Abstract
The area of cultivated lands in western and eastern Georgia comprises 28–40 and 29–33% of the total catchment areas, respectively. Eroded arable soils in Georgia occupy 205700 ha, i.e. 30.5% of the total plowland area, including 110500 ha (16.4%) of slightly eroded soils, 74400 ha (11%) of moderately eroded soils, and 20800 ha (3.1%) of strongly eroded soils. The maximum denudation rate in catchments of western Georgia reaches 1.0 mm/yr. The minimum denudation (0.01 mm/yr.) is typical of river catchments in southern Georgia. The mean annual soil loss from plowed fields in western Georgia reaches 17.4 t/ha and exceeds the soil loss tolerance by nearly four times. In eastern Georgia, it is equal to 10.46 t/ha and exceeds the soil loss tolerance by 2.5 times. In southern Georgia, the mean annual soil loss from plowed fields is as low as 3.08 t per ha, i.e., much lower than the soil loss tolerance.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
V. A. Ambokadze, Doctoral Dissertation in Agriculture (Tbilisi, 1968).
G. A. Gachechiladze, Hydrological Aspects of Chemical Denudation in Mountain Regions (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1989) [in Russian].
Sh. T. Gvazava, “Measures to control soil erosion in humid subtropics of Georgia,” in Proceedings of Trans-Caucasian Scientific Conference “Soil Erosion and Its Control” (Tbilisi, 1968), pp. 131–159.
General Scheme of Erosion-Control Measures in Georgian Soviet Republic for 1981–1990 and until 2000 (Sabchota Sakartvelo, Tbilisi, 1988) [in Russian].
Geomorphology of Georgia, Ed. by L. I. Maruashvili (Metsniereba, Tbilisi, 1971) [in Russian].
G. P. Gogichaishvili, Doctoral Dissertation in Agriculture (Tbilisi, 2003).
O. L. Gordzhomeladze, Scientific Principles of Soil Erosion Control (Metsniereba, Batumi, 1997) [in Georgian].
State Water Inventory, Ser. 3: Long-Term Data about Regime and Resources of Inland Waters, Part 1: Rivers and Channels; Part 2: Lakes and Reservoirs, Vol. 4: Georgian Soviet Republic (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1987) [in Russian].
M. K. Daraseliya, Red Soils and Podzols of Georgia and Their Use for Cultivation of Subtropical Plants (Makharadze–Anaseuli, 1948) [in Russian].
A. P. Dedkov and V. I. Mozzherin, “Global discharge of suspended load t to the ocean: natural and anthropogenic factors,” in Erosion and Channel Processes (Moscow State University, Moscow, 2000), No. 3, pp. 13–31.
R. V. Diakonidze, Candidate’s Dissertation in Agriculture (Tbilisi, 1982).
M. I. Kokoreva, “Erosion processes in eastern and southeastern parts of Moscow region,” in Applied Aspects of Environmental Studies (Nauka, Moscow, 1985), pp. 62–66.
G. A. Larionov, Doctoral Dissertation in Geography (Moscow, 1991).
L. F. Litvin, E. F. Zorina, N. G. Dobrovol’skaya, Z. P. Kiryukhina, S. F. Krasnov, I. I. Nikol’skaya, and S. D. Prokhorova, “Regional distribution of general elements of fluvial denudation on the southern megaslope of the Russian Plain,” Eroziya Pochv Ruslovye Protsessy, No. 16, pp. 14–32 (2008).
V. M. Machavariani, Candidate’s Dissertation in Agriculture (Tbilisi, 1958).
V. M. Machavariani, Soil Erosion and Erosion-Control Measures (Metsniereba, Tbilisi, 1987) [in Georgian].
V. V. Mozzherin, “Division of the discharge of suspended load by the rivers of Northern Eurasia into the channel and basin parts and its geomorphologic description,” in Regional Studies of Natural Territorial Complexes, Ed. by V. V. Sirotkin and R. R. Denmukhametov (Meddok, Kazan, 2012), pp. 93–100.
V. V. Mozzherin, “The relationship between channel erosion and general denudation in river basins of natural and natural-anthropogenic landscapes on the plains of northern Eurasia,” in Twenty Seventh High Education Institution Coordination Meeting on the Problems of Erosion and Channel Processes (Udmurt State University, Izhevsk, 2012), pp. 32–41.
E. V. Poluektov, “Permissible volumes of erosional soil loss for the North Azov chernozems,” Pochvovedenie, No. 11, 151–156 (1981).
Resources of Surface Waters of the Soviet Union. Geographical Description of Rivers, Lakes, and Reservoirs, Vol. 9, No. 1: Western Cis-Caucasus, Ed. by V. Sh. Tsomaya (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1974) [in Russian].
N. K. Shikula, A. G. Rozhkov, and P. S. Tregubov, “Mapping of a territory according to erosion intensity,” in Assessment and Mapping of Erosion-and Deflation-Susceptible Lands (Moscow State University, Moscow, 1978), pp. 38–46.
N. K. Shikula, A. G. Rozhkov, and P. S. Tregubov, “Mapping of a territory according to erosion intensity,” in Transactions of the X International Congress of Soil Science (Moscow, 1974), Vol. 11, pp. 32–37.
L. R. Brown, “The global loss of topsoil,” J. Soil Water Conserv. 39 (3), 162–165 (1984).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © G.P. Gogichaishvili, 2016, published in Pochvovedenie, 2016, No. 6, pp. 745–754.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gogichaishvili, G.P. Soil erosion in river basins of Georgia. Eurasian Soil Sc. 49, 696–704 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229316040049
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229316040049