Modeling erosion degradation on sloping land using GIS

Abstract

This study presents the GIS techniques referring to the modelling of the process of degradation by erosion of the territory in the hydrological basin of Romania. On a surface of 4697 ha, the relief is strongly fragmented, presenting relief energy of around 395 m with averages slopes over 15%. The slopes are affected by the erosion and by the active sliding. The choice for this hydrographic basin is motivated also by the fact that there was the possibility of the validation of the results obtainedby the simulation, comparing them with the measurements of the alluvial deposits in the lakes accumulation situated at the exit of the receiving basin.In our project, the geo-characteristic dates are represented as layers. This facilitated the analysis ofthe spatial variables and the distribution of the objects on the surfaces studied and the overall analysis of the information obtained, that supposes the simultaneous approach of more layers could be realized using the "overlay" technique. Along the application we used a module of software ArcGIS specialized for the operations with digital maps and of the large databases. The mathematical model used to determine the damage of the soil is based on the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) equation under the usual form from Romania. The results are presented in the form of digital thematic maps.