Assessing the intra-annual variability of agricultural soil losses: a RUSLE application in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

The control of water erosion is an important economic and societal challenge. Reduction of the agronomic potential of the parcels, muddy flows, siltation of dams are harmful consequences that mobilize farmers, water managers, local authorities and scientific researchers. This study focuses on mapping and quantifying seasonal soil losses in the territory of the former Nord-Pas-de-Calais administrative region, using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) which incorporates five factors: rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, topography, land use and erosion control practices. The seasonal (3-months) time scale is chosen to better account for the parameters governing the soil water erosion, especially rainfall and vegetation cover, that show great asynchronous intra-annual variability. Also, high resolution data concerning agricultural plots allows to evaluate which type of culture are the more subject to soil losses. In Nord-Pas-de-Calais, water erosion occurs almost ubiquitously, but the areas characterized by steep slopes are the most at risk (Artois Hills and Flanders), with loss rates up to 54 t∙ha-1∙y-1. The majority of erosion occurs during fall (46% of the computed annual losses of 1.69∙Mt), on plots left bare after harvest (especially corn and beets crops). The study also demonstrates that extending the intercrop technique over the region, and therefore maintaining a fall and winter cover, could reduce the soil losses by 37%.