Available online: www.notulaebotanicae.ro
Print ISSN 0255-965X; Electronic 1842-4309
Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610. DOI:10.15835/nbha45210695
AcademicPres
Notulae Botanicae Horti
Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
Original Article
Ecological-Economic (Eco-Eco) Modelling in the River Basins of
Mountainous Regions: Impact of Land Cover Changes on Sediment Yield
in the Velicka Rijeka, Montenegro
Velibor SPALEVIC1, Milan LAKICEVIC2*, Dragan RADANOVIC3,
Paolo BILLI4, Goran BAROVIC1, Dusko VUJACIC1, Paul SESTRAS5,6,7,
Abdulvahed KHALEDI DARVISHAN8
1
University of Montenegro, Faculty of Philosophy, Geography Department, D. Bojovica, 81400 Niksic,
Montenegro; velibor.spalevic@ac.me; ff@ac.me; duskov@ac.me
2
University of Montenegro, Faculty of Economy, Podgorica, Montenegro; milanl@ac.me (*corresponding author)
3
Delegation of The European Union to Montenegro, Vuka Karadzica 12, Podgorica, Montenegro; dragan.radanovic@eeas.europa.eu
4
University of Tottori, International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Japan; bli@unife.it
5
University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest, Faculty of Land Reclamation and Environmental Engineering,
Department of Environment and Land Reclamation, 59 Mărăşti Blvd, District 1, 011464, Bucharest, Romania; paul.sestras@usamv.ro
6
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Terrestrial Measurement and Cadastre,
Baritiu St., 400027 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
7
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3-5 Manastur St., 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
8
Tarbiat Modares University, Faculty of Natural Resources, Watershed Management, Iran; a.khaledi@modares.ac.ir
Abstract
This paper presents an Ecological-Economic (Eco-Eco) modelling using the Intensity of Erosion and Outflow (IntErO)
model for calculation of sediment yield and runoff assessing the impacts of different land covers on soil erosion intensity.
Calculations have been made for the Velicka River basin, which is one of 57 sub-basins of the Lim River in the Northeast
Montenegro. Several different land use scenarios were then simulated in the model in order to find the optimal scenario of
land use for intensive seed potato production. The results of Ecological (Eco-) analysis shown that the real soil loss under
current conditions is 18148 m³yr-1. If seed potato production is introduced, the model calculated a soil loss of 20834 m³yr-1 as
sediment yield. In order to balance the damage caused by the introduction of seed potato production we considered also the
ecological measure of afforestation to reduce soil loss caused by seed potato production. The model calculated that
afforestation would result in a decrease of sediment yield to 17886 m³yr-1. The results of Economic (-Eco) analysis revealed that
the investment of €3,385 per ha for the establishment of the seed potato production will provide the income for the farmers of
€15,000 per hectare annually. In parallel, we proposed the investment for the protection of the area (258 ha) with afforestation
that amounts to €330,608 (€1,281 per ha), for the period of two years, with no other costs in the next decade. The research
results demonstrate that the application of the Eco-Eco modelling, by using the IntErO model for studying the effect of soil
erosion and possible land use for intensive seed potato production in the Velicka River Basin provides cost effective solutions
for the benefit of the local population.
Keywords: Eco-Eco modelling, IntErO model, Soil erosion, Velicka River basin, Land cover
Introduction
In mountain areas such as the most part of Montenegro,
watersheds are often affected by natural disasters including
overflows, floods and inundations, erosion and landslides.
Soil erosion is one of the most widespread and a major
environmental threat which decreases agricultural
productivity and affects water quality (Poesen et al., 1997;
Weltzin et al., 2003; Nearing et al., 2005). There are several
stages/types of water erosion, including splash, sheet, rill,
gully and stream bank erosion (Toy et al., 2002; Poesen et
al., 2003; Khaledi Darvishan et al., 2014 and 2015). Their
Received: 19 Jan 2017. Received in revised form: 10 Aug 2017. Accepted: 14 Aug 2017. Published online: 15 Sep 2017.
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
603
negative effects on soil thickness and fertility, plant cover,
runoff coefficient and flood risk may be remarkable, hence,
soil erosion and sediment yield studies are of great interest in
the world (especially in arid and semi-arid regions where soil
and water resources are highly vulnerable. The widespread
environmental impacts of soil erosion and loss are often not
enough faced by the governments (Behzadfar et al., 2014).
