk of erosion susceptibility being assessed.