Determination of current and potential soil erosion of Chile

Determination of current and potential soil
erosion of Chile
Towards Global Soil Information:
Activities within the GEO Task Global Soil Data
Executive Director EUGENIO GONZÁLEZ AGUILÓ.
March 2012
Chile
Total Area : 75 mill. Ha
Arable land
Pastures
Forestry plantations
Natural forests
5.1 million ha
11.2 million ha
2.3 million ha
13.6 million ha
Length: 4,329 km long, equivalent to one
tenth of the circumference of the Earth.
Chile: environmental macroregions
Chilean Antarctica
Natural Resources and Agriculture are
fundamental for Chilean development
90% World GBP & 63% world population
Canadá
Unión
Europea
China
Corea del Sur
Japón
Cuba
México
Colombia
América Central
Salvador
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Ecuador
Chile has 22 trade
agreements with 59
countries
Turquía
Estados
Unidos
Panamá
EFTA
Islandia
Liechtenstein
Noruega
Suiza
P4
Venezuela
Brunei
Nueva Zelanda
Singapur
India
Malasia
Perú
Bolivia
Mercosur
Argentina
Brasil
Paraguay
Uruguay
Australia
GENERAL PURPOSE
To determine current and
potential soil erosion for territory
of Chile using geomatics and
remote sensing techniques.
OBJETIVOS ESPECÍFICOS
PRODUCTS
• Current and potential soil
erosion maps.
• Soil erosion geodatabase
• Publications
•Transferring data to partner
institutions according to the
national forest law and soil
conservation system.
METHODS
Example: Maule Region
INTERPRETATION OF SOIL EROSION
Severe Erosion
Moderate Erosion
No apparent erosion
Very severe
erosion
Slight Erosion
Santa Laura Valley
No Erosión
CLASSIFICATION OF SOIL EROSION
Slight erosion
No erosion
Moderate erosion
Severe erosion
No apparent erosion
Very severe
erosion
North Zone (desert)
Nationally, we see that the most eroded
soils increase from south to north. An area of ​36.8
million hectares, equivalent to 49.1% of the
country have some degree of erosion.
North Zone
The
sectors
with
higher
current
erosion
problems leading the regions of Coquimbo, with 84%
of eroded soil, Valparaiso, with 57%, and
O'Higgins with 52% of the soils.
Atacama Region
Not all eroded soil is the product of human
action. Most of the soil erosion in northern Chile due
to natural causes.
South Zone
Like
other
sustainable
uses,
the
native
forest effectively protects the soil from erosive
agents (water, wind and ice).
Araucania Region
Here we see soils topography of hills with slopes
of 30% to 50%
In these conditions of slope, the planting to harvest the
soil is fullyexposed to water erosion processes
South Zone
Soils of mild to moderately undulating topography characteristic
ofthe Los Rios, who maintain a permanent vegetation cover for
agricultural use. Current exhibit slight to moderate erosion.
Central Zone
Soil dominant characteristic of rolling hills and the coastal area
of ​the Bío-Bío. Visualizes areas with sparse vegetation
cover on soil with ahistory of use and management have created
conditions for much ofthe soils present, today, severe to very
severe erosion.
RESULTS
PORCENTAJE (% ) DE SUPERFICIE
DE SUELOS EROSIONADOS
0,6%
9,6%
22,8%
SIN EROSIÓN
11,1%
EROSIÓN LIGERA
EROSIÓN MODERADA
13,8%
18,1%
EROSIÓN SEVERA
EROSIÓN MUY SEVERA
EROSIÓN NO APARENTE
9,2%
14,8%
OTROS USOS
AREAS DE EXCLUSIÓN
RESULTS
With this project the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile has a
nationalgeo-referenced databases of eroded soils at the regional
levelprovincial and communal.
Cartografía de Erosión Actual
Región Maule
Cartografía de Erosión Actual
Comuna de Pencahue
CONCLUSIONS
- Update 1979 - 2009 (30 years)
- Detailed information by region, province
and commune.
- Information more accurate results
- Satellite Technology - compatibility SSOT
- Effort and institutional support for
professionals in regions.
-General information about development
programs and recovery of degraded soils.
A serious problem ..... forest fires
In
the
current
summer
broke
ll records of hectares affected by forest fires,
many of them caused by human hands.
What are we doing…?
1) In the current summer broke
all records of hectares affected by
forest fires, many of them caused
by human hands.
2) It is developing a program for the
recovery of degraded soils.
3) By law (Decree 701) is given a
grant
to
fund
the
planting
of forests of introduced species.
4) We
are
working
to
change driving habits in praise of
the
small
agriculture
sector,
especially
the goat breeders.
Thank you
www.ciren.cl