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The Effect of Loss of the Most Fertile Agricultural Land on the Reduced Productivity of Strategic Commodities – Case Study

Szturc Jan, Podhrázská Jana, Kučera Josef

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2022

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Vol. 23, nr 2

53--60

EN

This report presents an analysis of productivity trends in a suburban beet-producing region impacted by the loss of agricultural land by land claims. The analysis was conducted in the model cadastral locality of Dolní Heršpice. In order to calculate the potential production of agricultural crops, the authors selected one sowing structure that has been applied starting from 1950 until present. The choice of particular crop succession was based on the exemplary sowing structure for beet-producing regions provided by the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture. The calculation of the potential production of agricultural crops was divided into three time intervals, 1950-1990, 1990-2006, and 2006-2019. In the period from 1950 to 2019, the studied locality underwent a loss of arable land of 145.19 ha. The yield in a particular time interval was derived from the selected sowing procedure and subsequently recalculated to the surface area of the lost arable land. The results show that in the time interval 1950-1990, the produced agricultural crops could have reached a total of 26,975.28 tons. In the period 1990-2006, the yield of crops could be 5,598.85 tons, and in the period 2006-2019, a total of 8,423.6 tons of agricultural crops could have been achieved in the studied locality. The total yield for the entire monitored period could represent 40,997.50 tons of agricultural crops. The productivity by hectare oriented cultivation in all the monitored time intervals to prevailing sugar beet and potatoes. The analysis was compared with the statistical data on the development of sowing areas, production and yields of the monitored crops in the Czech Republic. The presented study documents the trend of arable land loss and potential threat of insufficient production, particularly in the case of strategic commodities such as sugar beet in beet-producing regions.

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Comparison of the Methods for LS Factor Calculation when Evaluating the Erosion Risk in a Small Agricultural Area Using the USLE Tool

Karásek Petr, Pochop Michal, Konečná Jana, Podhrázská Jana

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2022

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Vol. 23, nr 1

100--109

EN

In the projects of anti-erosion protection in the Czech Republic, USLE was used as a standard tool for evaluating the risk of water erosion. The precision of the resulting USLE values is defined by the quality of input data and algorithms used. Two methods for LS factor calculation are recommended for use in the planning practice in the Czech Republic: the computing method based on the USLE 2D software and the other computing methods. Various methods can assess the LS factor; however, their results differ. On the example of the Starovice – Hustopeče study area (Czech Republic), strongly threatened by erosion, this report aimed to show the differences brought using these differing methods of LS factor assessment, all in two variants before and after application of antierosion measures (retention grass belts, grassed thalweg). Changes in the calculation of the LS factor were directly reflected in the calculation of the long-term average soil loss by water erosion.

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The Effect of Land Management on the Retention Capacity of Agricultural Land in the Conditions of Climate Change – Case Study

Podhrázská Jana, Kučera Josef, Karásek Petr, Szturc Jan, Konečná Jana

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2021

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Vol. 22, nr 1

258--266

EN

The water retention capacity of a territory is mainly defined by the land conditions, type of soil cover and manner of land management. The manifestations of the climate change reflect the need for better water capture from precipitation in agricultural catchment areas. The effect of the soil cover on the water retention capacity was studied in two localities with different soil types (chernozem and cambisol). The results have shown significant effects of permanent grass covers on increasing the water retention capacity. The mean retention capacity measured at permanent grass covers was 1.7-fold higher than at arable land. The soil type did not play a significant role. To some extent, the retention capacity is also influenced by the used agro-technology. After stubble-tillage, the water from precipitation was better infiltrated by arable land than by permanent grass cover. However, during a major part of the vegetation period, arable land is at the rest, and the short-term increase of its retention capacity has no impact on the overall outcome.

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The Effect of Windbreak Parameters on the Wind Erosion Risk Assessment in Agricultural Landscape

Kučera Josef, Podhrázská Jana, Karásek Petr, Papaj Vladimir

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2020

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Vol. 21, nr 2

150--156

EN

The increasing risk of wind erosion in the context of climate change represents a highly pressing issue. This increase is a result of the growing occurrence of droughts and elevated temperatures in the intensively farmed areas. Effective protection against the wind erosion can be provided by windbreaks, especially during the period when the soil is not protected by the vegetation cover of crops. In this report, the authors wanted to compare the methods defining the windbreak protection zones. The optical porosity and the windbreak height were the basic parameters for defining the protection area. The various methods differ among themselves by using the windbreak height parameter or not. The optical porosity of the windbreaks was determined based on photographic documentation. For the comparison, the cadastral area of Micmanice was selected due to the wide network of windbreaks in this locality. A database of windbreak height and optical porosity for each windbreak was set up. Our report thus presents the application of the new knowledge aimed at updating the methods and procedures for assessing the vulnerability of the area by wind erosion. The application of the method involving the optical porosity and windbreak height parameters resulted in a significant reduction of the windbreak protection zone compared to the method omitting the windbreak height.

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Causes of Water Erosion and Benefits of Antierosion Measures in Model Locality Starovice – Hustopeče (South Moravia Region, Czech Republic)

Karásek Petr, Kučera Josef, Szturc Jan, Podhrázská Jana, Konečná Jana

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2019

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Vol. 20, nr 2

95--105

EN

The agricultural land found in the Czech Republic is strongly degraded by water erosion. The main reasons for this situation are the changes in the landscape caused by large-area agricultural production in the second half of the 20th century. In the model locality Starovice – Hustopeče (223.5 ha) (South Moravia Region), we analysed the changes in the landscape structure and land use for the period 1825-2018. In 1825, the mean size of a land block was 0.4 ha. In 1968, the studied locality consisted of just one land block of a size of 223.5 ha. This period marks the beginning of massive water erosion. In 2003, the locality was proposed for land consolidation. Its goal was to reduce erosion and the risk of floods. To date, a number of protective measures have been applied in the locality. The risk of water erosion was assessed for the landscape state in 1968 and 2018 in GIS using the USLE method. The effect of the adopted measures was strongly manifested in the reduction of the erosion risk (by 44%). The transport of sediment out of the locality was assessed for 1968 and 2018 by means of the WaTEM-SEDEM model. The protective measures resulted in a decrease of sediment transport out of the locality by 111 t/year (40% reduction). The economic balance of the soil loss showed a positive impact of the applied protective measures. On the basis of the mean price of arable land in the Czech Republic and the costs of the soil relocation within the locality, the application of protective measures brought an economy of at least € 5,000 per year. This sum does not include the losses caused by a potential decrease of agricultural crop yields due to the soil degradation, reduction of ecosystem services, and other factors in the past years. The actual benefits of applying the protective measures aimed at reducing erosion and increasing water retention in the landscape are significantly higher.