Rainfall Erosivity Impact on Sustainable Management of Agricultural Land in Changing Climate Conditions

Abstract

Soil is negatively affected by many degradation factors, of which soil erosion is the most serious, affecting soil quality, crop production, and environmental components. Soil quality is an issue dealt with in the New European Green Deal. In order to meet the set goals, it will be necessary to address soil degradation and water erosion in the agricultural landscape, and increase the area of green infrastructure within the landscape (e.g., fragments of woodland, windbreaks, and grassland). In this context, climate change is also expected to affect the frequency and intensity of torrential rainfall, leading to increased runoff, reduced infiltration, and greater soil loss. Therefore, in this study, we have elaborated the issue of agricultural landscape and erosion, looking at erosion control measures necessary in dealing with existing erosion processes in an intensively farmed area with chernozem soils, and compared these with scenarios assumed for 2050. In these future scenarios, the commonly applied agrotechnical measures will not suffice to keep soil loss at a tolerable level. In the future, it will be necessary to discuss a further reduction in the size of land blocks, with the inclusion of green infrastructure in the landscape. In addition to solving problems of erosion, this would increase diversity in the area and enable sustainable agricultural management.