EROSION PROCESSES IN SLOVENE ISTRIA - PART 1: SOIL EROSION EROZIJSKI PROCESI V SLOVENSKI ISTRI - 1. DEL: EROZIJA PRSTI Matija Zorn With intensive precipitation, rill erosion occurs on unprotected land (top); eroded material is deposited on the lower parts of the agricultural land. Ob intenzivnih padavinah nastane na neza{~itenih zemlji{~ih žlebi~na erozija (zgoraj), odneseno gradivo pa se odlaga ob spodnjih delih zemlji{~. Erosion processes in Slovene Istria - part 1: Soil erosion DOI: 10.3986/AGS49102 UDC: 911.2:631.459(497.4Istra) COBISS: 1.01 ABSTRACT: In 2005 and 2006 intensive measurements were made of various erosion-denudation processes in the Dragonja River basin in Slovene Istria (SW Slovenia). The measurements included geomorphic processes in the badlands: the rockwall retreat of steep bare flysch slopes, movements of flysch debris along erosion gullies, and geomorphic processes on talus slopes. At the same time, measurements of soil erosion were made in three different land use areas: bare soil in an olive grove, an overgrown meadow, and a forest. The results are presented in two parts. Part One presents the measurements of soil erosion, and Part Two in the next issue of the journal (No. 49-2) will present geomorphic processes in the badlands. The bedrock in Slovene Istria is Eocene flysch and the prevailing soil is carbonate rendzina. The climate of the area is submediterranean. The measurements of soil erosion made on one-meter-square closed erosion plots south of the village of Marezige revealed that the greater part of the annual erosion was caused by only a few major erosion events. Between May 2005 and April 2006, interrill erosion amounted to 9,013 g/m2 (90 t/ha) on bare soil in an olive grove with an inclination of 5.5° and an average weekly proportion of specific runoff of 23%, 168 g/m2 (1.68 t/ha) on an overgrown meadow with an inclination of 9.4° and an average weekly proportion of specific runoff of 8%, and 391 g/m2 (3.91 t/ha) in a forest with an inclination of 7.8° and 415 g/m2 (4.15 t/ha) in a forest with an inclination of 21.4° with an average weekly proportion of specific runoff of 6% regardless of the inclination. The amount of precipitation during the reference year was slightly below the long-term average. KEYWORDS: geomorphology, pedogeography, geomorphic processes, erosion processes, interrill soil erosion, rill soil erosion, Dragonja river basin, Istria, Slovenia The article was submitted for publication on September 26, 2008. ADDRESS: Matija Zorn, Ph. D. Anton Melik Geographical Institute Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Gosposka ulica 13, SI - 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia E-mail: matija.zorn@zrc-sazu.si Contents 1 Introduction 2 Soil erosion 3 Interrill erosion 3.1 Measurement methodology 3.2 Weekly measurements 3.3 Measurements by months and seasons 3.4 Correlation with weather conditions 4 Rill erosion 5 Wind erosion 6 Conclusion 7 References 41 41 41 41 45 51 57 62 64 65 66 1 Introduction In 2005 this journal (No. 45-1) presented a detailed study of erosion processes in Slovenia with an emphasis on soil erosion on agricultural land (Komac and Zorn 2005). The article showed (see also Hrvatin et al. 2006; Hrvatin, Perko and Petek, 2006) that there is a major lack of measuring erosion processes in Slovenia, which was one of the reasons for undertaking detailed studies of erosion processes (including soil erosion) in the following years in Slovene Istria (Zorn 2007a; 2007b; 2008a; Zorn and Petan 2007; 2008). In 2005 and 2006 we measured soil erosion and surface runoff on a weekly basis in the flysch Dragonja River basin in three different land use areas: on bare soil in an olive grove, an overgrown meadow, and forest. In addition, we also measured erosion processes in the badlands: the rockwall retreat of steep bare flysch slopes (sediment production from bare flysch slopes), the movement of flysch debris along erosion gullies, and geomorphic processes on talus slopes (see the next issue, No. 