Changes in the Rate of Soil Loss in River Basins within the Southern Part of European Russia

Abstract

Four river basins located in the forest, forest-steppe, and steppe zones of European Russia were evaluated for two time intervals (1960–1985 and 1986–2015) based on the use of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and State Hydrological Institute (SHI) models. The obtained results attest to multidirectional tendencies in the mean annual rates of erosion rates in different landscape zones. The rates of soil erosion have decreased in the forest and eastern steppe zones and have slightly increased in the southern steppe zone. The reduction of surface snowmelt runoff is one of the main reasons for the decrease of soil erosion in the investigated river basins. An increase in the rates of soil erosion is related to the growth of rainfall erosivity factor (R-factor), has been partially offset by an increase in the soil-protective coefficient of crops (C-factor).