This work presents a use of the ¹³⁷Cs method in the reseach of soil erosion and sedimentation on the agricultural loessial land. There is an urgent need to obtain reliable quantitative data of the soil translocation in agricultural areas and to choose an effective method of soil conservation. After deposition on the land surface, ¹³⁷Cs is rapidly and strongly adsorbed by soil particles. The isotope has been present in the environment since the beginning of nuclear weapon testing and nowadays it is a part of many ecosystems. ¹³⁷Cs is therefore a valuable tracer to study soil erosion and sedimentation rate. Advantages and limitations of the method are discussed in this articles. The activity of the ¹³⁷Cs in soil samples from 4 slopes was measured by means of high-resolution gamma spectrometry and then the ¹³⁷Cs inventories for sampling points were calculated. The ¹³⁷Cs inventories relate to the erosion and deposition rates. The value of soil erosion was calculated by using the proportional model as well as the three mass balance models. The ¹³⁷Cs inventory for studied cultivated field ranges from less than 1.0 up to more than 10.0 kBq m⁻². Differences in ¹³⁷Cs inventory distribution on the terraced and unterraced slopes are clear. The results show that agricultural terraces in the study area were created alter the main period of cesium fallout and that the intensity of soil erosion in the study area appear to be significant.
The estimation of soil erosion rates in complex tropical agricultural systems is difficult and most of the traditional methods have serious limitations. The ¹³⁷Cs technique allows to obtain relatively quickly retrospective medium term soil erosion results. The spatial variation of soil erosion rates was studied, in a small catchment under intensively cultivatcd fields and permanent grasslands on the hilly Meghalaya Plateau in India, using the ¹³⁷Cs technique. The measurcd values of cesium inventory for all sampling points are between 3% and 70% of the reference value of cesium inventory. The estimated annual soil loss depends strongly on the model used to calculation. It is visible that value obtained by simplified mass balance model (7.9-78.9 Mg·ha⁻¹·a⁻¹) and improved mass balance model (6.3-72.3 Mg·ha⁻¹·a⁻¹) are quite similar (whereas the value of soil erosion obtained by proportional model (5.6-18.1 Mg·ha⁻¹·a⁻¹) are far away from mass balance models. In case of grassland the diffusion-migration model was used and obtained results of soil erosion are lower than 0.5 Mg·ha·a⁻¹
The aim of studies was the recognition of the contemporary denudation considering tillage translocation and water soil erosion. This study was performed in the typical last glacial relief. The Cs-137 inventory was analysed along two hillslope profiles and at their footslopes. The value of soil erosion and sedimentation was calculated using the proportional model and the simplified mass balance model. Studies showed that eroded soil from upper and middle segments of the slopes was re-deposited on concave segments of the slopes. The erosion rate was 0.5-1.6 mm on the top of hills and 0.8-3.2 mm on their slopes. The deposition occurs on the concave slope at rate of 3.8-6.6 mm per year on average. Erosion-deposition balance indicate that the small part of eroded soil was exported to the valley bottom and bottom of depression. The share of the water rill and interrill erosion in the total of topsoil erosion is range from 1 to 10% depending on used model. Tillage translocation is the main process shaped a small hills in the last glacial ares.
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