Purpose

The need for further research to investigate the possibility of using ⁷Be as a soil erosion tracer under a range of climatic conditions, specifically in arid and semi-arid agro-environments, has been emphasised in the literature. In this context, this paper reports research conducted in two semi-arid areas located in Western Iran and Southern Italy in order to assess the potential of using ⁷Be measurements for estimating soil erosion over short timescales.

Materials and methods

The two study sites differ in terms of land use. More specifically, the area in Western Iran, under cultivation, is cropped mostly under wheat, barley and pea rotation. The area in Southern Italy has never been cultivated, has few eucalyptus trees, resulting from re-afforestation conducted in 1966 and retains a sparse grass cover. Soil sampling required two field campaigns undertaken in April 2011 and April 2016 in Western Iran and Southern Italy, respectively.

Results and discussion

In Western Iran, the ⁷Be reference inventory was estimated at 326 ± 40 Bq m⁻² and the corresponding value of the shape factor was equal to 3.57 kg m⁻². The soil loss was calculated to be 6.8 Mg ha⁻¹, resulting in a Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) of ca. 80%. In Southern Italy, the ⁷Be reference inventory was equal to 180 ± 20 Bq m⁻², emphasising a lower penetration of ⁷Be into the soil that is documented by a lower value of the shape factor (2.45 kg m⁻²). The overall results provided a net soil loss of ca. 20.7 Mg ha⁻¹. In this case, no deposition was documented and a SDR value of ca. 100% was calculated.

Conclusion

The magnitude of soil erosion reflects, for both sites, the steep topography, the different management system and the heavy rainfall occurring during a period that coincides with the absence of vegetative cover. The results obtained in this study are in line with similar studies carried out in other countries and suggest that, in cultivated areas, care must be taken when traditional cultivation systems are applied; in re-afforested areas, the presence of a uniform vegetative cover is crucial in protecting soil from erosion. However, there still is a need for further work to assess the feasibility of using ⁷Be in different areas and under different land uses or vegetation covers. Also, further refining of the conversion model, which is based here on the simple exponential function, are still possible.

中文翻译：

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探索使用7 Be测量来估算半干旱地区土壤再分配率的潜力：伊朗西部和意大利南部的结果

目的

文献中强调了进一步研究的必要性，以研究在多种气候条件下，特别是在干旱和半干旱农业环境中，使用⁷ Be作为土壤侵蚀示踪剂的可能性。在这种情况下，本文报告了在伊朗西部和意大利南部的两个半干旱地区进行的研究，目的是评估使用⁷ Be测量在短时间内估算土壤侵蚀的潜力。

材料和方法

这两个研究地点的土地用途不同。更具体地说，正在种植的伊朗西部地区大部分是小麦，大麦和豌豆轮作。1966年重新植树造林后，意大利南部地区从未有人耕种过，几乎没有桉树，并保留了稀疏的草皮。土壤采样要求分别于2011年4月和2016年4月在伊朗西部和意大利南部开展两次野外活动。

结果和讨论

在伊朗西部，估计的⁷ Be参考库存量为326±40 Bq m ^-2，并且形状因数的相应值等于3.57 kg m ^-2。计算得出的土壤流失为6.8 Mg ha ^-1，导致泥沙输送比（SDR）约为ca。80％。在意大利南部，⁷ Be参考存量等于180±20 Bq m ^-2，强调了⁷ Be对土壤的较低渗透，这通过较低的形状因子值（2.45 kg m ^-2）来证明。总体结果显示土壤净流失量约为。20.7 Mg ha ^-1。在这种情况下，没有记录到沉积物，SDR值为ca。计算出100％。

结论

在这两个地点，土壤侵蚀的程度反映了陡峭的地形，不同的管理系统以及在没有植被覆盖的时期内发生的大雨。这项研究获得的结果与在其他国家进行的类似研究相一致，并表明在耕种地区，采用传统耕作制度时必须格外小心；在重新造林的地区，均匀的植被覆盖对于保护土壤免受侵蚀至关重要。但是，仍然需要进一步的工作来评估在不同地区，不同土地利用或植被覆盖下使用⁷ Be的可行性。同样，基于简单的指数函数的转换模型的进一步改进仍然是可能的。