Numerical Modelling of Soil Erosion Susceptibility in the Maltese Islands using Geographic Information Systems and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)

Authors: D. Sultana

Corresponding: D. Sultana (daniel.sultana@um.edu.mt)

Keywords: none

Doi: http://dx.medra.org/10.7423/XJENZA.2015.1.06

Issue: Xjenza Online Vol. 3 Iss. 1 - August 2015

Abstract:
The Mediterranean region is subject to various factors that exacerbate soil erosion pressures. Such factors include agricultural land fragmentation and abandonment, unsustainable agricultural practices and rapid urbanisation. Soil erosion in the Maltese Islands has been identied as a predominating land degradation process and a major threat to the sustainability of the agricultural sector. The small scale of the Maltese Islands facilitates an in detail national study of soil erosion processes and contributing socio-economic dynamics. The research methods, erosion rate values and controlling dynamics discussed in this work have a particular relevance to the Mediterranean area.

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