49-2, of the journal; Zorn 2009). We also measured chemical denudation monthly in the Dragonja River basin (Zorn 2007a; 2008a). We chose Slovene Istria (SW Slovenia) and the Dragonja River basin in particular as a study area because several intensive studies of hydrological and geomorphic processes have been done here since the end of the 20th century (for example, Globevnik 2001; Petkov{ek 2002; Bizjak 2003; [raj 2003; Staut 2004; Keesstra 2006; Miko 2006; Tol 2006). We could also refer to older morphogenetic studies (for example, Kokole 1956; Melik 1960; [ifrer 1965; 1997; Placer 2005a; 2005b) and several older studies on erosion processes (for example, Jež 1956/57; Paulic 1971; Wraber 1971; Natek 1990). A common feature of these studies is that the measurements of erosion processes were rare (for example, Petkov{ek 2002; Keesstra 2006). The use of erosion models was more frequent, particularly for determining soil erosion (for example, Globevnik 2001; Petkov{ek 2002; Staut 2004; Keesstra 2006; Miko 2006). 2 Soil erosion Soil erosion is »any removal of soil particles and regolith by natural agents that is often accelerated by the activity of humans (clearcutting, overgrazing, road construction) and animals, which is more intensive than soil formation« (Komac and Zorn 2005, 75; Zorn 2008a, 26). We mainly measured the water soil erosion that occurs when the intensity of precipitation exceeds the infiltration capacity of the ground resulting in surface runoff. This usually takes place in three stages. Due to the kinetic energy of raindrops, soil particles are first separated from the ground; the water then transports them to a secondary position, where they are finally deposited after a »reduction of the carrying capability of the water.« The form and power of erosion depend on a number of factors: the erosivity of the precipitation or surface water flow, soil erodi-bility, the inclination and length of hillslopes, vegetation cover, and the method of land cultivation (Lovrencak 1994, 161-163). Water soil erosion is divided into interrill erosion (Chapter 3) and rill erosion (Chapter 4). 3 Interrill erosion Interrill erosion (surface wash) is the consequence of rain erosion (erosion by raindrops) and the erosion of surface water flows before the water merges into trickles and begins to erode vertically to form rills. It is difficult to observe and quantify this process without continuous measurements, and therefore its effects are frequently underestimated. 3.1 Measurement methodology Interrill erosion was measured in just over a year-long period (from late March 2005 to late April 2006) with regular weekly measurements on closed erosion plots (Zorn 2007a; 2008a). Eight erosion plots were established in three different land use areas south of the village of Marezige in the Rokava River basin (a right tributary of the Dragonja River): on bare soil in an olive grove (2), an overgrown meadow (2), and forest (4). In the forest we measured soil erosion at two different inclinations. The erosion plots measured Table 1: Basic information on erosion plots (* 8 weeks without erosive precipitation on plots 3 and 4; 9 weeks without erosive precipitation on plots 1, 2, 6, and 8; 10 weeks without erosive precipitation on plots 5 and 7; samplings at 14-day intervals twice because it rained during our regular weekly visit and we did not want to interrupt the erosive event; ** failures occurred when a collecting container overturned or the pipe connecting the funnel with the collecting container was disconnected; *** measurements of inclinations were made with a pantometer (Cox 1990, 94-95; Komac 2006,33); **** the intended one square meter size of the erosion plots was reduced slightly during installation due to problems that occurred in positioning the funnel and the inclination of the slopes; 1 57 weeks, 2 55 weeks, 3 56 weeks, 4 52 weeks). land use erosion measurement inclination*** surface area Gauss-Krüger altitude aspect number of successful number of failed plot period (°) average (°) of plot**** (m2) plot coordinates m azimut (°) measurements* measurements** 1 24. 