Thus, the accurate understanding and quantification of
soil erosion at watershed scale is essential to address many
environmental problems influenced by the amount of
sediment transported and deposited out of the basins. On
the other hand, multi-years measurements of sediment
transport at the watershed outlet may represent the soil loss
in a watershed (Tazioli, 2009).
Multi-years measurements of sediment load transport at
the watershed outlet represents the soil loss in a watershed
(Tazioli, 2009) and can be used to calibrate soil erosion
models (Tazioli, 2009; Khaledi Darvishan et al., 2010).
Modelling, when calibrated, are useful tools to test
hypothesis and to evaluate the amount of discharge and
erosion in a watershed, especially when hydrometric data are
not available (Behzadfar et al., 2014). Therefore, erosion
models have been developed to assess soil erosion and
sediment yield, based on some simple empirical equations
such as the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), or some
modified and updated versions of it (Wischmeier and
Smith, 1965, 1978).
Since it is difficult to accurately measure soil erosion in
the field, also the performance assessment of soil erosion
models is difficult (Conoscenti et al., 2008, Rawat et al.,
2011). By contrast, sediment yield models are easier to apply
and to be tested, because the data for these models can be
measured at the watershed outlet (Kinnell and Riss 1998;
Erskine et al., 2002; Kinnell, 2010).
Among several models, Erosion Potential Method –
EPM, originally developed in Yugoslavia by Gavrilovic
(1972), was in recent times repeatedly applied to watersheds
in the Apennines and in the Balkan Peninsula (Stefanovic,
2004; Zorn and Komac, 2009; Milevski et al., 2008; Tazioli,
2009; Blinkov and Kostadinov, 2010; Ristic et al., 2012;
Kostadinov et al., 2006, 2014; Spalevic et al., 2014a), but
also in other regions in the world, for example in arid and
semi-arid areas of the south-western USA (Gavrilovic,
1988), Saudi Arabia (Al-Turki et al., 2015). The method
considers the main factors affecting erosion in a catchment,
i.e. temperature, mean annual rainfall, soil use, geological
properties and some other minor features of the catchment.
The Intensity of Erosion and Outflow model - IntErO
program package (Spalevic, 2011), was developed to predict
the intensity of soil erosion and the runoff peak discharge in
a watershed. It is a computer-graphic method based on the
Erosion Potential Method - EPM, which is embedded in its
algorithm (Spalevic et al., 2013a).
The functions and processes of ecosystems are not easily
characterized because of their complexity interrelation.
There are some ecosystem characteristics which can be used
to evaluate stress, such as runoff and sediment yield. Some
ecosystems characteristics have obvious and immediate
economic and/or human significance, while others appear
important in a longer term or in more global sense
(Bockstael et al., 1995). Though there are some considerable
uncertainties regarding the relative significance of each
characteristic (Bockstael et al., 1995), sediment yield can be
used to show how land cover changes can affect soil erosion
and, therefore, the ecological and economic conditions of a
watershed. The importance of land cover changes on runoff,
soil erosion and the economic conditions of the watershed
has been rarely considered as one of the main anthropogenic
effects. Land cover management is one of the main issues of
sustainable development to design and implement
reclamation measures especially in degraded areas
(Ballesteros Cánovas et al., 2017).
Several studies addressed the interactions between
ecological and economic functions in support of multiobjective policy making (e.g., Tschirhart and Crocker, 1987;
Costanza et al., 1993; Bockstael et al., 1995; Johst et al.,
2002; Pacini et al., 2004; Armstrong, 2007; Kleczkowski et
al., 2015), whereas some other studies dealt with the
utilization of advanced computer modeling and spatial data
availability to address the transdisciplinary modeling task in
new ways (e.g. Bockstael et al., 1995; Volk et al., 2008;
Marta-Costa et al., 2013; Cordier et al., 2017; Zessner et al.,
2017).
The objective of this paper is to apply ecologicaleconomic modeling by using the IntErO computer graphic
model to predict soil erosion scenarios associated with
intensive seed potato production at the Velicka Rijeka River
Basin in the Northeast Mountainous region in
Montenegro. This study aims also to emphasize how
ecological-economic modelling approach may contribute to
provide policy makers with scientifically based information
for best practice decision making in various fields. Namely,
it examines ecological aspects of soil erosion and economic
development of areas affected by soil erosion processes and
proposes measures to overcome these issues.
Materials and Methods
Research area
The river basin of the Velicka Rijeka is the right-hand
tributary of the river Lim in the Northeast Montenegro.
