Assessment of soil erosion and sedimentation through the use of the 137Cs and related techniques

Abstract

During the last decades the international scientific community has been increasingly aware of both the risk and the effects of soil erosion and sedimentation processes cause to sustainable agricultural activities and the quality of the superficial environment. Soil erosion is a major environmental worldwide concern of our time. Over the past thirty years two main streams of thought have developed about the effects of soil erosion. The first one, mainly based on ecologist and env i r o nmentalist criteria, believes that soil erosion is a true disease on the land that quickly depletes the soil production capacity with some additional subsequent effects such as eutrophication of water reservoirs and pollution of natural waters. The second one supports that soil erosion is a natural process shaping the overall landscape. Development of fertile soils on river va l l eys can be attributed to erosion processes in the upper reaches of catchment. Loss of productivity due to soil erosion on agricultural lands can be easily compensated by small addition of fert i l i s e r s .