3. 2005- 6.45 0.994 X5406103 175 185 42 4 bare soil 26. 4. 20061 C CO Y 5040005 in olive grove 2 24.3.2005- 4.60 5.53 0.997 X5406108 175 182 46 0 26. 4. 20061 Y 5040005 3 7. 4. 2005- 9.25 0.987 X5406103 174 185 38 7 overgrown 26. 4. 20062 Q QR 9.35 Y 5040001 meadow 4 7. 4. 2005- 9.45 0.986 X5406104 174 196 31 14 26. 4. 20062 Y 5039998 5 31.3.2005- 8.88 0.988 X 5406043 175 230 36 8 26. 4. 20063 7.76 Y5040019 6 28. 4. 2005- 6.65 0.993 X 5406050 175 200 35 6 26. 4. 20064 Y5040010 forest 7 31.3.2005- 22.20 0.926 X 5406034 173 270 43 1 26. 4. 20063 21.40 Y 5040023 8 28. 4. 2005- 20.60 0.936 X 5406034 173 285 41 0 26. 4. 20064 Y 5040020 one square meter, which ranks them among erosion microplots (small) or mesoplots (medium size) according to the size classification of erosion plots by Poesen, Torri, and Bunte (1994, 141). Comparable measurements have been made in Spain on erosion plots smaller than one square meter (Dunjo, Pardini, and Gispert 2003; 2004) and on erosion plots of the same size (Uson and Ramos 2001, 293; Boix-Fayos et al. 2007, 96). We found a construction plan for erosion plots in an article by Vacca et al. (2000, 75; also Ollesch and Vacca 2002,26) and information on the manner of their placement in the field in articles by Lal and Elliot (1994,188) and Dunjo Pardini, and Gispert (2004, 104). Examining erosion plots in Abrami in Croatian Istria (12.6.2002) was also of great help (Rula 1972; Petras, Holjevic, and Kunštek 2007; Zorn 2008b). To isolate the plots from the surrounding area, the erosion plots were constructed of three sheet metal plates one meter long and thirty centimeters high (one at the back and two at the sides) placed ten centimeters into the ground (the same depth stated by Ollesch and Vacca 2002,24) and a sheet metal funnel at the front from which the runoff ran through a plastic pipe into a plastic collecting container (301) dug Figure 1: Erosion plot 1 on bare soil in a young olive grove and surface runoff captured in collecting container in the week between 7.4.2005 and 13.4.2005. The runoff was transferred to a 10-liter container. Figure 2: Erosion plots 1 to 4; plot 4 in front, plot 3 behind it, plot 1 back left, and plot 2 back right. Figure 3: Erosion plot 5 in forest with smaller inclination; erosion plot 6 at back right marked by red arrow. Figure 4: Erosion plot 7 in forest with larger inclination. Table 2: Texture of upper 10 cm of soil on erosion plots. Bulk density of the soil on flysch is 1.056 g/cm3 texture (international classification) erosion plot coarse sand (%) fine sand (%) clay (%) silt (%) texture class of soil organic carbon content 1 and 2 2.37 33.03 30.30 34.30 IG (loamy clay) 6.33 3 and 4 2.77 40.33 26.60 30.30 IG (loamy clay) 7.67 5 and 6 3.39 37.61 30.90 28.10 IG (loamy clay) 8.31 7 and 8 12.32 35.58 29.70 22.40 12.51 into the ground. Both the funnel and the collecting container were covered in order to prevent collection of precipitation water. The plates were fixed to each other with screws, and the funnel was attached to the side plates. The containers that collected the runoff from the erosion plots were emptied once a week. This differs from the Spanish method (Dunjo, Pardini, and Gispert 2004, 242) where the containers were emptied after every precipitation event. This is a shortcoming in our method since there can be a number of precipitation events in a single week. Every week we collected all of the water and eroded soil mixture from the containers and the soil from the funnels that did not reach the collecting containers. At the laboratory we measured the amount of water in the collecting containers to obtain the weekly surface runoff and sent a small representative sample for analysis to the laboratory of the Institute of Sanitary Engineering of the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering of the University of Ljubljana, where the quantity of suspended (insoluble) material in the sample was established according to the DIN 38409-H2 standard. The samples were dried at a temperature between 103 °C and 105 °C (Navodila... 