SIDASS Project Part 2. Soil Erosion as a Function of Soil Type and Agricultural Management in a Sevilla Olive Area, Southern Spain

• Published in: Soil & tillage research Vol. 82; no. 1; p. 19
• Main Authors: de la Rosa, D, Diaz-Pereira, E, Mayol, F, Czyz, E A, Dexter, A R, Dumitru, E, Enache, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.05.2005
• ISSN: 0167-1987
• DOI: 10.1016/j.still.2005.01.004

As part of the SIDASS project aimed at predicting the dynamics of agro-physical states of soil within Eastern and Western European countries to select management practices to prevent soil erosion, the erosion module of the simulation model was validated with measured soil erosion data from an olive orchard located in southern Spain. Soil loss from microplots was measured during 2000 01, and the SIDASS erosion model was validated by comparing predictions with measured values. The soil types were Typic Xerochrept, Typic Calcixerept, and Aquic Haploxerept, and the dryland management systems were a traditional system, consisting mainly of one or two moldboard plowing operations and several superficial cultivation operations, and a protection system, characterized by a reduced number of cultivation operations, no moldboard plowing, and an annual crop as soil cover. As expected, soil erosion was reduced markedly using the protection system, with the Typic Calcixerept presenting the lowest values of runoff and soil loss. The SIDASS model was found to predict the natural runoff and soil erosion responses to the two management systems very well.