Metodología para evaluar riesgo de erosión hídrica en el suroeste de la provincia de Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract

The aim of this work was to prove a methodology to evaluate water erosion risk in La Colacha basin in the Southwest of Cordoba Province, Argentina. The susceptibility to soil erosion was established through the evaluation of parameters which are involved in water erosion such as geomorphologic, lithologic, previous erosion and soil parameters. In this area, changes in land use have produced an increment in water erosion processes due to the alteration of physical, chemical and biochemical soil conditions. This led us to consider these changes as the hazard. Erosion risk was considered as the product between susceptibility and hazard. Susceptibility, hazard and risk maps were obtained through a GIS. The results showed that La Colacha basin presented low water erosion risk in most of its area. Units with slopes lower than 1% under a beef cattle production system did not present water erosion risk. Areas with slopes higher than 3% under a conventional tillage crop production system showed a moderately water erosion risk. Low water erosion risk classes corresponded to sites with intermediate slopes. This methodology permits to obtain a rapid assessment of water erosion risk and can be used in a medium scale territorial and environmental planification. The method can be applied in other environments through assigning indexes according with the characteristics of the site and with a right evaluation of land use pressure. The advantage of this methodology is that it may be easily applied using only a soil map.