2003, 5). We acquired the total amount of eroded soil by J S j! 1 ■■' „fr.' Figure 5: Leaf area above erosion plot5 before foliation. ■ Stufli K 7 ■ t Figure 6: Leaf area above erosion plot5 in summer. i« ' -J m., . rrTi- . * .■ ■ V V i i 1 "rt Figure 7: Leaf area above erosion plot 7 before foliation. Figure 8: Leaf area above erosion plot 7 in summer. adding the total amount of suspended material and the material captured in the funnel that was dried and weighed on electronic scales. We set up a rain gauge with a tipping-bucket in the immediate vicinity of the erosion plots, allowing us to monitor the quantity and intensity of individual precipitation events. 3.2 Weekly measurements Soil erosion was greatest by far on bare soil in an olive grove (Figure 9). Soil erosion in the forest with a larger inclination in the second half of the measurement period followed, and third place went to the forest with a smaller inclination that showed greater erosion than that measured in the forest with a larger inclination in the first half of the measurement period. This is because it was difficult to install the funnel Table 3: Ratios between soil erosion in different land use areas. They are calculated on the basis of averages on plots 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, and 7 and 8 for the period of 24 weeks when measurements were successful in all land use areas at the same time. n = 24 bare soil overgrown forest with forest with in olive grove meadow smal ler inclination larger inclination ratio relative to bare soil 1.00 0.02 0.06 0.07 ratio relative to meadow 65.27 1.00 4.04 4.64 ratio relative to forest with smaller inclination 16.16 0.25 1.00 1.15 ratio relative to forest with larger inclination 14.06 0.22 0.87 1.00 10,000 , // // // / / // V k> V V V to- ta- V A ST s*' T>> 0 •a B S u c 5S o ^ u ^ U ■ ■+■ Average of plots 1-2/ — Average of plots 3-4/ povprečje polj 1-2 povprečje polj 3-4 hi- Precipitation/ -«- Erosivity of precipitation/ padavine erozivnost padavin — Trendline for plots 3-4 (polynomial: 6th order)/ trend povprečja polj 3-4 - polinom šeste stopnje — Trendline for plots 7-8 (polynomial: 6th order)/ trend povprečja polj 7-8 - polinom šeste stopnje Average of plots 5-6/ -«- Average of plots 7-8/ povprečje polj 5-6 povprečje polj 7-8 — Trendline for plots 1-2 (polynomial: 6th order)/ trend povprečja polj 1-2 - polinom šeste stopnje Trendline for plots 5-6 (polynomial: 6th order)/ trend povprečja polj 5-6 - polinom šeste stopnje Figure 9: Comparison of weekly measurements of soil erosion in different land use areas (* measurement a day before normal regular weekly measurement, ** measurement a day after normal regular weekly measurement). erosion plot 1 erosion plot 2 average of erosion plots 1 and 2 measurement period proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering proportion of of surface specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm average per week (13 months; 55 weeks) 24. 3. 200526. 4. 2006 21.10 176.26 1,762.61 0.17 22.39 173.78 1737.81 0.16 22.57 173.32 1,733.17 0,16 total (13 months; 55 weeks) 24. 3. 200526. 4. 2006 - 10,046.88 100,468.83 9.51 - 9,905.50 99,054.95 9.38 - 9,879.09 98,790.94 9.36 average per week (12 months) 24. 3. 200523. 3. 2006 22.34 191.87 1,918.68 0.18 23.51 189.38 1,893.85 0.18 23.49 188.76 1,887.59 0.18 total (12 months) 24. 3. 200523. 3. 2006 - 9,977.12 99,771.18 9.45 - 9,848.00 98,480.04 9.33 - 9,815.47 98,154.66 9.29 average per week (12 months) 28. 4. 200526. 4. 2006 21.20 179.72 1,797.25 0.17 22.67 170.68 1,706.80 0.16 22.82 173.34 1,733.35 0.16 total (12 months) 28. 4. 200526. 4. 2006 - 9,345.68 93,456.84 8.85 - 8,875.37 88,753.68 8.40 - 9,013.43 90,134.31 8.54 r s o' erosion plot 3 erosion plot 4 average of erosion plots 3 and 4 measurement period proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering proportion of of surface specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm average per week (13 months; 55 weeks) 31.3.200526. 