Soil erosion has been recognized as an increasing threat to the environment and humans worldwide as anthropogenic activities have accelerated the soil degradation rate. In Sweden, it is estimated that 15% of the arable land is affected by soil erosion, and studies have shown that fields in the south of Sweden lose a substantial amount of soil under certain weather conditions. However, few studies have investigated current soil erosion rates and sediment yield on a large scale, focusing on Sweden. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the annual soil erosion for all erodible surfaces in the southern half of Sweden and calculate the sediment load emitted into adjacent seas. I here applied the RUSLE model, which is the most widely used soil erosion model worldwide. The model required secondary data of precipitation, soil properties, LULC, and topography.The findings showed that most erodible surfaces in the study area eroded less than 0.5 t ha-1y-1. However, it varied considerably in both space and time. The catchments on the western part of the study area had, in general, a higher mean value than watersheds on the eastern coast. The total sediment load entering the Baltic Sea was 123500 t y-1, while Skagerrak and Kattegat's load was approximately 20% higher. Higher soil erodibility, rainfall erosivity, and steeper slope gradient in these regions could partly explain the spatial pattern. Large temporal variabilities in rainfall erosivity indicated that soil erosion and sediment transportation mainly occurred during the summer. However, previous research suggests that other erosive processes have a more significant impact on soil erosion than rainfall. Thus, the RUSLE may not predict the full extent of soil erosion occurring in the study area. Nevertheless, since there is no previous large-scale estimate of soil erosion in Sweden, it provides insights into the potential risks and extent of rainfall-induced erosion.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-211296 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Myr, Ella |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för naturgeografi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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