Geoinformation assessment of soil vulnerability to water erosion on agricultural lands of the Novogrudok upland

   The article presents the results of a geoinformation assessment of soil vulnerability to water erosion on agricultural lands of the Novogrudok Upland. Based on a comprehensive consideration of relief, soil cover, climate and vegetation, areas with varying degrees of erosion risk were identified. The slope, vertical dissection, LS-factor and topographic wetness index (TWI) were calculated using the FABDEM Copernicus GLO digital elevation model (DEM) in ArcGIS 10.7 and SAGA GIS 7.8.2. Soil conditions were taken into account through the filtration coefficient and Vodogretsky coefficient; climatic indicators were taken into account through the rainfall erosion index (R-factor) and average of the maximum water reserves in snow before snowmelt for 2015–2025. The vegetation cover factor (C) is calculated based on the minimum values of the NDVI vegetation index based on Sentinel-2 space images. The integration of indicators in a raster model made it possible to obtain a map of relative risks and classify soils as weakly, moderately, and strongly eroded using thresholds for LS-factor, vertical dissection of relief and index TWI. It was shown that areas of increased erosion risk are confined to the central part of the uplands and its eastern slopes. The total area of soils subject to water erosion was 20,847.6 ha, with the maximum recorded in the Novogrudok district (9,630.0 ha).

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