4. 2006 7.67 4.32 43.20 0.004 8.68 2.72 27.16 0.003 7.98 3.52 35.18 0.003 total (13 months; 55 weeks) 31.3.200526. 4. 2006 - 237.58 2,375.77 0.220 - 149.40 1,493.97 0.140 - 193.49 1,934.87 0.180 average per week (12 months) 31.3.200530. 3. 2006 7.62 4.53 45.32 0.004 8.45 2.84 28.39 0.003 7.85 3.69 36.85 0.003 total (12 months) 31.3.200530. 3. 2006 - 235.66 2,356.61 0.220 - 147.63 1,476.29 0.140 - 191.64 1,916.45 0.180 average per week (12 months) 28.4.200526. 4. 2006 7,70 3.95 39.49 0.004 9.45 2.52 25.19 0.002 8.38 3.23 32.34 0.003 total (12 months) 28. 4. 200526. 4. 2006 - 205.34 2,053.39 0.190 - 130.96 1,309.62 0.120 - 168.15 1,681.51 0.160 erosion plot 5 erosion plot 6 average of erosion plots 5 and 6 measurement period proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering proportion of of surface specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm average per week (13 months; 56 weeks) 31.3.200526. 4. 2006 4.30 6.46 64.65 0.01 - -- 6.15 7.77 77.69 0.01 total (13 months; 56 weeks) 31.3.200526. 4. 2006 - 362.02 3,620.22 0.34 - -- -- 435.08 4,350.82 0.41 average per week (12 months) 31.3.200530. 3. 2006 4.17 6.80 68.03 0.01 - -- 6.19 8.19 81.90 0.01 total (12 months) 31.3.200530. 3. 2006 - 353.77 3,537.65 0.34 - -- -- 425.90 4,258.96 0.40 average per week (12 months) 28. 4. 200526. 4. 2006 4.46 6.12 61.17 0.01 8.08 8.93 89.27 0.01 6.46 7.52 75.22 0.01 total (12 months) 28. 4. 200526. 4. 2006 - 318.09 3,180.90 0.30 - 464.21 4,642.09 0.44 - 391.15 3,911.49 0.37 r s o' erosion plot 7 erosion plot 8 average of erosion plots 7 and 8 measurement period proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface proportion of specific runoff soil erosion lowering proportion of of surface specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm % g/m2 kg/ha mm average per week (13 months; 56 weeks) 31.3.200526. 4. 2006 5.15 9.53 95.32 0.01 - -- 6.30 9.12 91.16 0.01 total (13 months; 56 weeks) 31.3.200526. 4. 2006 - 533.79 5,337.92 0.51 - -- -- 510.52 5,105.19 0.48 average per week (12 months) 31.3.200530. 3. 2006 5.18 10.18 101.82 0.01 - -- 6.43 9.55 95.51 0.01 total (12 months) 31.3.200530. 3. 2006 - 529.45 5,294.48 0.50 - -- -- 496.65 4,966.49 0.47 average per week (12 months) 28.4.200526. 4. 2006 5.22 8.43 84.26 0.01 7.62 7.53 75.31 0.01 6.46 7.98 79.78 0.01 total (12 months) 28. 4. 200526. 4. 2006 - 438.14 4,381.41 0.41 - 391.59 3,915.95 0.37 - 414.87 4,148.68 0.39 of the erosion plot in the ground properly in the larger inclination area, which resulted in the loss of a significant amount of surface runoff and eroded material under the funnel during the first half of the measurement period. The least soil was eroded on the overgrown meadow, which is not surprising given the dense vegetation inside the plots. Weekly averages and total values for all 13 months of measurements are presented in tables 4 to 6, as well as calculations for two 12-month periods. We can see that interrill erosion removes from nine to almost ten kilograms of soil per square meter annually on bare soil due, between 170 and 190 g/m2 on the meadow, between 390 and 425 g/m2 in the forest with a smaller inclination, and between 415 and 496 g/m2 in Figure 10: Average of erosion plots 1 and 2 - weeks between 28.4.2005 and 26.4.2006 with more than 3% of total annual soil erosion (* erosion is the sum of measured suspended material and the calculated value of unsuspended material, ** calculated value (measurement failure)). Figure 11: Average of erosion plots 3 and 4 - weeks between 28.4.2005 and 26.4.2006 with more than 3% of total annual soil erosion. Figure 12: Average of erosion plots 5 and 6 - weeks between 28.4.2005 and 26.4.2006 with more than 3% of total annual soil erosion. Figure 13: Average of erosion plots 7 and 8 - weeks between 28.4.2005 and 26.4.2006 with more than 3% of total annual soil erosion. the forest with a larger inclination. The average proportion of specific weekly runoff totals around 23% on bare