This basin covers a surface area of 32.2 km2 encompassing
the villages of Velika, Volujak and Radevic. It is located 5.3
km north of Plav; 9 km south of Sekular, settlement of
Spalevici; 15 km south-east of Andrijevica (Fig. 1).
The catchment slopes are very steep all the way from the
Prijedolska glava (Hmax, 2077 m asl) to the confluence of
the Velicka Rijeka into the Lim River (H min 879 m asl) for
a distance of 5.20 km. The length of the main watercourse is
6.9 km. The shortest distance between the source and the
mouth is 5.4 km; length of the basin, measured with a series
of parallel lines, Lb, is 8.9 km. Average altitude of the
catchment is 1455.83 m asl, and the average height
difference is 576.83 m.
Satellite imagery, available from the Google Earth and
Google Maps, were used to estimate standard
morphometric methods (Spalevic et al., 2014b) and analyze
the erosion rills density and the depth of the erosion base, to
measure specific lengths such as the natural length of the
main watercourse and tributaries of 1st and 2nd class, the
length of the watershed and other physical-geographical
characteristics.
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
604
km-2]; lp - Length of the principal waterway [km]; la Cumulated length of secondary waterways [km]; L Cumulated length of the principal and secondary waterways
[km]; Gy - Actual sediment yield [m3yr-1].
EPM is widely used in the Balkan Region because of its
relative simplicity and it is preferred as a local model for
calculation of soil erosion intensity for the territory of ExYugoslavia (Spalevic et al., 2013c). The use of EPM,
including the River Basin model, has been used widely in
Montenegro, especially in the Region of Polimlje (Spalevic
et al., 2014b), representing a standardized approach.
In comparison with some other procedures, the
EPM/IntErO model does not explore the physics of erosion
processes; therefore, it is suitable for areas where basic data
are available, or where there is a lack of previous erosion
research. As such, the model can provide not only the
amount of sediment yield, but also the erosion intensity as a
preliminary result and indications or areas of potential
erosion threats (Dragicevic et al., 2016).
Fig. 1. Location map of the Velicka Rijeka River Basin
The research part related to geology and soil is based on
previous geological (Zivaljevic, 1989) and pedological
studies (Fustic and Djuretic, 2000), who analyzed all
geological formations and soils of Montenegro.
Furthermore, we collected some soil samples for chemical
and physical analysis. The grain size composition of the soil
was determined by the pipette method. The soil samples
were air-dried at 105 °C sifted through 2 mm sieve and
dispersed using sodium pyrophosphate. Total carbonates
were determined by the volumetric Scheibler method; the
soil reaction (pH in H2O and nKCl) was determined with a
potentiometer; the content of the total organic matter was
determined by the Kotzman method; easily accessible
phosphorous and potassium were determined by the Almethod and the adsorptive complex (y1, S, T, V) was
determined by the Kappen method (Spalevic et al., 2013b).
We used IntErO model (www.agricultforest.ac.
me/Spalevic/IntErO), based on Erosion Potential Method
– EPM (Gavrilovic, 1972) and designed to assess annual
erosion rates:
where: Wa - Total annual volume of detached soil [m3yr-1];
T - Temperature coefficient [-]; Pa - Average annual
precipitation [mm]; Z - Erosion coefficient [-]; F - Study
area [km2]; T0 - Average annual temperature [°C]; Y - Soil
erodibility coefficient [-]; Xa - Soil protection coefficient [-];
ϕ - Coefficient of type and extent of erosion [-]; Ja - Average
slope of the study area [%]; ξ - Sediment delivery ratio [-]; O
- Perimeter of the watershed [km]; z - Mean difference in
elevation of the watershed [km]; Dd - Drainage density [km
Climatic characteristics
The effects of climate have the high impacts on land
degradation; rainfalls and torrential rains are amongst the
main triggers of soil erosion processes. Global warming is
leading to a more vigorous hydrological cycle, including
higher total precipitation and more frequent high intensity
rainfall events. Rainfall amounts and intensities increased
around the world during the 20th century, and according to
climate change models they are expected to continue to
increase during the 21st century (Nearing et al., 2004).
These rainfall changes, along with expected changes in
temperature have significant impacts on soil erosion rates.
