1 Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Department of Geography, Suceava, Romania
Pages:
26 - 34
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper was to apply the Revised Universal Soil
Loss Equation (RUSLE) and geographical information system (GIS) to the
maping of erosion control ecosystem service in the Carpathian Ecoregion. The
study area covers more than 200,000 km2
, and is subject to environmental
change such as land use change and deforestation, which are increasing the
vulnerability to various natural and anthropogenic phenomena. The results of
the study show that about 90% of the area has low risk of erosion (less than
10.95 tons/ha/year), while 10% has a much higher erosion rate, those values
being usually found in medium and high-altitude mountains. This reveals that
the Carpathian region has a high supply of erosion control ecosystem service,
and the area where the demand of erosion control is unsatisfied is less than
3%.