Rainfall erosivity in the Republic of North Macedonia: Fournier index approach

Abstract

Rainfall erosivity is a crucial factor influencing soil erosion, which results from the detachment, transportation, and deposition of soil particles caused by rainfall and runoff. Rainfall erosivity assessment is a fundamental process aimed at quantifying the erosive power of rainfall events in a given region. The paper provides an overview of rainfall erosivity assessment in several heterogeneous regions of the Republic of North Macedonia based on rainfall data from meteorological stations characterized by different climatic and geographical conditions. Having into consideration that rainfall erosivity can be quantified by using various indices, this study uses two common ones: Fournier Index (FI) and the Modified Fournier Index (MFI) based on monthly and annual precipitation totals for the period 1951-2020. The results imply that in general, the studied stations belong to a low class of erosivity. It is found that FI has greater sensitivity and provides more details, also showing years with high and even very high rainfall erosivity while MFI gives more information for moderate rainfall erosivity.