Montenegro is experiencing increasing temperatures
and evapotranspiration, most notably in the northern
mountainous region. The 2001-2010 decade was the
warmest since records began, with the most prominent
changes in the northern mountainous region of +1.4 °C and
with a decrease in the number of frost days and very cold
days and nights. Changing rainfall pattern is also forecasted
in the near future (more precipitations in winter, less in
summer) increasing erosion, flood risk (winter) and water
stress (summer). The analysis of the climatic patterns
undertaken confirmed that climate in Montenegro has
already changed and that the main impacts foreseen for
temperatures and extreme events are confirmed (Froslev
Christensen and Spalevic, 2017).
Regarding rainfall there has been no significant
reduction in the average annual precipitation: rainfall has
increased in autumn whereas it has decreased during spring,
summer and winter. However, there has been a damaging
and significant increase in the number of extreme weather
events. This pertains especially to heat waves, that are
increasingly frequent, and their length shows a high year-toyear variability. Secondly, but equally important, storms
have become more frequent and more intense since 1998,
resulting in huge amounts of precipitation and high
flooding.
Extreme whether events (e.g. droughts, flooding and
heatwaves) are increasingly impacting natural resources
(soils, water bodies, pastures, others). Moreover, heavy
snowfalls and flash floods are becoming more common.
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
605
For this research we have used the data provided by the
Institute of Hydrometeorology of Montenegro as well as
calculations used in previous research papers (Spalevic et al.,
2013a). The Velicka Rijeka catchment has a continental
climate, with rainy autumns and springs and cold winters.
The absolute air temperatures recorded range from a
minimum of -29.8 oC up to 35 °C. On the basis of the
available data, the average annual air temperature, t0, is
8.1°C; average annual precipitation is 1182.3 mm.
Calculated temperature coefficient for this area, T, is 0.95;
the torrential rain, hb, is calculated to be 89.4 mm.
Geological structure
Mountains in Montenegro are part of the Dinaric Alps.
The terrain around the study area consists of various types
of sedimentary, magmatic and metamorphic rocks, ranging
in age from Palaeozoic to Quaternary. Most of the study
area is underlain by Mesozoic formations of carbonate
composition, while magmatic and clastic silicate rocks are
significantly less present. Using the Geological map of
Montenegro (Zivaljevic, 1989), permeability of the rocks of
the study river basin has been defined. The coefficient of the
region permeability, S1, is calculated to be 0.9. Rocks of
poor permeability (class fo) cover 79% of the study river
basin area, very permeable rocks (class fp) cover 13% of the
territory and semi-permeable rocks (class fpp) only 8%.
Soils of the area
Prevailing soils in Montenegro are characterized by
limited to low fertility (90% of soils), acid reaction (95% of
soils in Montenegro are naturally acidic), often skeletal and
shallow, with small retention capacity for moisture and
nutrients. On the basis of both previous pedological results
(Fustic and Djuretic, 2000) and original field and laboratory
research, the most important types of soil in the basin are
listed according to the percentage distribution: Dystric
Cambisols (83.68%), Eutric Cambisols (12.60%),
Kalkomelanosols (3.01%), and traces of Fluvisols and
Colluvial Fluvisols (0.71%).
Vegetation
The study area belongs to the Dinaridi Province of the
Middle-Southern-East
European
mountainous
biogeographical region (Dees et al., 2013). Some wooded
areas are found at higher altitudes in the Velicka river basin
and on the top of Cakor mountain and its slopes, where
forests of spruce (Picea abies), one of the most important tree
species from Europe, are found. At Djevojacki krs, towards to
the Sabova glava, the basin is covered by forests of
Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce), and on the steep slopes
towards the village of Velika, the forests of fir (Abies alba) and
spruce (Picea abies) are prevailing. To the right side of the
basin, around the rural community of Radevici, the beech
forests (Fagetum montanum) have been gradually replaced by
pastures. In the lower parts of the study river basin, at the
confluence of the Velicka Rijeka into the Lim River, mixed
forests of beech (Fagetum montanum) and oak (Quercus
cerris) are present. In the lower parts, near the river bed, we
recorded some hydrophilic forest (Alnetea glutinosae, Salicetea
herbacea) and, subordinately, some Betula verrucosa, Quercus
cerris, Quercus petraea and Prunus avium.
Model parameters calculation
The coefficient of vegetation cover, S2, was calculated to
be 0.73; the coefficient of the river basin planning, Xa, 0.42.
