Water erosion and agricultural intensification considering Environmental Units of Tandil, Pampean Region, Argentina

Abstract

Agricultural intensification drives environmental transformations as impacts associated with the provision of regulating ecosystem services linked to the soil. It is relevant to design and im-plement sustainable soil management to protect this resource and guarantee food security and the services it provides. An environmental diagnosis of the situation is necessary. Consequently, soil loss and potential erosion were estimated, per hectare and per agricultural surface, associated with the trends of the agriculturization process in the heterogeneous Environmental Units (UA) of Tandil on three different dates (1989, 2004 and 2019). Based on background work and geographic information systems and soil charts, the predominant taxonomies in the study area were determined in order to apply the Universal Water Erosion Prediction Equation using the INTA-USLE/RUSLE Water Erosion software. The loss of soil associated with water erosion is not expressed uniformly in the landscapes of Tandil. Soil loss caused by total water erosion is not linear throughout the study period. The highest erosion rates correspond to UA2, a rolling plain, due to the extension occupied by agricultural activity, followed by UA4 with poor drainage conditions and, then, by unit UA7 whose vulnerabilities are generated by the slopes of the land. Three main reasons influence the increase in water erosion according to the results obtained: the ecological characteristics inherent in each landscape; management techniques and technologies implemented in agroecosystems; and the area dedicated to agricultural activity.