MORAVIAN GEOGRAPHICAL REPORTS - Institute of Geonics ...

MoraVian geographical reports 4/2010, Vol. 18
2
trenDs in soil DegraDation in the Upper
Abstract
sVratKa riVer Basin (cZech repUBlic)
Miroslav DUMBROVSKÝ, Veronika HOŠKOVÁ, Jana PODHRÁZSKÁ, Kateřina VAŠINOVÁ
The study area, the upper part of the Svratka River basin, was selected in order to evaluate trends in soil
degradation primarily because it comprises natural conditions with a high potential for soil degradation.
In order to collect relevant data on soil conservation, a questionnaire survey was designed and executed.
Data on soil and farming practices were collected by a soil protection expert. In addition, farmers in
the case study region were interviewed (semi-structured interviews) regarding policies concerning soil
protection, as well as the farming practices they adopted. An expert for soil conservation conducted these
interviews as well. The ownership structure implies insufficient motivations of land managers (both
corporate farms and family farms) for long-term considerations related to soil protection.
Shrnutí
Trendy degradace půdy v povodí Svratky (Česká republika)
Řešené území bylo vybráno pro případovou studii vyhodnocení trendů půdní degradace zejména kvůli
přírodním podmínkám, náchylným k intenzivní degradaci půdy. Na základě speciálně sestavených
dotazníků, experti na ochranu půdy prováděli průzkum a jednání na vybraných farmách s uživateli
půdy. Průzkum se zaměřoval na odhad stávajícího stavu intenzity erozních procesů a jejich trendy a byla
zjišťována stanoviska uživatelů vzhledem k jejich názoru na intenzitu degradace půd na jejich farmě.
Názory expertů a uživatelů půdy byly následně porovnávány a vyhodnocovány. Většina půdy není užívána
vlastníky pozemků, ale je v nájmu zemědělských společností, pro které není motivující fakt, že po realizaci
opatření nastává obnova a zvýšení půdní úrodnosti až po delším časovém období.
Key words: soil erosion, soil degradation, land consolidation, Upper Svratka River basin, Czech Republic
1. Introduction
Soil degradation is one of global problems today,
which has a high economic and environmental impact
(Lal, 1998). Soil erosion in particular is a serious
environmental, social and economic problem and
an important factor in assessing landscape stability,
health and function. Soil erosion is an interactive
process influenced by both natural and cultural factors,
such as precipitation, relief, soil properties, vegetation
cover and land use. A direct connection exists between
soil erosion and intensive agricultural production
(Reicosky et al., 2005). The assessment of soil
degradation (especially of soil erosion) is essential for
land management aimed at soil and water protection.
Soil degradation due to erosion is one of the main
causes of soil fertility decline and hence of reduced
crop yields in many parts of the world (Greenland and
Szabolcs, 1994). Land degradation can be caused by
natural processes as well as by human management
and involves a simultaneous degradation of soil,
hydrological properties and/or vegetation (Cammeraat
and Imeson, 1998). The on-site and off-site costs of
land degradation can be very material, as reported in
a range of studies (Lal and Stewart, 1990; Pimentel
et al., 1995). In addition, local land users will normally
base their decisions on analyzing local costs and
benefits only, considering less the off-site costs of land
degradation (Paterson et al., 1993; Lutz et al., 1994).
Due to their high dependency on land as a base of food
production and income generation, farmers are much
aware of changes in the soil quality. In recent years,
participatory approaches showed that farmers can
reliably identify different soil units in their fields and
assign certain soil properties to erosion-affected areas
(Oudwater and Martin, 2003).
The upper part of the Svratka R. Basin (subcatchment
of the Morava River basin-up to the confluence with
the Svitava River) was chosen as a case study for many
reasons but mainly because of its natural conditions
with a high potential for soil degradation (Fig. 1).