Investigations of impacts of climate change on soil erosion by water | Umweltbundesamt

Background and Goals

In connection with the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS), regional statements on the vulnerability of soil to climate changes are required to develop a perspective on long-term adaptation strategies. In addition, for current federal and EU-wide environmental reporting and the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, information on the status and the risk of soil is required, which will form the basis for prevention and security against erosion. In order to assess the current and – in light of projected climate changes –likely evolution of the potential and use-related soil erosion by water, the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) initiated the research project “Investigations of impacts of climate change on soil erosion by water”, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

Objectives:

• Trans-regional statements on the consequences of the climate change on coastal erosion through water. For this purpose: 1. Redefinition/weighting of the rainfall erosivity factor (factor R) of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) with regard to the expected increase in torrential rain events. 2. Recalculation of the nationwide erosion risk potential as well as the use-related risks.
• Designation of particularly vulnerable areas with regard to the future development of rain erosivity.
• Derivation of recommendations/action strategies for land cultivation from the perspective of the climate change.

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Participants