soil, around 8% on the meadow, and just over 6% in the forest, regardless of the inclination. Despite the short duration of our measurements it is clear that major precipitation events contribute a considerable proportion to annual soil loss. The role of these major precipitation events in soil erosion has been described by Larson, Lindstrom, and Schumacher (1997) among others. Schumm (1977, 76-81) states that major storms only have greater significance for erosion when they exceed the threshold (in terms of system theory); otherwise, their impact on surface development is relatively small. Young and Saunders (1986,18) write that interrill erosion increases during major precipitation events primarily due to the larger raindrops, the more rapid reduction of infiltration capacities, the rising of the groundwater, and the more than linear increase of eroded material in the runoff. The influence of major events on interrill erosion is illustrated with pie charts (Figures 10-13) where the 12.8.2005 measurements on bare soil and overgrown meadow stand out in particular. Over the entire measurement period, the most erosive precipitation occurred in the week between August 5 and August 12,2005 (weekly erosive precipitation totaled 1,235.91 MJ ■ mm ■ ha-1 -h-1; on August 11,2005, the maximum 30-mi-nute precipitation totaled 42.8 mm and the daily erosive precipitation was 1,110.5 MJ-mm-ha-1 -h-1; the erosivity of precipitation was well above the August monthly average (507.8 MJ ■ mm ■ ha-1 - h-1; Petkovšek and Mikoš 2004) for the Dragonja River basin). During this week, up to 30% of the entire annual amount was eroded from the bare soil in the olive grove (Figure 10) and up to 24% from the meadow (Figure 11). In the forest, the proportion of eroded material in the week of 5-12.8.2005 was correspondingly smaller due to the full foliage of the trees. In the forest with a smaller inclination (Figure 12) it totaled 15%, and in the forest with a larger inclination (Figure 13) the proportion of the eroded material in that week does not rank among the extreme values and is in fact even smaller than the erosion during individual weeks in the cold part of the year when there were no leaves in the canopies and the precipitation events had substantially smaller erosive power. Here the importance of foliage relative to soil erosion is clearly evident. 3.3 Measurements by months and seasons To establish a general trend of soil erosion throughout an entire year we compiled our measurements by months and seasons. A common factor of the erosion on bare soil, meadow, and the forest with a smaller inclination is a primary peak of monthly erosion values in August, the month with the most intensive precipitation during the measurement period, and a peak relative to seasons in the summer. The lowest values for the erosivi-ty of precipitation in the winter have a corresponding nadir of erosion in the winter both on bare soil (Table 7, Figure 14) and on the meadow (Table 8, Figure 16), while in the forest with the smaller inclination the Table 7: Soil erosion and specific runoff by seasons - average of erosion plots 1 and 2. season measurement period specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface average proportion per week % on average per week g/m2 total in season g/m2 on average per week kg/ha total in season kg/ha on average per week mm/week total in season mm/season winter 21.12.200523. 3. 2006 18.45 49.18 639.36 491.82 6,393.65 0.047 0.605 spring 28.4.200523.6.2005; 23. 3. 200626. 4. 2006 18.80 89.71 1,166.20 897.07 11,661.96 0.085 1.104 summer 23. 6. 200522. 9. 2005 27.51 444.92 5,783.95 4,449.19 57,839.53 0.421 5.477 fall 22. 9. 