According to the analysis of available data, meadows,
pastures and orchards cover around 59% of the study river
basin. Mountain pastures are the most widespread
vegetation cover (44.82%). Meadows cover 12.95%,
orchards 1%. Forests are covering 39%: well-constituted
forests (30.18%) and degraded forests (9.06%). Arable and
cultivated land less than 2%.
Results and Discussion
In order to carry out model verification for the study
area, sediment yields were calculated for all the tributaries of
the Lim river basins, which include the Velicka river basin.
The model results were then compared with the
measurements obtained at the Potpec reservoir. Using the
Model the sediment yield was calculated to be 347 273
m3year-1; while actual geodetically performed measurements
were 350 000 m3year-1. This validates calculations of the
results for sediment yield obtained by the model. This leads
to a conclusion that the model is applicable for the observed
area (Spalevic et al., 2016).
In Italy, using the same methodology, Tazioli (2009)
found that this model corresponds well concerning annual
sediment yield using nuclear probes for suspended-load
measurements on Musone and Esino watersheds. Similar
studies were applied earlier at the Prescudin catchment in
Italy, (Bemporad et al., 1997) recording a minimum
deviation between predicted and measured sediment yield
values. At the Bregalnica basin in Macedonia (Milevski et
al., 2008), a very good match has been achieved between the
results obtained using the EPM method and onsite
measurements. It should be highlighted that the
EPM/IntErO model considers the total sediment load,
whereas most of the measurements conducted in the studies
cited take into account suspended load only.
Establishment of seed potato production and afforestation
as a measure of soil conservation
We have introduced eco-eco modeling in this research
with the main idea to guide the farmers on how to get
economic benefits, while respecting at the same time
sustainable river basin management. Economic part of the
main research hypothesis is that commercial production of
seed potato will increase income of farmers, income of the
state (by increase of collected taxes) and improve the state
balance of payments by reducing the import of food
(Montenegro produces approximately 18% of food that is
consumed in the country). The increase of income will
improve living standard and quality of life in the study
catchment, thus reducing migration from this area.
The study river basin is suitable for growing potatoes.
Most farmers produce vegetables for home consumption,
because of higher value crop opportunities which exist due
to the particular comparative advantage of this area.
Farmland at +800 m above sea level is ideal for producing
high quality seed potato given the clean, virus free, low
disease conditions. In an environment where no fruit can be
cultivated above 1,300 m asl, highland varieties of potato are
an important resource for certain households in the study
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
606
area - on a commercial basis. For the establishment of
intensive agricultural production it is important to improve
land preparation, together with fertilizers and manure usage
that will increase yields by one-third.
At the initial phase we proposed an expansion of the
potato cultivated area that brings increased income and also
incurs various production costs as well as cost of nature
conservation of the study basin. For the purposes of this
research we have taken into account theoretically maximum
possible area of 2.58 km2 (258 ha) for establishment of an
intensive agricultural production at this territory. This area
extends on a 5 km long course within the territory of village
Velika, the valley across the Papratista and Lijeva Rijeka to
the village Radevic. In real terms it would be hardly feasible
for the agricultural production to be implemented on the
entire territory mentioned above, due to property issues,
labor shortages and other issues. We decided to prove our
concept using simple calculation in accordance with
potentials of the nature in the observed area.
However, establishing intensive potato production
causes environmental damage by increasing the soil erosion
intensity, which can be balanced by the introduction of
conservation pathways. In order to calculate these economic
benefits, we used the IntErO model to calculate soil erosion
and its repercussion on the potato farming economic
system. Calculation of seed potato production costs per 1
hectare for the region of Velicka river basin is presented in
the Table 1.
