Specifics of Sediment Redistribution Within a Small Arable Catchment During Different Periods of Its Cultivation (Gracheva Loschina Catchment, the Kursk Region)

The paper discusses results of quantitative assessment of sediment redistribution within a small arable catchment during a few different time intervals. Application of several independent methods allowed more reliable determination of individual components of the local sediment budget. The results show that during approximately 130 years of traditional cultivation about 90% of sediment from eroded arable slopes reached the small valley bottom. After introduction of soil conservation measures this value decreased to less than 20%. At the same time, average annual soil loss rate for the entire catchment have decreased by more than 2 times – from 13.9–14.4 t/ha × year to 7.0 t/ha × year.