200521.12.2005 24.78 109.53 1,423.92 1,095.32 14,239.17 0.104 1.348 4500-1 4000- Mc 3500- 3000- ip TO 2500 N N 20 15- 10- 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Month/mesec 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 □ Plot 1/polje 1 □ Plot 2/polje 2 Precipitation/ padavine Erosivity of precipitation/ erozivnost padavin c t O rt ti h r pfr(M of n ( f 1 iv da si a op rv Pr va d □ Average of plots 1-2/povprečje polj 1-2 — Trendline for plots 1-2 (polynomial: 6th order)/ trend povprečja polj 1-2 - polinom šeste stopnje 0 Acta geographica Slovenica, 49-1, 2009 Table 8: Soil erosion and specific runoff by seasons ■ - average of erosion plots 3 and 4. season measurement period specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface average proportion per week % on average per week g/m2 total in season g/m2 on average per week kg/ha total in season kg/ha on average per week mm/week total in season mm/season winter 21.12.200523.3.2006 10.81 1.82 23.62 18.17 236.24 0.002 0.022 spring 28.4.200523.6.2005; 23.3.200626.4.2006 7.65 3.09 40.16 30.89 401.61 0.003 0.038 summer 23. 6. 200522. 9. 2005 6.67 5.89 76.61 58.93 766.13 0.006 0.073 fall 22. 9. 200521.12.2005 8.74 2.13 27.75 21.35 277.53 0.002 0.026 primary nadir of erosion was recorded in the spring (Table 9, Figure 18). The influence of foliage on the erosivity of precipitation is most visible in the forest with a larger inclination where the primary peak was recorded in the winter and a secondary peak in the fall, because foliage canopies completely nullified the impact of the summer erosivity of precipitation. Correspondingly, the primary nadir of erosion on these erosion plots was recorded in the summer (Table 10, Figure 20). The proportion of surface runoff on our erosion plots was by far the largest on bare soil, and in no month fell below 10% (the primary nadir value was 10.28% in April). The largest proportions of surface runoff were recorded on bare soil in August (30.75%) due to intensive precipitation that quickly saturated the Month/mesec □ Plot 3/polje 3 □ Plot 4/polje 4 □ Average of plots 3-4/povprečje polj 3-4 Precipitation/ -*- Erosivity of precipitation — Trendline for plots 3-4 (polynomial: 6th order)/ padavine erozivnost padavin trend povprečja polj 3-4 - polinom šeste stopnje — Trendline for plots 3-4 (polynomial: 2nd order)/ trend povprečja polj 3-4 - kvadratna funkcija Figure 17: Proportion of surface runoff by months on erosion plots 3 and 4. soil with water, and in January (30.60%) due to frozen soil with a reduced infiltration capacity. Despite the high January value, the primary nadir value on the seasonal scale for the proportion of surface runoff on bare soil occurred in the winter, and the primary and secondary peak values occurred in summer and fall (Table 7, Figure 15), which coincides with the erosivity of precipitation. Table 9: Soil erosion and specific runoff by seasons - average of erosion plots 5 and 6. season measurement period specific runoff soil erosion lowering of surface average proportion per week % on average per week g/m2 total in season g/m2 on average per week kg/ha total in season kg/ha on average per week mm/week total in season mm/season winter 21.12.200523. 3. 2006 8.34 5.86 76.16 58.58 761.57 0.006 0.072 spring 28.4.200523.6.2005; 23. 3. 200626. 4. 2006 5.13 4.19 54.50 41.92 544.98 0.004 0.052 summer 23. 6. 200522. 9. 2005 5.41 13.27 172.48 132.68 1,724.82 0.013 0.163 fall 22. 9. 200521.12.2005 8.07 6.77 88.01 67.70 880.12 0.006 0.083 On the meadow the proportion of runoff only exceeded 10% in January (15.8%) and February (10.56%; Table 8, Figure 17), in the forest with a smaller inclination only in December (14.77%; Table 9, Figure 19), and in the forest with a larger inclination only in January (10.01%; Table 10, Figure 21). Thus unlike the 160 140- J5 120- ^ 100- s-i o, d 80- o s-i .2 60- o >- JS 40- č3 20 0 10,000 -= c •?' 1000 100 10 •S B s u G £ c rt J-s o ^ 5 6 7 Month/mesec 10 11 12 B J= e i T3 rt -Plot 5/polje 5 Average of plots 5-6/povprečje polj 5-6 -X- Forest precipitation/padavine v gozdu Plot 6/polje 6 Precipitation/padavine Erosivity of precipitation/erozivnost padavin -Trendline for plots 5-6 (polynomial: 6 order)/trend povprečja polj 5-6 - polinom šeste stopnje Figure 18: Soil erosion and precipitation by months on erosion plots 5 and 6. o C rt 3 M u O ^ -rt ^ & £ ° G C ->s •S £ H O o ^ ^ >N O