Table 1. Calculation of seed potato production costs per hectare for the Velicka river basin
A
Production operation
Cost per operation per ha in €
1
Ploughing
100
2
Transportation of mineral fertilizers
5
3
Distribution of mineral fertilizers
5
4
Land Planning
50
5
Transport of seed potatoes
10
6
Planting potatoes
50
7
Covering potatoes by soil
20
8
Treatment against weeds
10
9
Treatment of diseases and pests (3 times)
30
10
Extraction of potatoes
100
11
Transport of potato to the warehouse
120
Total
B
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
Raw materials
Potato seed
Fertilizer NPK
Fertilizer KAN
Herbicides
Insecticides
Fungicides
Bags
Total
Labor
Potting of potatoes
Loading - unloading fertilizers
Spreading of fertilizers
Loading - unloading of potatoes
Seeding of potato
Weeding weeds
Treatment against diseases and pests
Extraction of potatoes
Loading - unloading of potatoes
Total
C
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
500
Cost of material per ha in €
1200
500
60
75
100
160
150
2245
Cost for labor per ha in €
20
10
10
20
40
20
20
400
100
640
Total costs A+B+C = 3,385 (€)
D
Results
1
Total cost
Component in € per ha
3,385
2
Expected yield
30,000 kg ha-1
3
Cost of production
0.113 € kg-1
4
Seed potato market price (2017 local market price)
0.50 € kg-1
15,000 €
5
Market value of product
6
VAT (7%)
981€
7
Realized profit (5-1)
11,610 €
8
Net profit (7-6)
10,629€
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
607
In order to calculate costs and income of seed potato
production we have quantified the following costs:
production operations costs, raw material costs and labor
costs. In agreement with Article 24 of Montenegrin VAT
Law, VAT rate for seed potato is 7%; however, we did not
examine in detail taxation issues in order to not overcomplicate the model.
Taking into account that the study area is 258 ha and
the calculated profit per hectare (see table 1d) is €10,629,
this adds to the total profit of €2,742,282 annually. This
amounts to a total nominal profit of €27,422,820 for the
next decade (without taking into account price changes and
time value of money), which is the basic time frame for
calculation of afforestation costs in this research paper
(Table 2).
The model has taken into account all of the above
parameters (27 input data and 22 results) (Table 4) and it
was calculated that the real soil loss under current
conditions is 18,148 m³yr-1. If seed potato production is
introduced, the model calculated a soil loss of 20,834 m³yr-1
as sediment yield. In order to balance the damage caused by
the introduction of seed potato production we considered
also the ecological measure of afforestation to reduce soil
loss caused by seed potato production. The model calculated
that afforestation would result in a decrease of sediment
yield to 17,886 m³yr-1. The outcomes of model calculation
are presented in Fig. 2.
From these results the twofold benefit of introducing
the potato production coupled with afforestation is evident.
On the one side, we have an increase in the farmer income
and on the other side with planting the new areas under the
forest a significant environmental improvement is achieved.
Fig. 2. Real soil losses (m³yr-1): initial (1), under the seed potato
production (2), under the seed potato production after the
afforestation (3)
Table 2. Calculation of afforestation costs for studied area (invested in first 2 years)
1
Type of terrain
Pasture and barefoot
2
Conservation measure
Digging holes with planting
3
Excavation with planting (€/8 working hours)
15
4
Normative (pieces/8 working hours)
70
5
Number of pieces per ha
2500
6
Price of spruce seedlings (€/piece)
0.18
7
Basic planting per hectare (€)
985.71
8
Filling charges for 2 years (€)
295.71
9
Reforestation costs per hectare (€)
1,281.43
10
Reforestation area (ha)
258
11
Total costs for the studied area (9x10, €)
330,608.94
Table 3. Land use changes in the studied river basin of the Velicka Rijeka
Land use
Symbol
Initial
Potato
Forest
(1)
(2)
(3)
Units
Bare lands:
BL
0
0
0
Plough-lands:
P
1.99
9.99
9.99
%
Orchards:
O
1.00
1.00
1.00
%
Mountain pastures:
MP
44.82
44.82
44.82
%
Meadows:
M
12.95
4.95
4.95
%
Degraded forests:
DF
9.06
9.06
1.06
%
Well-constituted forests:
%
WF
30.18
30.18
38.18
%
Total
100
100
100
%
Bare lands:
BL
0.00
0.00
0.00
km2
Plough-lands:
P
0.64
3.22
3.22
km2
Orchards:
O
0.32
0.32
0.32
km2
Mountain pastures:
MP
14.46
14.46
14.46
km2
Meadows:
M
4.18
1.60
1.60
km2
Degraded forests:
DF
2.92
2.92
0.34
km2
Well-constituted forests:
WF
9.74
9.74
12.32
km2
Total
32.26
32.26
32.26
km2
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
608
