Preface

Chapter 7 **Quantifying Nutrient Losses with Different Sediment Fractions Under Four Tillage Systems and Granitic Sandy**

Chapter 8 **Gully Erosion in Southeastern Nigeria: Role of Soil Properties**

Chapter 9 **Daily Flow Simulation Using Wetspa Model with Emphasize on**

**Soil Erosion (Study Area: The Neka Catchment in Mazandaran**

**Soils of Zimbabwe 113** Adelaide Munodawafa

C.A. Igwe

**VI** Contents

Ali Haghizadeh

**and Environmental Factors 157**

**Province, Northern Iran) 173**

Soil loss for erosion is a natural phenomenon in soil dynamics, influenced by climate, soil intrinsic properties, and morphology, that can both trigger and enhance the process. Anthropic activities, like inappropriate agricultural practices, deforestation, overgrazing, forest fires and construction activities, may exert a remarkable impact on erosion processes or, on the other hand, contribute to soil erosion mitigation through a sustainable management of natural resources.

The phenomena is also exacerbated by socio economical dynamics and land management policies in developing or emerging countries, by global change and the interactions between these planetary issues.

In this book we collected a series of papers on erosion, focusing on a variety of aspects of the erosion phenomena.

The book is the continuation of previously published "Soil Erosion Studies"; it is organized in a unique section, starting with a chapter by Zema et al. concerning the comparison between two watersheds and the application of runoff model results. The experiments are carried out in two different European areas, southern Italy and central Belgium. The second one, written by Dumbrovsky focuses on soil erosion and flood control systems for territorial planning and natural hazard prevention.

Pike e al., in the third one discuss about the application of terrain analysis and survey, obtained by various methodologies and sources, in erosion modelling, particularly applying statistical analyses in determining erosion channel formation.

The fourth chapter, written by Lourenço et al. focuses on the enhancement of erosion processes after wildfires in Mediterranean environments (two catchments in Portugal), investigated through field surveys and GIS applications.

In chapter five Misir and Misir introduce the topic of forest management and its close relation to soil erosion and its mitigation through sustainable practices. Similarly Zheng and He, in chapter six, deal with agricultural practices in a critical area of the world, concerning erosion, the Chinese Loess Plateau. They analyse, by experimental plots the effects of splash erosion under different tillage practices.

Munodawafa in chapter sevenpresents the effects of land management practices on agricultural soils, determining the losses of fertility that can threaten seriously food security in Zimbabwe.

Chapter eight, by Igwe, focuses on the main effects of land management and land use changes on soil erosion in a study area in Nigeria, suggesting some possible protection strategies.

The book ends with Haghizadeh's chapter which treats the topic of daily flow model introducing the complete process from data collection to calibration and from data analysis to results comments. The study is focused on river basin in Iran and its purposes extend, beyond soil erosion, to flood prevention.

> **Danilo Godone, PhD Silvia Stanchi, PhD**

**Soil Erosion**

**Section 1**

Turin University NATRISK - Research Centre on Natural Risks in Mountain and Hilly Environments Grugliasco (TO), Italy

**Section 1**