Table 4. The detailed calculation of the “IntErO” model for the Velicka Rijeka watershed
Initial
(1)
Symbol
Potato
(2)
Forest
(3)
Units
km²
Inputs for calculation of sediment yield
River basin area
F
32.26
32.26
32.26
The length of the watershed
O
24.31
24.31
24.31
km
Natural length watercourse
Lv
6.91
6.91
6.91
km
km
The distance: fountainhead - mouth
Lm
5.44
5.44
5.44
Length of watercourse with tributaries
ΣL
10.18
10.18
10.18
km
RB length: by a series of parallel lines
Lb
8.89
8.89
8.89
km
The area of the bigger river basin part
Fv
19.92
19.92
19.92
km²
The area of the smaller river basin part
Fm
12.33
12.33
12.33
km²
Altitude of the first contour line
h0
900
900
900
m
The lowest river basin elevation
Hmin
879
879
879
m
The highest river basin elevation
Hmax
2077
2077
2077
m
Very permeable products from rocks
fp
0.13
0.13
0.13
Part with medium permeable rocks
fpp
0.08
0.08
0.08
Part of poor water permeability rocks
fo
0.79
0.79
0.79
Part of the river basin under forests
fš
0.39
0.39
0.39
A part under grass and orchards
ft
0.59
0.51
0.51
Plough-land, without grass
fg
0.02
0.10
0.10
The volume of the torrent rain
hb
89.4
89.4
89.4
Average annual air temperature
t0
8.1
8.1
8.1
°C
Average annual precipitation
Hyr
1182.3
1182.3
1182.3
mm
Types of soil products, related types
Y
1.1
1.1
1.1
Coefficient of the basin planning
Xa
0.42
0.46
0.41
Equivalents clearly exposed erosion
φ
0.46
0.46
0.46
0.69
0.34
3.63
0.47
0.32
1.27
1455.8
576.8
40.81
1198
160.01
0.9
0.73
1.0947
604.22
295.01
0.95
0.505
40971
0.443
562.6
0.69
0.34
3.63
0.47
0.32
1.27
1455.8
576.8
40.81
1198
160.01
0.9
0.74
1.0947
604.22
301.31
0.95
0.553
47034
0.443
645.86
0.69
0.34
3.63
0.47
0.32
1.27
1455.8
576.8
40.81
1198
160.01
0.9
0.74
1.0947
604.22
301.31
0.95
0.500
40380
0.443
554.49
Results
Coefficient of the river basin form
Coefficient of watershed development
Average river basin width
(A)symmetry of the river basin
Density of the river network
Coefficient of the basin tortuousness
Average river basin altitude
Average elevation difference
Average river basin decline
Height of the local erosion base
Coefficient of erosion energy of relief
Coefficient of region's permeability
Coefficient of the vegetation cover
Analytics of water retention in inflow
Water-flow potential on torrent rains
Maximal outflow from the basin
Temperature coefficient of the region
Coefficient of the basin erosion
Production of erosion material
Coefficient of the deposit retention
Real soil losses per km2
A
m
B
a
G
K
Hsr
D
Isr
Hleb
Er
S1
S2
W
2gDF^½
Qmax
T
Z
Wyr
Ru
Gyr km²
Conclusions
Several different land use scenarios were simulated using
the IntErO model in order to find the optimal scenario of
land use for intensive seed potato production in the Velicka
Rijeka in Montenegro. The main points of research are the
interactions between seed potato production, as an intense
agricultural/economic activity, and afforestation, as a wellknown soil and water conservation activity. It can be simply
concluded that agriculture can be used more conservatively
with afforestation and, as a kind of agro-forestry, has the
ability to decrease even soil loss in the study area. The effects
mm
km
m
m
%
m
m
m km s
m³s-1
m³yr-1
m³km² yr-1
of afforestation on various variables such as soil physical,
chemical and biological characteristics, water infiltration,
runoff and soil loss and etc. have been already proven in
previous studies but the interaction effect between
afforestation and seed potato production especially in soil
loss was studied and proved in present research. The abilities
of IntErO to simply investigate the effect of various
scenarios of land use change made lots of such studies
possible without doing any changes in the actual land uses.
This advantage can be a very important tool on the working
table of managers and policy planners. The quantitative
results of soil loss in studied scenarios also showed that
Spalevic V et al / Not Bot Horti Agrobo, 2017, 45(2):602-610
609
afforestation can compensate the increasing effect of seed
potato production on soil loss. In other word, seed potato
production increased soil loss by 15%, while seed potato
production after afforestation decreased it again by even
more than the same rate.
There is another important point about the type of
agricultural activities as well as the species of trees used for
afforestation in each study area and should be taken into
account. Technical notes of planting the selected tree
species such as the distance and network dimensions and
similar can play a very important role in the final ecologicaleconomic (Eco-Eco) modelling and results.
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